karaokefanboy
06-08-2005, 09:45 AM
I had the privilege of seeing a sneak preview of "Batman Begins" last night. Wow.
You know, thanks to "Daredevil," "Sin City," and the Spider-man franchise, I now expect a certain visual continuity between these "comic book movies" and the work that inspired them. "Batman Begins" offers little in the panel-to-screen department, but the film finally captures an otherwise elusive concept that the other Bat-flicks failed to fully realize -- the multi-dimentional dynamics of Batman's character.
I don't want to spoil anything for you guys, but I will suggest that you enjoyed the Animated Series' take on Bruce Wayne's playboy image, you'll love a scene or two in "Begins." Bale's Bruce Wayne is one part James Bond (with Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox a richly versatile Q), one part Paris Hilton, one part Bruce Lee. His relationship with Alfred and Lt. Gordon is PERFECT, and it's obvious without exploitation that these men are Bruce's surrogate fathers in his war on crime. He respects them. This is the Batman we miss from the comics -- the guy that actually VALUES family.
Speaking of supporting cast, man, they're there: Ra's (you won't believe it), Ducard, Scarecrow, Falcone, Flass, Commisioner Loeb, even Zsasz (complete with scars if you look hard enough). I was initially skeptical about the choice of villains here; Scarecrow was definitely not the first "supervillain" Batman faced in his early career, and I didn't want newbies to elevate Dr. Crane past Joker and Two-Face in status. However, he is under-played enough to secure his B-list status -- Ra's steals the show with his "thinning the herd" philosophy we know and love him for. And I get it: if Bruce really trained with the best in his formative years, why wouldn't he have encountered the League of Assassins (or Shadows, in the film). It works, I'm telling you.
The final few moments in the film are the most rewarding. I was white-knuckled for a minute. Thanks, Goyer.
If you guys have any questions about the film, I'd be happy to answer them. I'm biting my tongue until someone else sees this movie. Overall, although I would've appreciated more quotes or scenes pulled right out of the comics, "Batman Begins" delivered everything ELSE I expected, and a bit more.
Russ
www.geocities.com/geeklyweekly
You know, thanks to "Daredevil," "Sin City," and the Spider-man franchise, I now expect a certain visual continuity between these "comic book movies" and the work that inspired them. "Batman Begins" offers little in the panel-to-screen department, but the film finally captures an otherwise elusive concept that the other Bat-flicks failed to fully realize -- the multi-dimentional dynamics of Batman's character.
I don't want to spoil anything for you guys, but I will suggest that you enjoyed the Animated Series' take on Bruce Wayne's playboy image, you'll love a scene or two in "Begins." Bale's Bruce Wayne is one part James Bond (with Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox a richly versatile Q), one part Paris Hilton, one part Bruce Lee. His relationship with Alfred and Lt. Gordon is PERFECT, and it's obvious without exploitation that these men are Bruce's surrogate fathers in his war on crime. He respects them. This is the Batman we miss from the comics -- the guy that actually VALUES family.
Speaking of supporting cast, man, they're there: Ra's (you won't believe it), Ducard, Scarecrow, Falcone, Flass, Commisioner Loeb, even Zsasz (complete with scars if you look hard enough). I was initially skeptical about the choice of villains here; Scarecrow was definitely not the first "supervillain" Batman faced in his early career, and I didn't want newbies to elevate Dr. Crane past Joker and Two-Face in status. However, he is under-played enough to secure his B-list status -- Ra's steals the show with his "thinning the herd" philosophy we know and love him for. And I get it: if Bruce really trained with the best in his formative years, why wouldn't he have encountered the League of Assassins (or Shadows, in the film). It works, I'm telling you.
The final few moments in the film are the most rewarding. I was white-knuckled for a minute. Thanks, Goyer.
If you guys have any questions about the film, I'd be happy to answer them. I'm biting my tongue until someone else sees this movie. Overall, although I would've appreciated more quotes or scenes pulled right out of the comics, "Batman Begins" delivered everything ELSE I expected, and a bit more.
Russ
www.geocities.com/geeklyweekly