Batman Begins: The Thread

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40625000/jpg/_40625560_batman_kilmer203.jpg

Ten years is a long time for expiation.

That's what I want to do too, see it again at the IMAX.

I don't know if it is time yet to suggest my alternate casting choice for the scarecrow.

I thought it was a pretty decent time at the movies, but the humorlessness is really a little much. The lead actor, Christian Bale, spends two hours scowling, pouting, punching and suffering. Co-writer/director Christopher Nolan is so determined to make him a tragic hero that he forgets many tragic heroes (like, say, Hamlet, to whom this Batman is a cousin) get to throw off a few one liners here and there. When the movie's two elder statesmen, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, actually get to crack a few smiles and throw off a few quips, it's like a sip of fresh water after a thousand miles crawling in the desert. On the up side: A terrific and spooky villain played by Cillian Murphy, a dynamic and mysterious mentor performance by Liam Neeson, and real visual grandeur.

Actually what's going to be interesting to me is how Burton's execution of action scenes matches against Nolan's, in that I don't think Burton could do much with those (or maybe more accurately his editors couldn't, I'm not sure) and it sounds like Nolan falls down a bit on that front. Oh well, roll on tonight!

i'm still a defender of burton batman, though. visually it kicks so much ass that i will always luv it! and i like keaton!

Oh, I thought he was good too. The only thing is, he was cute enough that part of me kept kept rooting for him to get away with it. They needed someone slightly creepier looking.

partly wanting the him to get away with it is what makes a good villain. that was why Gladiator sucked, the dude was just a whiny little bitch

i've been folllowing c. murphy since he was nothing. i really hope he doesn't suck in this

Oops, sorry Nicole!

that must be an homage to Kim Basinger's nipple pokies in Burton's Batman, which were quite loudly pointed out to me (though I was quite aware of them, having just turned 12 in June, 1989) by my uncle.

i like burton's batman movies ok, though burton has made a bunch of better movies, to be sure.

bale shirtless. rowr.

michael caine. the only actor in the movie who rose above the plot-point dialogue. mentally cheered whenever he was on-screen.

cinematography. beautiful in places. the drop-off scene in the warehouse where the thugs are all like "oh no, someone's in here" and they're walking around slowly and shooting into random corners -- there's this one bit where the camera catches a whiff of smoke coming up from the guy's semi-automatic, and i was like "woah."

one small bit near the end where gordon's driving the Mach 3 Turbo-mobile -- he runs over some cars and there's this great reaction shot of him wincing and whispering "sorry," which is awesome because these types of scenes always cut to the hero looking stoic or whatever, but that line just made Oldman's character and the whole situation about 1,000 times more human, at least for a minute or so.

nay:

neeson and ninjas and the whole league of shadows thing. i don't know, it just seemed impossible to treat seriously in any way. neeson's much too human-sized to fit the cartoon of an immortal freemason-type committing genocide every hundred years or so. he's a great actor (see: kinsey), not a great piece of contrived plot machinery.

katie holmes. see david edelstein's review for a totally OTM take on her.

Overarching Themes: vigilante justice vs. due process. does this seem like a relic to anyone else? like a strange meme that defined a couple of U.S.-centric decades last century and allowed so much shit to go down? i.e., the macho stories we tell about ourselves to allow us to have our 'justice' cake and eat our 'benevolent' image too. very war-in-iraq, fox-news-esque. this was really repellant to me in the movie. seems so stupid and beside the point. do i need to loosen up here? probably.

the action scenes. just totally uninspired, incoherent, way too much close-up.

overall, a big disappointment, mainly because i had high hopes. memento and insomnia were incredible, but this felt like it was made by committee = what the hell happened nolan? i mean, it's probably not near as bad as half the movies coming out this summer, but don't expect something inspiring. spend your $10 on a cd or something, save this one for netflix or any situation where you can watch a movie for cheap, at home, with booze and friends and such.

I suppose it did but -- not that this is required, obviously -- at the same time it wasn't per se unique. (See the Pinter-scripted Betrayal from the early eighties as one example; doubtless others exist.) I suppose the other tag was meant to be the identity of the killer, which alas I guessed five seconds after I first read something about the film years back, so that reduced it back to the conceit. In some respects I'm actually really looking forward to this film precisely because it might be the first Nolan film I full on enjoy.

The rooftop chase is 'third person', and hence almost lyrical--if your lyrics were emoted while on speed.

Regarding Holmes--good agent.

neeson and ninjas and the whole league of shadows thing. i don't know, it just seemed impossible to treat seriously in any way. neeson's much too human-sized to fit the cartoon of an immortal freemason-type committing genocide every hundred years or so.

oh come on! you cant go wrong with ninjas.

I enjoyed it. Thought it looked GREAT and hurrah! for subtle CGI whenever it was used. Could've done without the requisite loud car chase smasheroo and the stupid oneliners (plus, the "I'm Batman" line is old and tired by now. Guess I don't like my Batman jokey). Ending wasn't as suspenseful as I think they planned it to be - just loud and choppy. But I loved Scarecrow -- scariest villain in a movie in a loooong time (bats coming out his mouth?!? Whoah.) --- and overall thought the thing was just really well put together.

P>S> Why does Katie Holmes' face look like it's melting at the sides?