A Batman Begins Review
It's been awhile since anybody's written anything: including myself (how about that! I'm actually fulfilling my duties as a civil servant!), so I thought I'd drop in a line about something new. I don't know when or if you guys actually got around to watching 'Batman Begins," but I thought I'd let you guys know what I think. This review is virtually plot-point free for anyone wary of spoilers, although it's not as though we don't know Batman's origin...
"Batman Begins," is, in my opinion, the best movie ever to be made based on a DC Comics character. This actually says a lot, given that I have a fairly high regard for the first two Superman movies. It ranks pretty high on my list of best crafted comic book movies, right after the two Spider-Man movies and X2.
What sets BB apart from its four predecessors is simple: it was about Batman. More specifically, it was about how and why Bruce Wayne became Batman. I think a lot of people will agree that Batmans 1 to 4 were more enamored with the flamboyance of their villains than they were with the actual title character that Batman was somehow nudged out of the picture. Jack Nicholson's Joker had a great deal more screen presence than Michael Keaton's Batman. In Batman Returns, Keaton kind of disappeared between the haunting misfits played with campy aplomb by Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny Devito. Don't even get me started on the Schumacher movies.
The telling of Bruce Wayne's origin was patient, yet well-paced. The casting of Bruce's father is subtle, but for some reason I felt it was the best in the whole movie. The benevolence Linus Roache imbued Thomas Wayne with was something really special, and it makes us all the sorrier to see what happens ultimately happens to him. That scene was a lot better done than its presentation in the first Batman movie. There was a power to it that, in my opinion, is surpassed only by the scene where Peter Parker recognizes Uncle Ben's killer as the robber he let pass. Yes, I liked some parts of this movie that much. The scenes with Bruce in the Chinese (?) prison, the training scenes with Liam Neeson, and even the scenes where he starts getting his gear together make for some really terrific build-up.
Oddly enough, the movie bogs down where he actually puts the costume on. This is actually how I felt throughout much of the second half of Spider-Man 1, so it's strange that they didn't learn anything from that. The Batmobile chase scene is cool, but there is a certain goofiness to the way Christian Bale does his impression of a WWE Wrestler (that is to say, he sounds seriously constipated).
Also, I confess to being quite frustrated with the fight scenes. I mean, early on in production they were bragging about how flexible the new Batsuit was, and how much movement it allowed. Bale even talked about some esoteric martial art he learned for the movie...and yet, the editing is so choppy we see none of it. I would have liked to see Batman kicking butt a la Matt Damon in either of the "Bourne" movies, but the editing completely precluded that.
And a final disappointment was the music score. For me, one of the biggest attractions of this movie was the historic team-up between A-list Hollywood composers (anyone interested can check out my latest blog entry at the Tantrum to see a lengthier discussion) Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. I figured, if Danny Elfman could come up with that magnificent theme, imagine what two multiple-Oscar nominated composers could do!
And the result was...lame. I was disappointed with Elfman's "Spider-Man" score, but at least it had identifiable themes, albeit somewhat limp in comparison to Williams' "Superman" and Elfman's original "Batman" themes. This movie had nothing of that sort. To think I was looking forward to buying the soundtrack! Oh, well. At least it's money saved.
Anyway, the movie still plays pretty well overall. The casting was superb, with one red herring of a cast member thrown in (hehe, couldn't resist the plot point), but I have to say I particularly enjoyed Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow. There was just the right mixture of camp and menace.
Finally, special mention goes out to Nathan Crowley's extraordinary production design. It's not quite as Gothic as Anton Furst's was sixteen years ago, but it was certainly arresting in its own right. AND, Crowley was the one who came up with that extraordinary Batmobile, which really looks awesome in action.
"Batman Begins," is, in my opinion, the best movie ever to be made based on a DC Comics character. This actually says a lot, given that I have a fairly high regard for the first two Superman movies. It ranks pretty high on my list of best crafted comic book movies, right after the two Spider-Man movies and X2.
What sets BB apart from its four predecessors is simple: it was about Batman. More specifically, it was about how and why Bruce Wayne became Batman. I think a lot of people will agree that Batmans 1 to 4 were more enamored with the flamboyance of their villains than they were with the actual title character that Batman was somehow nudged out of the picture. Jack Nicholson's Joker had a great deal more screen presence than Michael Keaton's Batman. In Batman Returns, Keaton kind of disappeared between the haunting misfits played with campy aplomb by Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny Devito. Don't even get me started on the Schumacher movies.
The telling of Bruce Wayne's origin was patient, yet well-paced. The casting of Bruce's father is subtle, but for some reason I felt it was the best in the whole movie. The benevolence Linus Roache imbued Thomas Wayne with was something really special, and it makes us all the sorrier to see what happens ultimately happens to him. That scene was a lot better done than its presentation in the first Batman movie. There was a power to it that, in my opinion, is surpassed only by the scene where Peter Parker recognizes Uncle Ben's killer as the robber he let pass. Yes, I liked some parts of this movie that much. The scenes with Bruce in the Chinese (?) prison, the training scenes with Liam Neeson, and even the scenes where he starts getting his gear together make for some really terrific build-up.
Oddly enough, the movie bogs down where he actually puts the costume on. This is actually how I felt throughout much of the second half of Spider-Man 1, so it's strange that they didn't learn anything from that. The Batmobile chase scene is cool, but there is a certain goofiness to the way Christian Bale does his impression of a WWE Wrestler (that is to say, he sounds seriously constipated).
Also, I confess to being quite frustrated with the fight scenes. I mean, early on in production they were bragging about how flexible the new Batsuit was, and how much movement it allowed. Bale even talked about some esoteric martial art he learned for the movie...and yet, the editing is so choppy we see none of it. I would have liked to see Batman kicking butt a la Matt Damon in either of the "Bourne" movies, but the editing completely precluded that.
And a final disappointment was the music score. For me, one of the biggest attractions of this movie was the historic team-up between A-list Hollywood composers (anyone interested can check out my latest blog entry at the Tantrum to see a lengthier discussion) Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. I figured, if Danny Elfman could come up with that magnificent theme, imagine what two multiple-Oscar nominated composers could do!
And the result was...lame. I was disappointed with Elfman's "Spider-Man" score, but at least it had identifiable themes, albeit somewhat limp in comparison to Williams' "Superman" and Elfman's original "Batman" themes. This movie had nothing of that sort. To think I was looking forward to buying the soundtrack! Oh, well. At least it's money saved.
Anyway, the movie still plays pretty well overall. The casting was superb, with one red herring of a cast member thrown in (hehe, couldn't resist the plot point), but I have to say I particularly enjoyed Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow. There was just the right mixture of camp and menace.
Finally, special mention goes out to Nathan Crowley's extraordinary production design. It's not quite as Gothic as Anton Furst's was sixteen years ago, but it was certainly arresting in its own right. AND, Crowley was the one who came up with that extraordinary Batmobile, which really looks awesome in action.
posted by Jim Arroyo at 11:28 PM
1 Comments:
i haven't seen the movie yet
Post a Comment
<< Home