Rate Batman Begins

[Desdichado]

It's the not the movie I would have written, therefore it must suck.

You were right -- that was pretty incoherent.

I thought it one of the better movies I've seen this year. If only they'd have actually filmed some fight scenes, instead of just pretending to, I'd have given it the higher nine, or even a ten (instead of the nine that's really eight.) I do think it's kinda insulting to do that type of filmwork, though. You can be nasty, brutish and short and still actually show the audience what's happening. If not, you need better fight choreographers. And if your actors can't do it, have you ever heard of stuntmen?

 

[Hijinks]

I've adored Christian Bale for years, ever since he played an adorable newspaper boy in Disney's "Newsies." He's a very underrated actor. He's got a heckuva lotta talent.

I think he's the only actor who's played Batman who has actually read the comics and graphic novels. Heard a sound byte on the Bob & Tom show this morning where he was talking about how he was trying to portray some elements of the graphic novels in his performance.

 

[The Serge]

Has anyone witnessed a better ending in a comic book film adaptation? I mean, that last scene between The Batman and Gordon on the roof top... The discussion of escalation (with excellent real world references)... The disappearance of The Scarecrow and the proliferation of the inmates... And the card scene!!!!! I got chills when I saw that. And they dragged it out so long, too! The closest I've ever to having that level of anticipation for a hoped for sequel (preferrably with the same talent all the way around) was at the end of X2.

Did anyone feel the same way?

Also, did you all notice that all of the elements from the comics were there, even if they were slightly adjusted for the film? Ra's Al Ghul's motivations were virtually identical... He viewed himself as honorable, as righteous, and that he needed an heir. Gordon was a normal, incredibly good man in a tough predicament who's made stronger by the presence of another man not bound by the same limitations. Dr. Crane was perfect in this, hands down. His whole clinical nature and the manner in which he responded to everything (he's only ever scared once and that's during his second meeting with The Batman). The only thing missing was The Batman's detective skills to significant degree. Here's to hoping that we'll see more of this in the sequel (please, Chris Nolan and Christian Bale, come back!!!!).

 

[David Howery]

hmm... Christian Bale was also the hero in "Reign of Fire"... but I notice nobody is claiming that is one of their favorite Bale movies...

 

[Dark Jezter]

Perhaps the greatest culprit in degenerating the quality of comics as a genre occured in the late 1960s with Batman. This show single-handedly shattered any concept of involved, sophisticated storytelling for years and solidified in many people's minds the idea that comics were not to be taken seriously, were not to draw on real world inspirations, were not for anything but the most myopic of children.

I think you kind of missed the point of the 1960s Batman TV series: it wasn't supposed to make people start taking comic books seriously as an art form. The show was a parody of the comic books, and a pretty brilliant one at that. The show had lots of action to appeal for kids, and some surprisingly clever humor that adults would get. Oh, and who could forget Burgess Meredith's great portrayal of the Penguin? Personally, I thought that the 1960s Batman TV series was great.

Back to the topic, though: I gave Batman Begins a 9 out of 10. It was great in almost every respect, but I didn't really like Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Plus, his "raspy bat-voice" when he was in-costume struck me as more silly than intimidating. I also didn't like the "extreme close-up shaky cam" that nearly every movie fight scene seems to use nowadays (hell, even Lord of the Rings used that technique in some scenes, why do so many filmmakers use it?).

 

[ForceUser]

This is, without a doubt, the best Batman movie ever made, and possibly the best super hero movie ever made. Very well done!

 

[ShinHakkaider]

I gave it 4.

I thought that the character bits were decent, but the action was as weak as hell. Poorly shot, choppy and incoherent. Yes I understand the effect the Nolan was going for, I'm just saying that it didnt work for me. If I'm watching action on the screen I'd actually like to see the action. The glimpses of batman worked for the scene at the docks, but even the fights with @ the LOS HQ were done pretty poorly.

Keep Nolan for the character bits, but get a decent action director or capable 2nd unit guy to frame and shoot the fight scenes. A big part of Big summer action movies for me are the fight scenes and this one failed miserably.

On a positive note, my favorite line in the movie:

Flass : "Swear to God!!!"
Batman : "Swear to ME!!!"

 

[stevelabny]

I gave it 4.

Thank you. I thought I was all alone in this world.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I gave it an eight, though it's really more of a 7.5... I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and was in a good mood after seeing Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a much lighter movie to get me in the mood.

One point off for Katie Holmes, who I honestly thought was terrible. If one thing hurt the movie for me, it was her. She's a small screen girl, and she needs to stay there.

One point off for terrible fight scenes, especially considering how choppy they were. Say what you will about the crappiness of Matrix: Reloaded, it set the bar IMO for action scenes (even the CGI Smith scene), and this movie was a fart in the wind compared to it. Really should have taken two points off, but again, in a good mood.

Half a point off for everyone looking so young. Okay, not Alfred, Gordon, or Lucius, all of whom are supposed to be old. Bale did not look thirty (though in actuality he's 31), Holmes looked like she was maybe twenty-five. Murphy looked twenty-one. I had real trouble believing these were adults in the film. Maybe I'm just resisting the fact that I'm twenty-five and becoming an adult myself, who knows?

 

[Klaus]

hmm... Christian Bale was also the hero in "Reign of Fire"... but I notice nobody is claiming that is one of their favorite Bale movies...

::looks around and timidly raises hand::

Hey, it's got Bale, dragons, Matthew McConahue (sp) playing a dwarf barbarian... That's a d20 Modern/Apocalypse setting on its own! And the Star Wars reenaction was priceless! (got meself the DVD)

And I'll add another favorite Bale movie: Shaft! "YOU WANT MY SHOE???"