*** Official BATMAN BEGINS Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Michael Martin]

Saw it last night.

I'd rate it an A-, 9 on a 10 scale.

Posts above have eloquently and accurately asserted what the film does right. We finally have a film about Batman, and it turns out he's a pretty damn fascinating character. Nolan and company should get accolades for the accomplishment.

Unlike previous directors, Nolan GETS Batman: the fear of theme which drives the movie is a huge motivator for Batman and his enemies. Nolan also understands Batman's rage and ferocity. Whether it's directed at corrupt cops or villains of a darker strain, Batman is pissed off and wants to deal out justice to those the law can't or won't touch.

I would have to say the weakest characters are Rachel Dawes and - surprisingly - Jim Gordon. The Dawes character by all rights should have been Harvey Dent, but I understand the need (at least from the demographic standpoint) of having a love interest. The portrayal of Gordon was easily the best of any of the movies, but he seemed a bit weak and underdeveloped. Hopefully, Nolan was simply planting seeds and has a long term vision for the character.

And I am forced to agree about the lousy editing of the fight scenes, especially the climactic one. The editing succeeding in convincing me it was brutal, no holds-barred fighting - something we never got in the other films - and that Batman was indeed the baddest mutha in Gotham, but I wanted to SEE what was happening.

Back to the good - Bale OWNS this role. Physically, emotionally, every which way: this guy IS Batman/Bruce Wayne. The relationship with Alfred is also very well done; Michael Caine nearly disappears into the role, and we see the strong bond between Bruce and Alfred.

I loved the Batsuit, and was very glad we didn't get a guy in grey tights.

Liam Neeson was also fantastic; you think he's doing a variation on Qui-Gon at first, but there's more to his character than that.

I can't wait for the next film!

 

[JonZ]

"but every action scene turned out like that including the Tumbler chase"

I LOVED the Tumbler chase scene

:star: :star: :star:1/2 out of 4 :star:s

 

[Shawn_KE]

Movie kicked some ass. The whole movie was great and the acting was top notch. Batman was actually scary in this one.

"SWEAR TO ME!!!"

My only nitpick was the close action shots. Main rule of comic books, you don't crop action scenes.

I give it 5 Bats.

 

[MickeS]

I had read good reviews of it before I went, so I was expecting a good movie. But I didn't expect it to be this good.

I'm not a huge Batman fan, but I know my way around the basic mythology, and the filmmakers, with director Christopher Nolan at the helm, nailed the familiar parts of it, and invented some new parts (at least I hadn't seen Lucius Fox and the explanations for Batman's gadgets before).

The focus of the movie is on Bruce Wayne coming to grips with his parents death, and how he tries to channel the anger and hatred he feels for criminals into something he can use for the greater good. While this could have been rather heavy (and is, at least in the beginning), it is matched by intense action and fight sequences sprinkled throughout, as well as with welcome comic relief from Michael Caine as Bruce's butler Alfred.

The movie flies by, and never gets bogged down in too intense storytelling, and at the same time creates something resembling reality to ground the basic story in (similar to how Sam Raimi pulled that off with Spider-Man even though the Green Goblin is way over the top and much more of a "super villain" than the enemies of Batman in this movie are).

The bad part is that Katie Holmes' character feels a bit superfluous, and seems to only be put in to have a female in the movie. Maybe we won't have to see her in future movies if Batgirl comes along...

Otherwise, the movie is uniformly good. All the actors are great, and the villains (Scarecrow and Ras al Gul being the main ones) are given a reasonable amount of screentime, but never allowed to overshadow Batman, like they did in the previous Batman movies. The sets are wonderful, spectacular without being extravagant, and the cinematography helps the story to keep the movie grounded in "reality".

I'm looking forward to "Fantastic Four", but that one seems to be much more cartoony than this thoroughly entertaining re-booting of the Batman franchise. I would be extremely surprised if there will be a better action movie released this year.

 

[Paul Case]

I have to say that I am shocked. This is easily my favorite movie of the year thus far, and I say that as a die-hard Star Wars fan. I loved Episode III, but this movie blew me away . I was literally getting chills and tears in my eyes throughout this extraordinary film. The acting was superb. The writing was great. The direction was dead perfect (and I even think the fight scenes were perfect for the film). In short, this is the rare film that is firing on all cylinders. It is the best superhero film ever made, by a wide margin, and I think it is one of the best movies I have seen in years. I will see this many more times before it leaves theaters. I heartily recommend that you do the same.

:star: :star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Sean Moon]

Right now, I am grateful. Grateful that DC and Warner Bros. finally pulled off THE ultimate Batman movie. Ever since the announcement of the director, each new announcement made my anticipation grow and the liklihood of asskickery higher. The film delivered on every level for me.

