Remember Jeremy Irons in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League? He was communicating with Batman during his patrols, always up to date on all the action. One reason is that we’re used to seeing an Alfred that operates as mission control for Batman.
But there seems to be more of a distance between Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne and Andy Serkis’s Alfred Pennyworth. It’s in the Geoff Johns and Gary Frank graphic novel Batman: Earth One and in Sean Pertwee and David Mazouz’s portrayals on TV’s Gotham. So, why does Bruce and Alfred’s relationship feel so different in this movie? This version of the butler clearly takes a more tough love approach, but we’ve seen that before. It’s a very nuanced relationship, which goes on an interesting emotional arc during the course of the film. It’s clear the two love one another, but it’s easy to be taken aback by how Bruce treats Alfred. The intimacy and affection we’re used to between them is almost completely absent from Reeves and Peter Craig’s script. One of these which hasn’t been spoken about much is Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth’s relationship. It’s harder to take either one seriously in the presence of the other.Matt Reeves’ The Batmanoffers a fresh perspective on the Dark Knight, with many elements reimagined or portrayed differently than we might be accustomed to seeing. That combination may be the selling point in theory, but in practice it’s kind of a drag - rather than amplifying or enriching each other, the straight-ahead drama and the comic contrivances cancel each other out. But they also want, or at least feel required to provide, comic-book exaggeration, with world-ending plot twists and caricatured villains and occasional hyper-violence and gore. They want serious, kitchen-sink-style drama, with class conflict and political relevance and poisonous family strife. Bannon is well matched by Emma Corrin as Esme, the dance-hall girl and aspiring actress Alfred falls for, and their initial scenes together have a life and a tenderness that you don’t usually get from television romance.Īs in “Gotham,” though, Heller and Cannon are better at the setup than at the continuing execution. (Those who pay attention to these things will note that “Pennyworth” offers a modified version of the latter-day mythology from DC Comics’ Earth One story line, in which Alfred makes the birth of Batman possible by saving Thomas Wayne’s life.)īannon, who played the son of Inspector Thursday in the “Inspector Morse” prequel “Endeavour,” is a charming, resourceful and alert performer, and his Alfred - with an aggressively pompadoured widow’s peak that embodies the nervous energy of a generation - is a consistently engaging presence at the center of the series. Wayne is about to become embroiled with the Raven Society, and to drag Albert and his mates in with him.
It’s there that he meets a visiting American businessman, Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge), not yet the father of a budding caped crusader named Bruce. It also fits the template of Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon, the writer-producers behind both “Gotham” and “Pennyworth,” who once again put comic-book material at the service of dark, stylized melodrama.Īlfred (Jack Bannon), newly returned to civilian life, hopes to use his military training to launch a security business with his fellow commandos Dave Boy (Ryan Fletcher) and Bazza (Hainsley Lloyd Bennett), but in the meantime he’s working as a bouncer at a posh nightclub. Now he’s a full-fledged, if reluctant, action hero, a combat-stressed veteran of the British special forces with flashbacks to extreme violence in some indeterminate jungle.Ī peaceable man aspiring to a conventionally prosperous middle-class existence, whose talent for mayhem emerges when he sees injustice - this is an Alfred whose conflicted soul calls to mind that of his future employer. He also keeps getting tougher, a process that began with Michael Caine’s portrayal in the “Dark Knight” films.
Alfred batman series#
Traditionally a more elderly gent, Alfred Pennyworth reverted to early middle age in the Batman prequel series “Gotham.” Now he has his own series, “Pennyworth,” beginning Sunday on Epix, and in it he’s a robust 26-year-old who goes by Alfie and is determined not to follow in the footsteps of his butler father. Like Benjamin Button, Batman’s butler keeps getting younger.
0 kommentar(er)
