Mads Look- Batman Begins

[MADRUCKIS]

One of the best scenes from Kill Bill vol 2 would have to be the character Bill explaining why his most favorite comic book hero, of all time, would be Superman. To put it simply, he enjoyed the story of Superman the best; his mythology:

When Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne get up in the morning, they're still just Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne. Its when they put on the costume that they become SpiderMan and Batman, respectfully. But Superman is always Superman. Clark Kent is his disguise not to be recognized, not the other way around.

Bill believed this alone made Superman great, but I disagree. Whereas most super heroes are made in accidents and such, Batman is different. Bruce Wayne creates this person in a cape, not only just for kicks and S&M, but because he becomes something different.

And here is where Batman Begins, the first movie starring Christian Bale under the mask, gets things right. Why would a man go to these lengths to do things? Why the symbol? What keeps him from being like the criminals he tries to stop? Like a true prequal, the movie takes it all and we get more Bruce Wayne than Batman...but its not a bad thing. Why? Because Bill was wrong in Kill Bill. Bruce Wayne makes himself into Batman because of the weakness of Bruce Wayne. The movie deals with Bale (just as good as Keatons Batman) struggling with not wanting to be Wayne any longer....the truth being that Batman is the person he feels more comfortable as. The movie based on Batman Year One comic book and though it takes its liberties with the story, its all there. Who invents Bats' toys, who teaches him to fight, even where the bat signal originated from. Unlike the first couple of Batmans....I mean, the only two......because we all know that there were only two Batman movies, 3 if you include the Adam West one...but thats it....yea..thats it. The movie isnt villian oriented and though I felt slightly worried that it wouldnt work if there were no foes for Batman to fight, the two present are enough and moved the story where it had to go. Katie Holmes is ok as a love interest, though anyone else with some experience might've done the small part some justice.
A critic called this the movie of the "Dark Knight" and its evident why. Its dark and mental, but without Tim Burtons wit and distortion (however great they were). This movie easily ressurected a dead franchise and my friend related it to the old Batman cartoon once given on Fox some 10 years ago..........good stories with dark overtones and pleasing to the eye.

this movie gets an easy A with a slight hope that the other movies after this will be better. With the same director and Bale at the helm, Batman shows too much promise not to be successful. Two hours of Batman were well spent and I'm glad I could prove Bill wrong.

[goodman]

Thought it was pretty good myself, although i probably like the original batman movie the best (not the Adam West one!) Yes, Batman is back, for sure! And the sequels do indeed begin also, i too saw the similarities between this and the animated series, which i really enjoyed, so lets see what the future holds...

[Hylas]

Adam West as Batman rules! :cool:

Batman Begins is an excellent superhero movie IMO. Only one thing in it is really BAD: Katie Holmes :boo:

[RobHardo]

i am a tough batman critic, being an ex-superfan(in my youth i was batman, lets put it that way) now turned fan i am happy to see that you were kind in your review here.
and Hylas, Katie Holmes is bad, but the worst part of the movie is the batmobile......it's not supposed to be a tank, it's supposed to be sleek and sexy, not lookin like a transformer. The best batmobile was and remains today Keaton's.

[Hylas]

and Hylas, Katie Holmes is bad, but the worst part of the movie is the batmobile......it's not supposed to be a tank, it's supposed to be sleek and sexy, not lookin like a transformer. The best batmobile was and remains today Keaton's.

Well, yes... the new batmobile was pretty scary, kinda ugly and most of all not as classy as Burton's one... but at least it was functional.... Katie Holmes is not! :P

[MADRUCKIS]

^lmao

I accepted the batmobile only because it was Year One.....kind of in the thought that everything wasnt perfect yet and somehow Batman realizes that riding around in a giant tank crushing things isnt very stealthy

the one point I forgot to touch on is one thing the other movies, including Burtons, didnt even come close to-Batmans' greatest weapon was fear. No gadget or batmobile tank can really effect a person as bad as fear does
(then again, I'd fear walking across the street with the batmobile tumbler roaring my way :S )

[goodman]

Good points, i myself see no personal reason to like Katie Holmes, what did she do to become an actress, out of curiosity, must have given gratification to somebody in high places. The new Batmobile definitely made no sense at all and look for a new idea on that front for the next sequel. I kinda suggest they go three years between sequels to help create a desire at the box office, and use as much creativity to make a movie worthy of our hard earned movie going bucks...