I am keeping my review short because well, I dont know what to say really. It just left me dumbstruck.

Is it the greatest super hero movie ever made? I dont know. I still prefer Spidey and especially Spidey 2. Superman and Superman 2, cheese aside, are in their own special category. But this film, it has raised the stakes for Marvel films and comic films in general. If Xmen kicked off a revolution in super hero movies for the new millenium and Spider Man 2 raised it, I think Batman Begins takes it up just a bit more.

Thank you all involved. And now my gratitude turns to fear, as I now fear that they will mess up the second one. Please treat this like Sony has treated Spidey and Sam Raimi. Give Nolan and CO. all the time and money they need to deliver again. PLEASE!

Also, bring on Mark Hammill as Joker. PLEASE GOD let that happen.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Batman Begins
10 of 10 (no spoilers or plot discussion)

This is a homerun. Not because its a great comic book film, though at times it is, but because it is an outstanding drama/action film about character motivations, interactions and emotions. Several times the film had me tearing up with the power of the moment, including when Wayne's parents are killed. And that is noteworthy as this is typically a story-point which is presented as "it goes without saying that he's now motivated" without actually trying to have the audience directly identify with the character at that moment.

That sets this film apart and is just one of many ways in which it commits more to being an emotional drama than to being a comic adventure. Nolan has also placed almost everything into a near-reality with only the slightest nods to fantastical extensions. Perhaps the city is just a bit too big, a few characters a bit too extreme to be reality, but it could almost be a biographical story of a man turned vigilante. It's that close in tone and emotion.

The arc of Wayne's character is excellent and well-defined (think Ben-Hur's rise and fall and rise) and most of the supporting roles are full and richly textured. These are not just flat caricatures for the hero to play off of, they have their own reasons to exist and act and often they drive Wayne's character as much as he does (especially Caine's Alfred).

I can't say enough about the level of acting talent throughout the film. Bale of course was dead-on, but if you saw American Psycho you probably expected this. Caine as I mentioned was outstanding as well. But nearly every other supporting player was too. Wilkinson, Oldman, Freeman, Hauer, Wanatabe, Neeson...how could you go wrong really? I even thought Katie Holmes was very good in her role and was part of one of the more powerful emotional scenes early in the film after learning of a poor choice by Wayne. I sincerely expect Caine to get Supporting Oscar talk for this effort by the way.

One other aspect that I was impressed with was the "Batman action". Often you almost don't see it coming. There are quick strikes out of the dark with a strong feeling of impact that hasn't even existed in many other comic films. A thug looks into a mirror and before you know it his head has been smashed into it and he is out cold, then with a quick cut its over before it began. That is Batman of the shadows, Batman working off of fear. In this film you understand why he is feared.

Fear is the word I will end this on because it is a primary theme to the film. Not only must Bruce overcome his own, not only will he use it against criminals, but it plays a major part in the villains' various plots. The Scarecrow's toxic attacks are especially impressive and very much in keeping with Nolan's previous efforts dealing with mental strain. The fact that Nolan latched onto this thematic point and integrated it within the film so well is just another way in which this film is more like a serious drama than like a comic book popcorn ride.

 

[BennyD]

:star::star::star::star: / :star::star::star::star:

Wow...

Saw this last night and what a great revitalization of the franchise. I still remember being about eight and going to see Burton's Batman. It was one of the unique times where the movies truly felt like a magical experience. It even had my mother, no big fan of action or comic movies mind you, quoting lines for weeks ("Where does he get those wonderful toys?").

Last night I had that same feeling though on a different level. Burton's Batman and the sequals for that matter (I don't technically acknowledge the existance of Batman & Robin) are the perfect Batman movies for children. They provide them with a magical world full of neon colors and even more colorful villians. This Batman is the perfect Batman movie for adults. Smart, well-cast, even better directed and grounded in reality. I loved it. My girlfriend loved it. It had the audience in an uproar of applause when the film ended. But most importantly we're chomping at the bit for the sequal, which rarely happens.

On additional point, while I like the Spider-man movies I don't feel like they're the masterpieces that some people have made them out to be. The main reason for this is that in both movies there are sections that seem to have awkward pauses in the flow of the movie. Nolan's Batman flowed perfectly. There were no unnecessary pauses in the flow of the movie and thus the 2.5 hour viewing seemed like maybe half that time.

