Monday, June 20, 2005
Batman Begins
Okay not so much a review as just some thoughts:
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman - Genius, especially in the Wayne as playboy. He was awesome as the Bat, though as some have said the voice was a bit overdone.
Michael Caine as Alfred - Quite good, but what else should one expect.
Liam Neeson as Ducard - Very convincing as a madman out to cleanse the world of crime and society gone bad. Loved the beard.
Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes - Not outstanding but serviceable as the romantic interest. I wanted to see more of her as ADA.
Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon - I really hope that once in his position as commissioner he shines more. The only real sour note was his line about the car. My favorite moment was when he chased up the stairs after Wayne without knowing who it was that got the drop on him and the escalation "speech" at the end.
Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow - This man's eyes are fantastic. He plays a good psychiatrist and a better nutjob. I must seek out his other films. (I would've seen him in 28 Days but someone "borrowed" my copy.)
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox - As Wayne/Bat's Q he was superb.
The fight scenes were to frenetic and close to make any sense. That and a stunt Batman pulls at the end that is a bit out of character were the only sour notes. Okay that and the fact that the Dark Knight was not the World's Greatest Detective, but there's another movie or two for him to prove himself. Okay and there are a few plot holes/things set up and then ignored.
LOVED the Batmobile. Except for the stupid "stealth mode".
The jokes were appreciated by the people I saw it with. They were very James Bond-ish.
The ending was perfect (I don't want to spoil it).
The Scarecrow was very good, but perhaps a bit too understated. A reaction to the WAAAAY over the top villains in the previous flicks? I think so.
Ras suffered from a lack of the Lazarus Pit, something central to his character though I suppose they could introduce it in the next one.
I loved the gritty realness of it. I love the way that Gotham starts out as a World's fair city of the future, light and expansive and the further the movie progresses, the smaller and darker it gets. I love that the gadgets were realistic at least.
The love interest seemed a lot more real/less contrived than the past Bat Babes though I still didn't care nearly enough about her.
The Bat Cave was fantastic!
Overall, I love this movie. It's certainly not the best comic adaptation ever (Score Spidey 2 for that, followed closely by Supes), but it nails a good part of what makes Batman/Bruce Wayne a fascinating character. Add a dash of Basil Rathbone for the next iteration and it'll be perfect. It is as Devin at CHUD.com said a bit uneven, but not to the degree he says it is. Go see it and judge for yourselves!
Batman Begins (2005) is an 8.5/10
¶
4:44 PM
Okay not so much a review as just some thoughts:
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman - Genius, especially in the Wayne as playboy. He was awesome as the Bat, though as some have said the voice was a bit overdone.
Michael Caine as Alfred - Quite good, but what else should one expect.
Liam Neeson as Ducard - Very convincing as a madman out to cleanse the world of crime and society gone bad. Loved the beard.
Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes - Not outstanding but serviceable as the romantic interest. I wanted to see more of her as ADA.
Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon - I really hope that once in his position as commissioner he shines more. The only real sour note was his line about the car. My favorite moment was when he chased up the stairs after Wayne without knowing who it was that got the drop on him and the escalation "speech" at the end.
Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow - This man's eyes are fantastic. He plays a good psychiatrist and a better nutjob. I must seek out his other films. (I would've seen him in 28 Days but someone "borrowed" my copy.)
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox - As Wayne/Bat's Q he was superb.
The fight scenes were to frenetic and close to make any sense. That and a stunt Batman pulls at the end that is a bit out of character were the only sour notes. Okay that and the fact that the Dark Knight was not the World's Greatest Detective, but there's another movie or two for him to prove himself. Okay and there are a few plot holes/things set up and then ignored.
LOVED the Batmobile. Except for the stupid "stealth mode".
The jokes were appreciated by the people I saw it with. They were very James Bond-ish.
The ending was perfect (I don't want to spoil it).
The Scarecrow was very good, but perhaps a bit too understated. A reaction to the WAAAAY over the top villains in the previous flicks? I think so.
Ras suffered from a lack of the Lazarus Pit, something central to his character though I suppose they could introduce it in the next one.
I loved the gritty realness of it. I love the way that Gotham starts out as a World's fair city of the future, light and expansive and the further the movie progresses, the smaller and darker it gets. I love that the gadgets were realistic at least.
The love interest seemed a lot more real/less contrived than the past Bat Babes though I still didn't care nearly enough about her.
The Bat Cave was fantastic!
Overall, I love this movie. It's certainly not the best comic adaptation ever (Score Spidey 2 for that, followed closely by Supes), but it nails a good part of what makes Batman/Bruce Wayne a fascinating character. Add a dash of Basil Rathbone for the next iteration and it'll be perfect. It is as Devin at CHUD.com said a bit uneven, but not to the degree he says it is. Go see it and judge for yourselves!
Batman Begins (2005) is an 8.5/10
¶
4:44 PM
