"Batman Begins" - A Review
Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2005 1:08 am
I have always been a big fan of Batman, and the legends around his comic book stories.
In 1987, Tim Burton unleashed his own theatircal take on Batman, and it was, at that time, considered the "movie of the decade". Speaking from the 80's that says something that has stuck with me over these years.
The other batman movies seemed to be progressively more lame in my opinion, because they became almost cliche' from the comic book persona perspectives of the villians, and batman himself seems to have been more for the "power ranger" crowd. I apologize in advance, but George Clooney, who had his first role in "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" for godsake, is NOT what I visualize Batman to be.
Why have I loved Batman and his adventures? His plausibility in a world dominated it seems by war, crime, and human suffering. He has no super powers. He is, by all intents and purpose, a self-made man. Sure, he has all of that money and prestige in his fictional pedigree, but it is the drive within him, that need to be more, that makes him all the more real and human to someone like me. Batman could, in all honesty, actually be someone that thinks and breathes in our own world. If one were so inclined, and that driven, and possessed the resources and the passion, someone like Batman could indeed be out there right now, doing his work to make someone sleep better at night. While the X-men are all well and interesting, they could not possibly fit into my life for real. Batman however, is a symbol of what determination, and having a mission in life, can accomplish. True his arch-nemesis is a joke persey, but there are many people in the world who are just like the Joker, criminal plotters, the movers and shakers that make all the thugs do their will. Someone like Batman would be a nice help.
The movie, starring some of my favorite actors, includes: Morgan Freeman, Michael Kane, Christian Bale, and Gary Oldman as the not-quite-yet commissioner, James Gordon. Wow, I mostly know Oldman from being diabolically deranged bad guys, like that movie 'The Professional' where he was, to put it bluntly, terrifyingly nuts.
The film is darker than the other Batman movies, perhaps even more sinister in shade that Tim Burtons foray into the Batman legend. This film is about fear, and facing your own, then using that to become something more than you were before. I think that inherent message, the root to the Batman mythology, is what makes this tale so timesless for many people. "You are what you do" is stated several times throughout the movie. I find this agreeable to my world view, as people literally ARE just that. Interesting.
There is a desperate sadness to this film. The tale of Bruce Wayne, gorwing up after his parent's murder, and this becoming a symbol of one man and his fight against evil, is a tragedy in my opinion. Yeah, he is a hero, and he has all this badass stuff to play with in kicking bad guy's asses, but at the end of the day, his personal demons, and the motivations that drive him like a lash at his rear leave him alone, and desperate for some meaning in his life outside the mask. All of his fortune and assests afford him great affluence to the public, and great gear and secrecy to his cause, but imprisons him in a wall of silence, never letting him in.
It is easy to take a movie like this and say aloud "it is only a movie your retard, why all the deep crap?" Well, what I said before, that Batman is a glimpse of what person could do for society, time circumstances permitting it. For me, that makes it less straight fictional, and more like "what if" fiction. Because there are people like Batman out there, we just have no idea when they cross our paths.
This is a wonderful film, the fight scenes and special effects are absolutely amazing. Although I have never been a big fan of Christian Bale, mostly because the only films I have seen of his were Reign of Fire and American Psycho (both of which I enjoyed), in this film, his ability to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne is amazing. In fact, if you have read the comic books that were written by Frank Miller (the dark knight returns, etc) Then you will immediately see how eerily Bale resembles the drawn Bruce Wayne. It is, in fact, uncanny.
Liam Neeson as the arch-rival of Batman was a spot on choice. Until the end of the movie, you do not really know he is Rahz Al Ghoul (spelling bah). I kinda wondered though, beforehand, because Raz was the man, after all, in the comics, who trained Batman in the invisible arts, like in the film. Their emnity in the books far surpasses that of Batman/Joker, because of the personal nature of their former partnership. In the books, Raz is effectively immortal, as his Lazarus pits afford him youth each time he bathes, and he has always been one of the Dark Knight's bitterest rivals in the comics. As far as I know, he is still in the Batman mythology, because Batman had a long standing romance with the man's daughter for years, and she in fact was Batgirl for a time.
I think Michael Cane as Alfred Pennyworth is just smashing! That guy nailed it. Morgan Freeman as the tech guy at Wayne Enterprises was, as usual a knockout acting presentation. That man is a real gem of an actor.
My only complaint with this movie at all is the guy who played Dr. Crane, aka Scarecrow. That sombitch was CREEPY to lookat, and his demeaner made me think of Christian Bale's character in American Psycho. He was downright too much for me. LMAO.
This movie is a must own when released for home viewing, as far as I am concerned.
