SWG Tales

Considering when the Burton/Keaton Batman came out I along with 6-7 friends waited online hours before the first show, and before the age of buying tickets online etc, I am embarassed it took me so long to see Batman Begins.

I have to say that being more of a Marvel fan Batman was originally more enjoyable for me because it was the first big budget comic movie since the Superman series went in the crapper, plus I hate the Superman character but still enjoyed the heck out of Supes I & II. I grew quite enamoured with the Batman Family of characters from Burton Batman on. As much as I love
Burton Batman, thinking it at the time was my favorite comic book flick at the time, and thinking it a great entry into the Batman mythos, Batman Begins
blew it away for me as a perfect way to introduce Batman (back) to the big screen. The casting for me with Caine, Freeman, Neeson and Oldman especially made the movie. Very important Batman characters very enjoyably rendered I thought by their actors.

The Keyzer Soze'esque move by Ra's Al Ghul surprised me as I tried not to read much on the script/plot but only knew Watanabe was "cast" as the
Ghul. As much as I enjoy the more flamboyant villains like a Joker, or a well written Edward Nigma (in the comics) Al Ghul has such depth I always thought wow he would be great to see on screen but never expected to see him in a Batman movie seeing as how the franchise went.

All in all as a comic book geek I want to say I really enjoyed the movie, things that I read people whining about in reviews, like the scarcity of action or the dim lighting were easily obscured for me by the principle actors as well as the tidbits laid out all over the place for fans of the Bat-verse and its future. Great job and I hope that if they follow up with the Joker like they are implying that they cast wisely and that Christopher Nolan can once again be at the helm.


Zzzzzz

I am very pleased with what was done with the character in Batman Begins. From Wayne's descent into depression over his parent's death to his first hand research of the criminal underworld, we were presented with a solid character within a movie's time parameters.

The ONE thing that I was upset with in the film was that the climatic confrontation on the train with Ghul was all but impossible to see. It happenned too quickly and was "darked out". I understand where the director might have wanted to give the impression of the fight being dark and spooky (as in some other phantom clobberings of the bad guys), but the LAST thing they should have done was obscure the fight.

That was "The Fight" for that movie. It shouldn't have been left to be a dark kaleidoscope washing over the theatre screen. Check it out again. Tell me you can make heads or tails of that fight.

Outside of that. I was very pleased. The most pleasant surprise came from Warner Bros' seeming commitment to invest the franchise as a story arc rather than a one-shot movie with a script reflecting a possible hint to a sequel. No, there are some crazy mofo's running around the city right now... Gotham is in for it! Stock up on bulbs for that Bat spotlight.

Curiousity: Does it strike anyone else as ...odd that Gary Oldman played more or less a side role that several others could have played? Gordon is important in the Batman mythos, but Oldman really wasn't stretched in this movie. I have a feeling that later on in the franchise, there's something big coming up for the Gordon character. Oldman is super-wattage acting current to be used on just flipping the Bat Light on/off, knowhatImsayin?

I thought this movie was excellent. In all honesty, I went in expecting the typical comic book fare, lots of action/non existant plot. Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the new Batman a dramatic movie, but it succesfully combined one of DC's best properties with action/adventure.

I was a bit upset that we couldn't really see alot of the fights although sometimes for the sake of storytelling this is necessary. It would have been nice to see some of the fights though.

All and all, this is my favorite comic book movie so far.. we'll have to see how Superman turns out. I hear the teaser tailer was decent.

Keer wrote:Curiousity: Does it strike anyone else as ...odd that Gary Oldman played more or less a side role that several others could have played? Gordon is important in the Batman mythos, but Oldman really wasn't stretched in this movie. I have a feeling that later on in the franchise, there's something big coming up for the Gordon character. Oldman is super-wattage acting current to be used on just flipping the Bat Light on/off, knowhatImsayin?

Who knows. I haven't ever followed Batman comics but got a love of Batman through Batman: the Animated Series (Batman is my faaaavorite super hero evar) and I thought that Oldman's Gordon was a nice twist on the character, at least how I've always seen him portrayed.

I like to think that great actors can lend themselves to smaller parts just because they want to and because 'bit' parts aren't really bit at all--they make up the stage and story as well.

I'll second what every one has said so far. Great movie and cast. Best film adaptaion of the comic IMHO. But why didn't the DVD have any more features than it did? It felt like it was slaped together. At least the Spider-Man DVD had a cool comic cover gallary.

They got it right because they finally made a Batman movie about Bruce Wayne. They were able to explain and show properly why a billionaire playboy would choose to dress up as a bat and set out to save the city. The more realistic you make the environment and the characters, the easier it is for the audience to maintain their suspension of disbelief and thus the more enjoyable.

I look forward to the next film as the villains look to be the Joker and the Gotham PD. It isn't until Gordon becomes the Comish that Gotham begins accepting of the Batman, so I expect him to be fighting two fronts in the next film, giving it that oh so wonderful "internal struggle" storyline that every comic book film needs (ie Spider-man 2: Peter Parker is losing out as Spider-man has become a priority). Why protect a city that wants him put away more than the bad guys?

On a side note, the cast was absolutely amazing. While I would put Keaton's in-suit Batman performance above Bale, nobody touches Bale as Bruce Wayne.