 

[NickSo]

This film had it all; action, drama, comedy, storyline, acting...

action: its a superhero movie, its a given there's action. but the director did it just so damn well, how how you never really see the full fight, rather as dave has said, only quick flashes and blurs, which is what the villians experience/see. batman disappears into the shadows.

drama: the moments between him and alfred, you feel the connection. the emotions you see him go through you can feel

comedy: great one liners, doesnt make the film TOO dark.

storyline: AMAZING. oh. my. god. everything just tied together sooooooo damn well... i loved it..

acting: Bale is THE MAN... you can feel his rage/vengance in some scenes like in the parole hearing
. his menace as batman is just amazing. though he's the good guy, he scares you sometimes "SWEAR TO ME!!!!!!", god that line was soooooo awesome
,

9.5/10...

i went in VERY hyped after reading here... i was NOT disappointed...

 

[David Ely]

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

:star: :star: :star: :star: :star: /:star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

I had EXTREMELY high expectations for this film and it met them with high style.

Over the past couple of years, there have been extremely few action films which I found enjoyable. Not only is Batman Begins a terrific action film, but I feel it's the best superhero film ever made.

From the opening shots you know this isn't the same Batman for the previous movies. A terrific mood is captured and the back story is presented to finally make Bruce Wayne a living, breathing person. I completely understood who he was and why he became Batman. This was always a sour spot for me as the choice to become Batman always seemed silly.

The acting was top notch across the board. Major thumbs up to Christian Bale who really put everything he has to offer in to the role. Michael Caine was fantastic as Alfred, truely pushing the movie to new hights.

I'm sitting here nearly 3 hours since the movie ended and I'm still in complete and utter awe. I'm certain I'll be catching it once more in the theater, which is something I rarely ever do (might have happened less than 6 times over the past 27 years).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mike.P]

Well, that was just visceral.

I'll keep this brief - Positives include the overall visual direction, the characters (especially Cillian Murphy, I really wish the Scarecrow character were more of a major contributor), the detailed care given to the back story - it really gave the film a human side, emotion (something another large action film this summer severely lacked).

Negatives - Bale AS Batman could use a bit of a less strange sounding tone of voice - sometimes he came off fine, other times he sounded very uncomfortable speaking his lines. I feel if he would have done more of his soft, spooky whispers, it would have made him an even better character. This is a minor complaint, though, as only a few lines in the film have the over-the-top sound. Another negative is that it is a bit slow to begin with, almost a bit over redundant. I would say maybe 10 minutes across the film needs to be removed in total, but that may be a bit much - again, this is a minor complaint that may be cleared up by repeat viewings.

My last point is that of the complaints from various reviews (here included) about the action sequence editing - I have to disagree, to be honest. I think that the fact that it was often that we didn't see where Batman was punching from or where he was moving to on the screen that added a considerable amount to each scene - it was like you were just as lost as the criminals who were fighting him were.

I'll say it's close to my favorite of the year, and definitely a solid 9/10 - Highly recommended.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

With a strong lead performance by Christian Bale, a supporting cast of veteran actors like Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman and Tom Wilkinson and notables Gary Oldman and Ken Watanabe, along with a steady hand of helmer Christopher Nolan, the pieces are set for a comic book film that would rival and best other Marvel comic book film adaptations in recent years.

In Batman Begins, the focus is on the title character and not on some megalomaniac villain that, more often than not, becomes just another caricature. Here, the pain and misery of Bruce Wayne and Batman’s formative years are properly conveyed for the audience to feel. Director Christopher Nolan stays away from any use of stylized narrative and photography but instead focuses on substance as needed for character and plot development. The editing and action sequences give the film even keel and pace that builds up to a nice crescendo towards the end.

Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard provide the film’s energized musical score without the need to be bombastic. Nolan also gives a dialogue and story that engages. Overall, Batman Begins is more mature, less childish and more assured than other films in the same genre in recent years. It secures its place in my book as the second best comic book adaptation ever behind Superman.

Batman Begins rates :star: :star: :star: :star: (out of four).

~Edwin

 

[Scott Walburn]

I saw this today, and I haven't loved a movie in a while. I liked sin city and Star Wars Rotc quite abit, but they were both just good in my opinion. I think I'm getting old or something. I even found Return of the King a little boring in spots. I was really starting to think I was becoming overly critical. Anyways, this moving was so unbelievable amazing I was blown away. The dialogue was actually good. Batman was dark and full of anger. It was unbelievable. I've always said that Terminator 2 was the theater movie that I judged all other theater movies by. I'm talking about movies that blew my doors off at the theater. This movie may have surpassed T2 on my list that all others will be judged by. I can't even believe I'm saying that. I thought the First Matrix and the First LOTR were close, but I would never put them on par with T2. Partially because I associate that movie with my childhood or something. However, I think Batman surpassed it. Me and my Fiance were both in awe of the movie. It was amazing. I can't believe it is only 82% at rotten tomatoes. It is the movie of the summer as far as I'm concerned.

