OT: Batman Begins (spoilers)

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:09 pm

Well, just got back from seeing this flick at the Navy Pier IMAX here in Chicago. First off, let me say that I'm a huge Batman fan so my opinion may be a bit skewed. That aside, this is the best comic book inspired movie I've seen, and is great movie in general. The movie is as realistic and plausible as a superhero movie can possibly be.

I just wanted to start a thread for discussion of this movie.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 10:16 pm

I am going to try to see it this weekend but dont know if I can find the time. Half of me wants to see it and the other half wants to wait when it comes out on dvd.

hrudey32 · Post by **hrudey32** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:12 pm

i saw the midnight sneak preview last night and all i have to say is that this film is amazing. dark, serious, scary and simply brilliant. i'm a huge Batman fan but i think this is a film people will love whether they like the character or not. great script, incredible casting and acting. light years beyond any of the previous films. they don't even belong in the same category as Begins. though i sorta enjoyed the Burton/Keaton ones really the only old one to come close was the animated Mask of the Phantasm.......but Batman Begins is nearly perfect....and this is coming from a true diehard Bat-fanatic!!

Begins is the definitive Batman movie...Bale and Caine are brilliant!

i'm a happy Bat-fan!! finally!!

ubrakto · Post by **ubrakto** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 12:13 am

Our company is having an employee "appreciation day" tomorrow and giving us a half day. Instead of going home to spell the wife from our 2-month old I'm going to see this flick. I figure she owes me one as it's my birthday this weekend. If it's half as good as Mask of the Phantasm I'll be a happy geek indeed.

---Todd

brendanrfoley · Post by **brendanrfoley** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:30 am

Mask of the Phantasm was my favorite bat-flick unil this gem. Begins is brilliant.

Hrudey, out of curiosity, have you been picking up Batman: TAS box sets? I don't have Volume 3 yet, but volumes 1 and 2 have been awesome. That animated show was way ahead of it's time.

"Day of the Samurai" (on Volume 2) may be the best 1/2 hour animated episode I've ever seen, of any series. It may be a cartoon, but that series was great television no matter the age of whomever was watching.

It's late and I'm rambling, but I'm glad Batman is back.

hrudey32 · Post by **hrudey32** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:12 pm

here's an excellent review from a bud of mine over at Jett's Batman -on-film site. BOF is an incredible site. i've followed the developement of Begins for over 2 years thru www.batman-on-film.com

anyway......Jett knows the deal and i really agree with almost everything he says in this review of Batman Begins.

http://www.batman-on-film.com/opinion_j ... egins.html

www.burning-village.com

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:38 pm

Eesh...good casting? Joey Potter in an action flick does not equal good casting.

Regardless, I plan on seeing it in the next few weeks. I've always had a thing for batman, but not anywhere near your guys' obsession.

icvu42 · Post by **icvu42** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 7:55 pm

hrudey32 wrote:here's an excellent review from a bud of mine over at Jett's Batman -on-film site. BOF is an incredible site. i've followed the developement of Begins for over 2 years thru www.batman-on-film.com

anyway......Jett knows the deal and i really agree with almost everything he says in this review of Batman Begins.

http://www.batman-on-film.com/opinion_j ... egins.html

www.burning-village.com

I checked out that site...pretty cool. I have a question though. I saw a link to order the 1960's television show on dvd. Is this legit? I thought there was some dispute between WB and FOX which prevented them from putting the show out on DVD. For $70 I would definitely buy it.

Rick

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:40 pm

This movie kicked my ass six ways to Sunday, though if I had one gripe it would be how tightly the fight scenes are shot... hard to tell what's going on.

Attempting to ground the character in plausibility seemed to work wonders, and Bale was great in and out of the costume.

ubrakto · Post by **ubrakto** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:42 pm

Note: Minor Spoilers Follow

Okay, well I enjoyed the hell out of this flick. It's far from flawless, but it definitely set the standard for Batman movies. I thought the bulid-up of Bruce Wayne's character was note-perfect, but that it got a little over the top once the action in Gotham really kicked in (the Tumbler rooftop chase; the water main of doom centralizing in Wayne Tower, that sort of thing). Not enough to derail the movie by any means, but I think you had to up your suspension of disbelief another notch to let some of it by.

