Batman Begins
Today I went to the movies for the first time since The Motorcycle Diaries. It takes a lot for me to get motivated enough to see a film. Most of the time I want to see a movie I end up seeing so much hype before it opens that I’m numb to it by the time I can actually go and see it (and the $6.25 price tag for a matinee doesn’t help matters). One movie, however I was simply too excited to see, and no amount of prerelease hype was going to change that, so today I went to see Batman Begins. I’ve always been a big Batman fan and I’m also a huge Christian Bale fan, so being that Batman Begins combines the two I went in expecting greatness. I was not disappointed.
Christian Bale officially owns the role of Batman. His Batman would kick the crap out of all the other Batmans combined. The reason is simple and it’s something the past movies didn’t do correctly, not even the first. Batman Begins sets up the story of Batman correctly by fully creating the character of Bruce Wayne. All the other Batman films have glossed over the fact that Batman is Bruce Wayne, or treated the Wayne character as the alter-ego, but it’s the Wayne character that’s far more compelling than the Batman character. This becomes obvious once one realizes that Batman is a part of Bruce Wayne, not the other way around. Bale pulls off the Bruce Wayne character so well it’s scary. Yes, there’s a large Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) influence, but Wayne was slightly psycho so it works perfectly. All the effort they put into creating the Wayne character makes the scenes where he’s Batman that much stronger.
The enemy this time wasn’t one of Batman’s regular foils, rather Batman Begins focuses much more on psychological devils. There were quite a few scenes that I know the kids behind me in the theater will be having nightmares about (and let me just say those loud little brats deserve it!). The only bad point of the entire film for me was that they decided to cast Katie Holmes as an Assistant District Attorney. She still looks 17, so the role, which if my movie math serves me correctly would have put her in her later 20’s, doesn’t really fit her and should have gone to someone with a more mature look. The casting for all the other roles was perfect, though, especially Alfred.
With Bale as Batman, the strong emphasis on psychology, and the added bonus of Gotham City always being pitch black and blanketed by rain, Batman Begins, much like the original Blade, sets the standard for both the series and the genre.
Christian Bale officially owns the role of Batman. His Batman would kick the crap out of all the other Batmans combined. The reason is simple and it’s something the past movies didn’t do correctly, not even the first. Batman Begins sets up the story of Batman correctly by fully creating the character of Bruce Wayne. All the other Batman films have glossed over the fact that Batman is Bruce Wayne, or treated the Wayne character as the alter-ego, but it’s the Wayne character that’s far more compelling than the Batman character. This becomes obvious once one realizes that Batman is a part of Bruce Wayne, not the other way around. Bale pulls off the Bruce Wayne character so well it’s scary. Yes, there’s a large Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) influence, but Wayne was slightly psycho so it works perfectly. All the effort they put into creating the Wayne character makes the scenes where he’s Batman that much stronger.
The enemy this time wasn’t one of Batman’s regular foils, rather Batman Begins focuses much more on psychological devils. There were quite a few scenes that I know the kids behind me in the theater will be having nightmares about (and let me just say those loud little brats deserve it!). The only bad point of the entire film for me was that they decided to cast Katie Holmes as an Assistant District Attorney. She still looks 17, so the role, which if my movie math serves me correctly would have put her in her later 20’s, doesn’t really fit her and should have gone to someone with a more mature look. The casting for all the other roles was perfect, though, especially Alfred.
With Bale as Batman, the strong emphasis on psychology, and the added bonus of Gotham City always being pitch black and blanketed by rain, Batman Begins, much like the original Blade, sets the standard for both the series and the genre.
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