I'm a fan of Christopher Nolan's for directing "Memento" and "Insomnia". Both are good movies. So I might see this most recent Batman if I hear more good FReeper reviews on it.
"Insomnia" with Al Pacino and Robin Williams
Posted on 06/15/2005 7:56:12 PM PDT by Destro
`Batman Begins' terffic superhero movie
www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-16 09:38:13
BEIJING, June 16 -- Pre-adolescent Bruce Wayne falling into a well and being frightened by a flock of bats released from an underground cavern!
No. That opening scene is just about the last sour note in the 140 minutes or so that follow. "Batman Begins" is a terrific slice of Hollywood fantasy, a wonderful example of what can happen when good people spend a lot of money in service of getting it right.
Spider-Man was a great comic adaptation. X2 was masterfully written. And Christopher Reeves' Superman oozed with humanity.
Batman Begins has all those traits and more.
Director Christopher Nolan (the "Memento" guy) and his co-screenwriter David S. Goyer have returned to the comic-book character's roots to show how millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne became the Caped Crusader of Gotham City.
When we first meet Bruce Wayne (played here by Christian Bale), he's in a hellhole prison somewhere in Asia. Turns out he's on a deliberate quest, to learn fighting skills and toughen his body.
Freed from prison, he's put under the rigorous tutelage of Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and Ducard (Liam Neeson), who train a wild-sounding vigilante organization called the League of Shadows. I grew a little impatient to get to Gotham during these sequences, but it all pays off.
Back in the big city, Bruce lets faithful manservant Alfred (Michael Caine) in on his secret plans to become a justice-seeking crime fighter. (Good thing there's that cavern lying underneath stately Wayne manor, with lots of closet space for fear-instilling costumes and just right for parking a souped-up car - let's call it a Batmobile.)
Other aspects of the saga are deftly woven in: a policeman named Gordon (Gary Oldman), who appears to be the only honest cop in a corrupt Gotham. A friend of Bruce's father, now the overseer of the Applied Sciences department at Wayne Enterprises (a delicious role for Morgan Freeman, who does some lovely eyebrow-raising). An Enron-style CEO (Rutger Hauer) suspicious of Bruce's return to his father's corporation.
There's a love story, with childhood sweetheart Rachel. She's played by Katie Holmes, who used to be an actress but has recently been reclassified as Tom Cruise's girlfriend. But don't worry, this doesn't get too much in the way of the story.
In his first big challenge, Batman must battle Dr. Jonathan Crane (the unsettling Cillian Murphy, from "28 Days"), a psychiatrist with a crackpot plan to poison the city. One of the problems with keeping a "Batman" movie from getting too silly is the flamboyance of the archvillains, who can be pretty out there. "Batman Begins" comes up with an ingenious and logical reason for Crane to morph into a masked character known as The Scarecrow.
Of course, a superhero film requires more than likable actors. There has to be nasty villains, and Batman Begins delivers good ones. The most recognizable is The Scarecrow, portrayed with frightening credibility by Cillian Murphy. Although he dons a mask and does evil, the camp aspects of the super-villain prototype are missing, again adding believability and strength to the story.
If Batman Begins isn't the same extraordinary success Spider-Man was three years ago, it will be a huge disappointment. That's not because the movie studio could suffer, but because fans will if they don't see the film.
This is the real deal, a movie that comic book fans can point to as the perfect adaptation of their beloved medium.
(Agencies)
I don't know why, but no superhero movie has really hit me in the way the comics did when I was a kid. I think the speed of comics--you set the pace while reading them--is unable to be replicated in films.
Every era of the comic book genre and the heroes that populate the tales therein tell us something about our nation during that time.
Looking forward to it...
Batman's always been the best superhero. Can't wait to see this movie.
what do you mean by plain? I thought it was a very good movie.
I liked Spiderman and loved Spiderman2.
I agree the X-Men movies can be bland if you are not into them but they were not really that bad and pulled off the storyline better than one would think. The Hulk failed because the director missed what the Hulk was - it is Mr. Hyde meets the nuclear age. The modern Hulk movie should have been Mr. Hyde meets the DNA age.
I was bored with The Hulk, possibly because they didn't use a real person.
Spiderman 2, on the other hand, had life in it. It didn't have nearly the amount of action as most of these movies do, but I was hooked into the characters and the FX and action were gripping. The train sequence was terrific. The villain was far more interesting than the psycho in a mask from the first one.
Hulk went wrong, I think, because the director wasn't content to make a comic book movie out of a comic book, and tried to mix all kinds of pop psychology into it. I think he caught the Mr. Hyde angle perfectly well--I mean, it's pretty obvious--but his story was trying for some kind of Oedipal angle that was just dull.
I liked that I didn't realize that they pretty muched used The Absorbing Man as the bad guy up until the end.
Anyone who posts into a thread he has no interest in probably needs help too, but who am I to judge?
That was my feeling too ... I looked forward to seeing it and was bored by the over-plotting and psycho-babble.
I thought the villain in Spiderman 2 was a little too outrageous, and I thought there was a lot of heart in Spiderman 1. (especially his relationship with his grandparents.)
Watched the new Batman movie. One word: WOW!
Second that. WOW! and more.
Blown away.
This is THE Batman.
Forget the other movies. And that is from me, a great authority on the matter ;) A hardcore fan of The Batman comic. The other movies didnt even scratch the surface of the depth and darkness of this character. They were hollywood garbage.
Forget everything you know.
This is why I read comics.
See this movie.
There is a great deal of conservatism in it. Just like Spiderman. This is better.
I couldnt help but see some parallels with the war on terror. I cant put my finger on it exactly but there is something more here in this film that resonates powerfully.
I'm a fan of Christopher Nolan's for directing "Memento" and "Insomnia". Both are good movies. So I might see this most recent Batman if I hear more good FReeper reviews on it.
"Insomnia" with Al Pacino and Robin Williams
I thought the Batman franchise was over and done with, but this one has breathed new life into it. Lots of fun, lots of action. Christian Bale is a terrific Batman.
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