 

[todd stone]

awesome flick!!!!

The only downfall was the fighting. The camera was shot too close in to the actors and was very choppy.

:star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Tino]

Not as good as you have heard.

But Batman Begins is still good, just not great.

I loved the character developments in the film. They were
all handled realistically and believably.

Christian Bale was excellent as Batman/Bruce Wayne. As were all the other supporting actors, especially Michael Caine and Gary Oldman. Everyone shone in their parts, big and small.

Where the film suffers in my opinion is in the action scenes. I felt as though I were watching two different films.

One was a great character driven drama with great performances and the other was a generic action film with little originality or excitement.

I thought the action scenes were handled very disappointingly with too hectic an editing pace and confusingly filmed. Sometimes it was so dimly shot, I couldn't tell who was fighting who.

The film also suffers from a lack of a real villain. These type of films need a strong villain and BB doesn't have one.

Still I liked the film as the good outweighs the bad. I was just hoping for more from all the awesome talent involved.

:star: :star: :star:

 

[oscar_merkx]

I saw BB last night and was very impressed with everything.

I was very surprised to learn that the music was done partly by Howard Zimmer.

Easily the best performance from Liam Neeson in a long time. It was almost like the part he should have played in ROTS.

Nolan was superb as director and really felt that it is a continuation of his last two films Memento & Insomnia that showed throughout the whole movie.

 

[Dean Martin]

Approximately 15 years ago I saw Batman starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. While I thought both did a great job, this was not the Batman I wanted to see. Leaving the theater I had a vision in my mind of what Batman should have been, the Batman I have always wanted to see, and hoped to see but didn't.

Today I have seen that Batman movie realized. Superhero movie makers all to often think that they have make a superhero movie silly to make it like a comic book but the truth is, to make it like the comic book you have to make a movie from the imagination that you use when reading a comic book.

We don't want a comical movie, we want a movie that tried to make those old pages of comic books come alive. A movie that explores how the story would really look if taken seriously and applied as much realism as the subject matter could naturally have.

What we imagine as kids when reading the comic books was imagine if we were rich and could create those gadgets and if that 'really' happened. Batman begins is that movie.

Maybe we have Spiderman to thank for taking subject matter and really trying to make it serious and take it seriously.
Taking Batman and returning him to being a Dark Knight and an object of fear is exactly right for this character. Batman is cool again.

My only complaint is with some of the action sequences, sometimes they appeared to be filmed too close and it was difficult to enjoy and make out the specific parts of the action.

My final Grade, A.

 

[Brent M]

Well, I have to disagree with Tino because Batman Begins IS every bit as good as you've heard, if not better. It's a slam dunk, home run and game winning touchdown pass all in one! I was absolutely blown away by how great this film was and I think it's now my favorite super-hero movie of all time(even better than the 2 Spider-Man flicks, Superman: The Movie and Batman '89). The acting was fantastic(except for Katie Holmes who I didn't think brought much to her role), the action scenes were very well done and I even liked the Scarecrow as a villain(although not nearly as much as Nicholson's Joker). I think the Batman franchise is now officially "live and well" again with this movie and the ending made it pretty obvious that there will indeed be a sequel. AWESOME!!!

 

[Carlo_M]

I'm going to give this a perfect :star: :star: :star: :star: / :star: :star: :star: :star: .

Now does this mean it's a perfect film, no, there's always something that can be picked on in every film. But for what it is trying to do, which is to start the franchise anew, and put a dark spin on what should be a dark character, while still maintaining the complexity of the Wayne/Batman character...it is perfect.

A thought about the quickly edited/hard to see action scenes (and yes, there were very choppy and hard to see what was going on). I initially had the same misgivings as I was watching it 2 nights ago.

But now, I believe that it was intentional. Batman attacks in the dark, confusing, befuddling and frightening his enemies. No need for a "Matrix" style complex fight scene, we are put in the situation of his victims. They don't know exactly what's happening and neither do we.

We all know in today's Hollywood that if Nolan wanted an explicit, beautifully cut, clean fight scene he could have had it (no one can tell if it's Bale under the suit, any stunt double would do). Just my thoughts.

 

[Gruson]

I thought it was ok...I still prefer Burton and Keaton's Batman by far.

What it really needed was a good score/theme. Elfman's theme music was incredible for Batman and Returns.

This film lacked that and it would have made it a far better movie IMO.

It was good but not great IMO.