(no subject)
When I first heard about the new Batman movie, I
knew that there would be two factors deciding it's fate. Who's playing
Batman, Who's directing, and will bat nipples be present? Okay, so
that's three but the last one I could live with. One year ago, while
surfing the Superherohype message board, a very fine forum if I do say
so myself, I came across the news of a Batman movie being released in
2005. The working title at that point was "Batman: Intimidation". Now,
I don't know if the title holds any significance pertaining to the DC
comic (I only read Marvel), but I think most everyone can agree that
"Begins" is at least 100 % better than "Intimidation". Batman getting
intimidated? Pshhh. AND that folks, is exactly the kind of attitude you
must go into the movie with. Because ultimatley, even though there is
plenty of the dark knight, it's a movie about Bruce Wayne. About the
revenge obsessed- justice seeking- samurai warrior who's mind is
plagued with countless inner demons. The man behind the mask this time
around is Christian Bale, who starred in the cult classic American
Psycho and the recent The Machinist. I'm not going to beat around the
bush so here it is: Christian Bale IS Batman. Sure, Michael Keaton was
fine, and Val Kilmer was decent, and George Clooney was --well uh,
George Clooney but BALE is where yo momma sleeps at night. Behind the
camera, was Christopher Nolan. The name "Nolan" is what gave this movie
credibility and made the expectations go through the roof. For those of
you who don't know, Nolan directed the hit "Memento" which was simply
mindblowing. So, you have one of the most respected director's in
Hollywood and add that with the slick Christian Bale with a rumored to
be "solid script" and what do you have? Batman Begins.
I won't give away any spoilers in the plot, but I will say that this has to be one of the most intricate plots i've seen in comic movie history. All the supporting cast is wonderful, with the highlight being Liam Neeson. The twist is also one of the best in recent memory as it isn't out of nowhere and unsensible. One major gripe about this film are the action sequences. As great of a job Nolan did with the other scenes, he was not cut out to do action. It should've been expected as it was his first action driven film, but it was a major distraction. One could not tell who was punching who, who was losing, who was getting shot and who was shooting it! Was the camera being handled by a drunk teenager with parkinson's?! While we should've been seeing a far away shot of both actors fighting with some scenery in the background we instead were blessed with Bale's facial features moving up and down.Otherwise, fans are rewarded by some payoff scenes. Batman fanatics everywhere must have had numerous geekgasms when Gordon hands Batman the joker card.
Final Note: Batman Begins is "Citizen Kane" when compared to the likes of Forever and Batman and Robin while being a worthy succesor to Burton's Batman. A perfect score is ruined by some gut wrenchingly disgusting action sequences. Bale is perfect as Batman, and some of the scenes with Batman standing upon the skyscrapers are nothing short of beautiful. One can only wonder why Catwoman was the first DC movie released instead of this...
I won't give away any spoilers in the plot, but I will say that this has to be one of the most intricate plots i've seen in comic movie history. All the supporting cast is wonderful, with the highlight being Liam Neeson. The twist is also one of the best in recent memory as it isn't out of nowhere and unsensible. One major gripe about this film are the action sequences. As great of a job Nolan did with the other scenes, he was not cut out to do action. It should've been expected as it was his first action driven film, but it was a major distraction. One could not tell who was punching who, who was losing, who was getting shot and who was shooting it! Was the camera being handled by a drunk teenager with parkinson's?! While we should've been seeing a far away shot of both actors fighting with some scenery in the background we instead were blessed with Bale's facial features moving up and down.Otherwise, fans are rewarded by some payoff scenes. Batman fanatics everywhere must have had numerous geekgasms when Gordon hands Batman the joker card.
Final Note: Batman Begins is "Citizen Kane" when compared to the likes of Forever and Batman and Robin while being a worthy succesor to Burton's Batman. A perfect score is ruined by some gut wrenchingly disgusting action sequences. Bale is perfect as Batman, and some of the scenes with Batman standing upon the skyscrapers are nothing short of beautiful. One can only wonder why Catwoman was the first DC movie released instead of this...