I do think it's near-perfect casting. No, Katie Holmes doesn't really fit, but it's not like she mailed in her performance. Everyone else just owns their roles. One bit of relief: I thought Holmes was going to be just another Vickie Vale love interest, which I would not have liked at all. Instead -for Bruce Wayne- she sort of represents the path not taken and I'm fine with that and the fact that Wayne reveals to her that he's Batman.

Finally, I absolutely loved the end of this flick. Gary Oldman is James Gordon and their rooftop interplay at the end is terrific. His whole thing about "escalation" and the reveal of -presumably- the next villain via his calling card was -while not unexpected- a great moment.

I've always gotta see a flick a couple of time before I really settle in to what I think of it, but I'll probably have to wait for DVD before getting a second taste. First impression gets high marks though.
---Todd

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 11:15 pm

Slumberland wrote:This movie kicked my ass six ways to Sunday, though if I had one gripe it would be how tightly the fight scenes are shot... hard to tell what's going on.

Attempting to ground the character in plausibility seemed to work wonders, and Bale was great in and out of the costume.

I felt the same way. It was just a blur of bodies a lot of the time. Other than that it was great.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 12:52 am

ubrakto wrote:Note: Minor Spoilers Follow

Okay, well I enjoyed the hell out of this flick. It's far from flawless, but it definitely set the standard for Batman movies. I thought the bulid-up of Bruce Wayne's character was note-perfect, but that it got a little over the top once the action in Gotham really kicked in (the Tumbler rooftop chase; the water main of doom centralizing in Wayne Tower, that sort of thing). Not enough to derail the movie by any means, but I think you had to up your suspension of disbelief another notch to let some of it by.

I do think it's near-perfect casting. No, Katie Holmes doesn't really fit, but it's not like she mailed in her performance. Everyone else just owns their roles. One bit of relief: I thought Holmes was going to be just another Vickie Vale love interest, which I would not have liked at all. Instead -for Bruce Wayne- she sort of represents the path not taken and I'm fine with that and the fact that Wayne reveals to her that he's Batman.

Finally, I absolutely loved the end of this flick. Gary Oldman is James Gordon and their rooftop interplay at the end is terrific. His whole thing about "escalation" and the reveal of -presumably- the next villain via his calling card was -while not unexpected- a great moment.

I've always gotta see a flick a couple of time before I really settle in to what I think of it, but I'll probably have to wait for DVD before getting a second taste. First impression gets high marks though.
---Todd

I agree with everything you wrote. I love this movie. It is awesome. Best movie adaptation of a comic book hero so far. Yes, it is better than Spiderman 1 & 2, and X-men. I like it that much.

I love how they put so much little things in there, and they mattered! Like explaining (most) of the gadgets, how Batman got trained, and how Bale speaks DIFFERENTLY when he is Batman Vs. plain old Bruce. That's a nice touch. Batmobile is better than I thought, and I love the dark nature of the film and how FEAR is such a big factor surrounding Batman.

Awesome. I can't recommend it enough, it is so much more enjoyable (and rewatchable) than virtually every other comic book movie out there. That Fantastic Four trailer just look SILLY in comparsion.

Cincinnati_Kid · Post by **Cincinnati_Kid** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:56 am

just got back from it TREMENDOUS

of course i grew up a HUGE Bat fan as well

but this movie truley reverberated what the character was truey meant to be

and even if your not a fan of comics ,superheroes or what ya have it

for its Genre its simply a Great Movie Period

nothing else out right now this side of CRASH in my opinion comes close for the price of a few tickets and a bucket of popcorn

2 Gamer Thumbs UP

katie holmes definatley the weakest casting decision and todd/ubrakto hit on exactley a few feelings i had as well

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 11:53 pm

I'm not even a Batman fan, and I absolutely loved the movie. I went to the movie with a guy I work with, the same guy I went to see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith with. My first comment to him upon leaving the theater was "I can't believe we thought the last Star Wars kicked ass after seeing this". I'm absolutely floored by how good the movie was. It didn't even seem like a superhero movie to me, it was just an awesome movie. For the record, I hated both Spiderman movies, and disliked every Batman movie except for the first one. Except for Katie Holmes, the casting was excellent. I just couldn't buy her as being the idealistic fight for justice type of prosecutor. Christian Bale was an awesome Batman though, definitely the best of the series. I'll definitely be seeing this movie again before it leaves the theater.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 1:28 am

Just back from seeing it for the first time. Wow. That's all I can say.

