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Yes, some will complain that I started my own review thread. But this movie-going experience was too important to me. And I have a lot to say. I've said for quite some time that I believed Christopher Nolan would do everything right with this movie. He did.
Batman Begins is the best superhero movie ever made. Hands down.
Where all of the other Batman movies failed (and I'm obviously referring to Burton's films because Schumacher's failed everywhere) is that they had no foundation to build on. Nolan believes that setting up Bruce Wayne is integral to understanding Batman. And it turns out to be an interesting process. We've never seen Bruce Wayne so full of anger and hurt. We've never seen Bruce ready to pull a gun out and kill the man who murdered his parents. We've never seen the real guilt he harbors for their death. We do now. It's completely believeable seeing Bruce become Batman because he's simply becoming somebody who can fight back using fear...which is ironic because fear is the reason he's doing this in the first place. It was fear that caused him to ask his parents to leave that theater early. But seeing this man learn the ropes of crime fighting and sometimes fail, brings a great reality to Batman. Bruce is a messed up guy. He's got a lot of problems. That has never come across until now. Everybody assumed it about Bruce. Nolan delivers it as fact. And that's important. We can now start over doing everything right. Because the foundation is there.
Fear again is important with our villains. We have Scarecrow, who uses fear as a weapon. It's only proper that Batman fight him. Fear is the theme. Batman also fights the man who taught him how to use fear...so how do you defeat a villain that is above fear? It's really the way to go, in my opinion. Besides, this is Batman's origin. He shouldn't jump into some fight with a flashy villain. Nolan keeps it real. Scarecrow isn't some shape-shifting alien. He's a sick guy who puts on a burlap sack mask and drugs people. All believable. I think when the Joker shows his face in the sequel, it's going to be a real, but deranged, man who crudely paints his face to cause fear. Like Gordon said in the movie - it's about theatrics. But theatrics are based in reality. Batman throws his "batarang" like a ninja star, not a boomerang. Why? Because it's sensible. Nolan never takes us out of reality. Not for a second. Even Batman's gliding and base jumping are fully explained in logical ways within the context of the movie. A context which is very close to reality. So if Batman, deep down, remains a man. Then the villains should also remain men. And I have no problems with the attack on Gotham story line. There needs to be a bigger threat and it was believeable within the context of the movie. Batman is not out to save a damsel in distress, he's out to save Gotham.
This may be the best supporting cast I've ever seen, especially in a comic book movie. Caine, Oldman, and Freeman are absolutley spectacular. Their characters are brimming with depth. They are allies with a quiet understanding and appreciation for what Bruce does. They're the few good people left in Gotham. And they're all a necessary part in making Batman a reality. How nice is it to see Bruce's friendship with Lucius Fox? How nice is it to put logic and reality behind all of those Bat Toys? Bruce didn't just build some suit from scratch. There's science involved. There's people involved. It's much more solid than anything Burton did.
I actually found the script to be very full, the dialogue unusually strong. And this is coming from a non-fan of David Goyer. The cinematography and production design were simply amazing. Everything had the perfect goth look. Look at Wayne Manor. Compare it to Burton's. It felt like an actual home. I never felt like anybody got this right before. It never felt like a person could actually live in this place until now.
Let me finish with the two most important elements of this film. First is the top-notch performance by Bale. Bale IS Batman. And he's Bruce Wayne. That's important to remember. The other element is Nolan. He puts everything on the line here. He has given us a Batman movie that is utterly surprising. It's actually a scary movie. The hallucination scenes, the fear scenes...all frightening as hell. This movie could've earned an R for mood alone. Nolan was willing to take away all of the color and make this movie true to it's source - no matter the consequences. He gave me the Batman of my dreams. Exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't have directed a frame differently. But it's not the Batman that everybody is ready for. Not the Batman they expect. Most audiences might be shocked. But that's okay. We're starting over. Doing it right. And I believe that Nolan nailed the action. The close angles worked. Perhaps seeing Batman in all wide shots is what turns the Dark Knight into just a man in a suit. He's supposed to be full of stealth, fear, heart-pounding curiosity. Seeing Batman in plain view isn't necessarily the way to keep him interesting to the audience. It think we should feel what the bad guys feel. It's a gift for a director to do that, not something to complain about. What's scary is that if Nolan doesn't direct the sequels, the whole franchise will die again. Nobody else could replicate his delicate handling of the darkness in this movie. But in his hands, we finally have an opportunity to have a complete, full Batman saga.
I'm giving this movie 10 out of 10. It's the best movie I've seen all year and the best comic book adaptation ever. I have to declare it perfect. It actually lived up to every single one of my expectations, and then went beyond them.