+10!
In 1987, Tim Burton unleashed his own theatircal take on Batman, and it was, at that time, considered the "movie of the decade". Speaking from the 80's that says something that has stuck with me over these years.
The other batman movies seemed to be progressively more lame in my opinion, because they became almost cliche' from the comic book persona perspectives of the villians, and batman himself seems to have been more for the "power ranger" crowd. I apologize in advance, but George Clooney, who had his first role in "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" for godsake, is NOT what I visualize Batman to be.
Why have I loved Batman and his adventures? His plausibility in a world dominated it seems by war, crime, and human suffering. He has no super powers. He is, by all intents and purpose, a self-made man. Sure, he has all of that money and prestige in his fictional pedigree, but it is the drive within him, that need to be more, that makes him all the more real and human to someone like me. Batman could, in all honesty, actually be someone that thinks and breathes in our own world. If one were so inclined, and that driven, and possessed the resources and the passion, someone like Batman could indeed be out there right now, doing his work to make someone sleep better at night. While the X-men are all well and interesting, they could not possibly fit into my life for real. Batman however, is a symbol of what determination, and having a mission in life, can accomplish. True his arch-nemesis is a joke persey, but there are many people in the world who are just like the Joker, criminal plotters, the movers and shakers that make all the thugs do their will. Someone like Batman would be a nice help.
The movie, starring some of my favorite actors, includes: Morgan Freeman, Michael Kane, Christian Bale, and Gary Oldman as the not-quite-yet commissioner, James Gordon. Wow, I mostly know Oldman from being diabolically deranged bad guys, like that movie 'The Professional' where he was, to put it bluntly, terrifyingly nuts.
The film is darker than the other Batman movies, perhaps even more sinister in shade that Tim Burtons foray into the Batman legend. This film is about fear, and facing your own, then using that to become something more than you were before. I think that inherent message, the root to the Batman mythology, is what makes this tale so timesless for many people. "You are what you do" is stated several times throughout the movie. I find this agreeable to my world view, as people literally ARE just that. Interesting.
There is a desperate sadness to this film. The tale of Bruce Wayne, gorwing up after his parent's murder, and this becoming a symbol of one man and his fight against evil, is a tragedy in my opinion. Yeah, he is a hero, and he has all this badass stuff to play with in kicking bad guy's asses, but at the end of the day, his personal demons, and the motivations that drive him like a lash at his rear leave him alone, and desperate for some meaning in his life outside the mask. All of his fortune and assests afford him great affluence to the public, and great gear and secrecy to his cause, but imprisons him in a wall of silence, never letting him in.
It is easy to take a movie like this and say aloud "it is only a movie your retard, why all the deep crap?" Well, what I said before, that Batman is a glimpse of what person could do for society, time circumstances permitting it. For me, that makes it less straight fictional, and more like "what if" fiction. Because there are people like Batman out there, we just have no idea when they cross our paths.
This is a wonderful film, the fight scenes and special effects are absolutely amazing. Although I have never been a big fan of Christian Bale, mostly because the only films I have seen of his were Reign of Fire and American Psycho (both of which I enjoyed), in this film, his ability to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne is amazing. In fact, if you have read the comic books that were written by Frank Miller (the dark knight returns, etc) Then you will immediately see how eerily Bale resembles the drawn Bruce Wayne. It is, in fact, uncanny.
Liam Neeson as the arch-rival of Batman was a spot on choice. Until the end of the movie, you do not really know he is Rahz Al Ghoul (spelling bah). I kinda wondered though, beforehand, because Raz was the man, after all, in the comics, who trained Batman in the invisible arts, like in the film. Their emnity in the books far surpasses that of Batman/Joker, because of the personal nature of their former partnership. In the books, Raz is effectively immortal, as his Lazarus pits afford him youth each time he bathes, and he has always been one of the Dark Knight's bitterest rivals in the comics. As far as I know, he is still in the Batman mythology, because Batman had a long standing romance with the man's daughter for years, and she in fact was Batgirl for a time.
I think Michael Cane as Alfred Pennyworth is just smashing! That guy nailed it. Morgan Freeman as the tech guy at Wayne Enterprises was, as usual a knockout acting presentation. That man is a real gem of an actor.
My only complaint with this movie at all is the guy who played Dr. Crane, aka Scarecrow. That sombitch was CREEPY to lookat, and his demeaner made me think of Christian Bale's character in American Psycho. He was downright too much for me. LMAO.
This movie is a must own when released for home viewing, as far as I am concerned.
+10!
I may wait until the DVD though. I think the last movie I saw in the theater was Episode 1 