It's not a superhero movie. It's a hero movie. Everything is grounded in reality, which I think is when Batman is at his best. They touched on all the important themes as many other posters have said.......

Never have I left a movie with the feeling that I wished the sequel would be coming out tomorrow. Never! Not for any of the Star Wars, not even LOTR (which ranks up there as one of the best series of movies of all time IMO).

Even though I have read Batman in the past, and specifiacally Batman:Year One which the movie has taken a lot of elements from, I was entertained from the get go and never felt bored, as in "ya ya, I know what happens, move on".

I cannot WAIT to see what they do with the Joker......

I was supposed to spend a quiet night with the girlfriend tonight, but ended up going with my buddy to the movie. I think I now have an answer to her question "is Batman better then sex?".

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 1:44 am

Saw it tonight and I really enjoyed it. I agree about the tightness of some of the fight scenes but other than that it's a really well done movie. Christian Bale is easily the best Batman yet and I can't wait to see where they take this with future movies.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 2:26 am

Sounds like good reviews overall, gotta see it.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 11:41 am

Unreal...I absolutely loved it! Enough said.

Jayhawker · Post by **Jayhawker** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:13 am

My wife and I saw it tonight, and were just blown away by what a unique feel Christopher Nolan gave this version of Batman on film. We ended up stopping by Barnes and Noble afterwards and picked up The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. I was never much of a comic book or graphic novel fan, but we both were really eager to get more of that feel of the movie.

As far as comic book movies go, though, this one really provoked some of the same feelings as Unbreakable, in the way the story explained the psychology of the hero and villain. I haven't seen Unbreakable in some time, but I bet a comparison of the themes from it and Batman Begins could be pretty interesting.

Despite some of the comments to the contrary, I really enjoyed the fight scenes as they were. I felt like Nolan was trying to get across the idea of the invisible enemy, but was still able to keep the adrenaline cranked up. The car chase scene was pretty weak, though.

I was very happy with the casting, so I am wondering who you guys think might make a good Joker in the next movie. Nicholson was actually damn good in Burton's, and he could probably pull it off again, but played much darker in Nolan "universe". But that's not who I see. I'm thinking more in the way of Benicio Del Toro for a more serious Joker or Jack Black could really just kill the role.

I really can't wait for the next one.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:20 am

I think Jim Carrey would be a great JOKER.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:28 am

Jayhawker wrote:I was very happy with the casting, so I am wondering who you guys think might make a good Joker in the next movie.

Crispin Glover.

Jayhawker · Post by **Jayhawker** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:30 am

Slumberland wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:I was very happy with the casting, so I am wondering who you guys think might make a good Joker in the next movie.
Crispin Glover.

Good choice, but I think he may be a better Riddler. He definitely fits the mold.

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 10:03 am

Slumberland wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:I was very happy with the casting, so I am wondering who you guys think might make a good Joker in the next movie.
Crispin Glover.

I totally agree w/Glover, but supposedly WB may give Mark Hamill a shot at it as he does such a great job on the animated series.. I've also heard they want a big name such as Johnny Depp (could be good) or Jude Law.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 10:56 am

Question:

My 5 year old boy is a big Batman fan, and wants me to take him to 'Begins'. I took him to Ep III, and he really liked it, nothing seemed to scare or trouble him about it. What about Batman? If he did well with Ep III, is there any reason to worry about Batman?

Thanks for your insights...

TheGamer · Post by **TheGamer** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:04 am

tealboy03 wrote:Question:

My 5 year old boy is a big Batman fan, and wants me to take him to 'Begins'. I took him to Ep III, and he really liked it, nothing seemed to scare or trouble him about it. What about Batman? If he did well with Ep III, is there any reason to worry about Batman?

Thanks for your insights...

How's his attention span?? There's a lot of character development, ie: a lot of time going by w/o any action... as far as "scariness" goes, he may have a problem with the surprise of all the bats.. there are some scary images when some characters are hit with the Scarecrows fear toxin.