If you haven’t already, you need to go see Batman Begins. Holy league of shadows, it was fantastic! One of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. It was all I could do to not stand up and yell a big, guttural “Yaaahhhhhhr!” at the end of the movie. But it isn’t just this movie I loved—I’ll tell you more about that later; I just really like Batman. Here’s why:
1. Batman rocks. I don’t care who you are, you have to love him. I mean, he wears black (sexy, muscley black for the ladies), he has a cape (how cool are capes? Edna Mode was oversensitive), he’s sneaky and stealthy (how does he do that?), and he’s got a ton of cool stuff (c’mon—a batmobile, a batcave, grappling hook guns?…this stuff is great!). And he’s just a regular guy—he doesn’t even need superpowers to be this great.
2. Bruce Wayne is such a compelling character. Tragic, really. Boy does he have issues to deal with. Bats aside, his parents were killed in front of him and consequently he’s riddled with sadness, guilt, anger, and hate. That right there is enough for a pretty good character. Throw in a childhood phobia, martial arts, a mansion, a villain and a butler and voila! A great character!
3. Alfred is fabulous. He’s smart and witty and loves Bruce through all his issues. And doesn’t he embody what we all want? Someone who is loyal, loves us and takes care of us no matter what. (And calls us master, and cleans the mansion, and cooks, and sets out our clean, stylish, pressed clothes…)
4. The villains are pretty cool. You can’t have a great good guy without some really good bad guys.
So Batman is awesome. It’s no wonder he has captivated audiences for years. Now to the new movie (I won’t say anything here that would spoil it). What made this movie great?
1. It was nice to see Bruce’s character developed so well. It helped you understand what motivates him and why he makes the choices he does. You get to see his vulnerabilities as well as his courage, strength and nobility.
2. Batman had some really great new stuff. I'd had some issues with how his cape worked and where he got all his neat-o gadgets that were solved in the movie. (If I read comic books I'm sure those issues would have been solved already, but I just haven't found the time to get into it that deep.)
3. The computer-generated images were done well. Sitting next to an artist in a movie can wreck it for you when the CGI stuff is lousy. Guy will groan or make these little comments if the graphics aren’t up to par and after a while you get an eye for it. They have to be believable or it just isn’t any good. The CGI work in Batman Begins was superb by my book (and Mr. Critical agreed).
4. Scarecrow was so cool. The previews show you what he looks like and he is creepy! He was also believable. I won’t tell you his MO, but it worked for me because it didn’t seem so far out of the realm of reality.
5. The pace and action of the movie was good. I don’t really know movie speak, but you know when a movie has too much action, or not enough? This one was just right. The sound was great, too.
6. The movie was artistic. The whole feel and look of the movie was very epic. There’s nothing quite like seeing Batman’s silhouette while he looks over Gotham City at night. Oooooooh. Chills.
I could probably go on, but I’ll stop there. If you aren’t a Batman fan, maybe this movie will do it for you. Don’t even plan on comparing it to the Batman movies from ’89 and the 90s. The first one was okay—Michael Keaton did a pretty good job and Jack Nicholson had some great moments. But boy did the series go down from there. The one with Schwarzenegger was a real stinker. This new movie blows them all out of the water. So go see it and let me know what you think.
Here’s to you, Batman. May you strike fear in the hearts of villains everywhere!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Well, you've convinced me! I'll run, not walk to my local cinema!
Yes, Batman is so awesome. And doesn't it make you want to get into it just a little bit deeper? Come on, let's take the plunge and start reading comic books! We can always say they are for our kids. Instead of Arctic Circle we could meet at Dragons Keep. . . or meet and Dragons Keep and then go to Arctic Circle! I will if you will. Batman Begins rules.
Yes Lisa, you really must.
Kacy--Sweet. I'm in. Just say when. Is there a certain dress code to follow when going to a comic book store? Do I need to bring a sword? Wear a tunic? I'm not sure if I have a tunic. I have been in a comic book store once, but it was a long time ago and all we bought was "The Tick".
well, crap. now i gots to go see it! But what I'm really hoping turns out to be good is the Willy Wonka movie...
You know, after reading Kacy's blog I realized part of my number 3 could sound really bad if you took it wrong. The part about wanting to be called master. I did not mean this in the 1800's deep south context. I meant how nice it would be to have paid help (as Kacy pointed out, paid very well) around the house. And how great to have that employee mean as much to you as any family member. Anyway, didn't want to offend or sound like a racist snob.
I think you meant "Master" in a much more "Dungeons and Dragons" way, which in my opinion is totally acceptable.
Can't WAIT for Willy Wonka.
I saw Batman Begins on opening night, and I agree, it was fantastic, WAY better than any of the other ones. Some critics have said the movie wasn't "comic bookish" enough. Well I wouldn't really know because I never got into comic books either, I was too busy reading Tolstoy, and Hardy, and other really impressive sounding authors. But if they mean it lacked characters like Penguin, from Batman Returns, then I'm glad it wasn't more "comic bookish". By the way, I have to admit that I've been to Dragons Keep on more than one occasion, and it wasn't just to see what it was like in there. It's a cool store for non-mainstream board games. Generally speaking, however, the employees could do with more frequent showering.
I'm excited for Willy Wonka, too. I have way too many books I need to read to my kids. Finish reading #5 to them before the big deadline this weekend (only 1/3 left to go), then read #6, and I'd like to read Charlie to them before checking out Johnny Depp. Then after I visit the Keep with Kacy (still waiting to find out when!) I might have a comic book to read, too. Count on no housework happening around here for a while!
Lorien, we went and saw "Batman Begins" while we were "away" this weekend. I have to agree with you: the movie totally ROCKS! I loved it! Very cool. We also saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but I didn't like that one nearly as much as I did Batman. It was nice to have them focusing on a plot rather than on Batman getting a little action in.
Post a Comment