Ele...
Batman Begins is the best superhero movie ever made. Hands down.
Where all of the other Batman movies failed (and I'm obviously referring to Burton's films because Schumacher's failed everywhere) is that they had no foundation to build on. Nolan believes that setting up Bruce Wayne is integral to understanding Batman. And it turns out to be an interesting process. We've never seen Bruce Wayne so full of anger and hurt. We've never seen Bruce ready to pull a gun out and kill the man who murdered his parents. We've never seen the real guilt he harbors for their death. We do now. It's completely believeable seeing Bruce become Batman because he's simply becoming somebody who can fight back using fear...which is ironic because fear is the reason he's doing this in the first place. It was fear that caused him to ask his parents to leave that theater early. But seeing this man learn the ropes of crime fighting and sometimes fail, brings a great reality to Batman. Bruce is a messed up guy. He's got a lot of problems. That has never come across until now. Everybody assumed it about Bruce. Nolan delivers it as fact. And that's important. We can now start over doing everything right. Because the foundation is there.
Fear again is important with our villains. We have Scarecrow, who uses fear as a weapon. It's only proper that Batman fight him. Fear is the theme. Batman also fights the man who taught him how to use fear...so how do you defeat a villain that is above fear? It's really the way to go, in my opinion. Besides, this is Batman's origin. He shouldn't jump into some fight with a flashy villain. Nolan keeps it real. Scarecrow isn't some shape-shifting alien. He's a sick guy who puts on a burlap sack mask and drugs people. All believable. I think when the Joker shows his face in the sequel, it's going to be a real, but deranged, man who crudely paints his face to cause fear. Like Gordon said in the movie - it's about theatrics. But theatrics are based in reality. Batman throws his "batarang" like a ninja star, not a boomerang. Why? Because it's sensible. Nolan never takes us out of reality. Not for a second. Even Batman's gliding and base jumping are fully explained in logical ways within the context of the movie. A context which is very close to reality. So if Batman, deep down, remains a man. Then the villains should also remain men. And I have no problems with the attack on Gotham story line. There needs to be a bigger threat and it was believeable within the context of the movie. Batman is not out to save a damsel in distress, he's out to save Gotham.
This may be the best supporting cast I've ever seen, especially in a comic book movie. Caine, Oldman, and Freeman are absolutley spectacular. Their characters are brimming with depth. They are allies with a quiet understanding and appreciation for what Bruce does. They're the few good people left in Gotham. And they're all a necessary part in making Batman a reality. How nice is it to see Bruce's friendship with Lucius Fox? How nice is it to put logic and reality behind all of those Bat Toys? Bruce didn't just build some suit from scratch. There's science involved. There's people involved. It's much more solid than anything Burton did.
I actually found the script to be very full, the dialogue unusually strong. And this is coming from a non-fan of David Goyer. The cinematography and production design were simply amazing. Everything had the perfect goth look. Look at Wayne Manor. Compare it to Burton's. It felt like an actual home. I never felt like anybody got this right before. It never felt like a person could actually live in this place until now.
Let me finish with the two most important elements of this film. First is the top-notch performance by Bale. Bale IS Batman. And he's Bruce Wayne. That's important to remember. The other element is Nolan. He puts everything on the line here. He has given us a Batman movie that is utterly surprising. It's actually a scary movie. The hallucination scenes, the fear scenes...all frightening as hell. This movie could've earned an R for mood alone. Nolan was willing to take away all of the color and make this movie true to it's source - no matter the consequences. He gave me the Batman of my dreams. Exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't have directed a frame differently. But it's not the Batman that everybody is ready for. Not the Batman they expect. Most audiences might be shocked. But that's okay. We're starting over. Doing it right. And I believe that Nolan nailed the action. The close angles worked. Perhaps seeing Batman in all wide shots is what turns the Dark Knight into just a man in a suit. He's supposed to be full of stealth, fear, heart-pounding curiosity. Seeing Batman in plain view isn't necessarily the way to keep him interesting to the audience. It think we should feel what the bad guys feel. It's a gift for a director to do that, not something to complain about. What's scary is that if Nolan doesn't direct the sequels, the whole franchise will die again. Nobody else could replicate his delicate handling of the darkness in this movie. But in his hands, we finally have an opportunity to have a complete, full Batman saga.
I'm giving this movie 10 out of 10. It's the best movie I've seen all year and the best comic book adaptation ever. I have to declare it perfect. It actually lived up to every single one of my expectations, and then went beyond them.
Ele...
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