[RobHardo]

she went swimming in dawsons creek ;-)

[MADRUCKIS]

^ZING :laugh:

[Uchiha Sasuke]

i am a tough batman critic, being an ex-superfan(in my youth i was batman, lets put it that way) now turned fan i am happy to see that you were kind in your review here.
and Hylas, Katie Holmes is bad, but the worst part of the movie is the batmobile......it's not supposed to be a tank, it's supposed to be sleek and sexy, not lookin like a transformer. The best batmobile was and remains today Keaton's.

You got be kidding me lol. Batmans original vehicals were always useless POS. Read this piece by IGN, which makes perfect sense.

"The Batmobile certainly deserves special mention. It is indeed a character of its own in the film. When fans first saw the stealth-like look of the new vehicle, radically different from any of the other previous, ultra-slick incarnations, they complained and complained. I heard statements like "stupid-looking" and "ridiculous." Many felt it was just too different from the vehicle seen in the previous films or in the comics. Well, prepare to be proven wrong. The new Batmobile is the best Batmobile of all. It is one bad mutha-******. For once, this is a Batmobile that makes sense. It's tough and functional. Period. It can race through city streets, knock any obstacle out of its way, smash through walls, leap across rooftops and more. Why would Batman drive around in a sleek sports car if all he is concerned about is ridding the streets of criminals? This new Batmobile is more military vehicle than sports car, which makes sense in the context of this origin film. Batman needs a car that can achieve results, not a car he'll look cool in. There is a simply incredible chase scene with the new vehicle and if that sequence alone doesn't convince you, well sir, you are beyond reason."

[goodman]

It would be one thing to be driving down city streets, but the damage the thing does in the movie is not acceptable. Between tearing down all kinds of barriers, walls, and various other items, that would be considered damaging city property, its simply not very fast, normal vehicles could keep up with it with no problem. If every time you have to go out in your vehicle you are going to do thousands of dollars of damage to city property, how is that helping anyone? Just curious...

[MADRUCKIS]

it was a cool vehicle....just not the Batman M.O.

the best part of the Burton batmobiles was its slyness

remember batman returns (part 2) where its being chased by squad cards in a tight alley. The batmobile shed its two exterior parts and transformed narrower just to fit in an even tighter alleyway while the cop cars slammed into it at full speed :lick:

great scene...exactly while the sleak design matched the craftiness of the Bat. The Tumbler, though great looking and pretty quick, wouldve gotten stuck in that situation.

Finesse over Force is Batmans style

it was fine as a starter vehicle but I'm sure it'll be changed

remember what the previous batmobile looked like, the one Clooney rode?
HOWS THIS FOR FUGLY (http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/BATMAN%20RETURNS%20BATMOBILE%20MAIN.jpg)

heres Keatons first
POW (http://www.timburtoncollective.com/images/batman/batmobile.jpg)
his second
BANG (http://his-hers.com/mkbatman38039.jpg)
and the penis looking one lol
WOW (http://his-hers.com/mkbatmissle38038.jpg)
and the ooogliest
OW (http://www.culttvman.com/assets/assets-BATMAN-2005/jab_r3.jpg)

[Aubrey McFatum]

What I didn't like about this movie

I found the action too chaotic: some scenes are almost impossible to follow. You can't tell what's going on because it is too difficult to see.

The Scarecrow is too weak as a character.

The romantic subplot involving Rachel is misplaced and unnecessary (a bit too similar to Spiderman/MJ romance imo). Not to mention the fact Katie Holmes can't act.

Casting Rutger Hauer for the role of Earle is a waste of talent.

The music is nowhere near Danny Elfman's one for Tim Burton's movies.


What I liked

Bale is a pretty decent Batman (he's even better as Wayne though).

Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are perfect as Alfred and Gordon.

Some of the "darker" scenes are brilliant and truly evocative.

The spirit of the movie is quite loyal to the comics.

The movie in general is really entertaining. It's really hard to get bored with this one.


Overall a cool movie, one of the best superheroes flicks. Maybe not as good as Burton's movies, but we can't always make comparisons: Tim Burton is a genius, but Nolan is a damn good director.

[goodman]

Good points, Aub............

[TtTackler]

I like how they made the Scarecrow weak. Now its not like everyone has superhuman strength. The Scarecrow is nothing more than a skinny guy in a mask. How do you expect him to go mano-a-mano with Batman? He can't.

After seeing the movie for a second time, you can make out the fight sequences much easier. My theory is that they didn't want to focus any fancy cheorographed fights a la Spiderman, but rather just choatic street brawling and ass kicking.

Ever since the 'new Batmobile' was shown, I loathed it. Once I saw the movie and seeing it in action, I realized that it isn't so bad, actually pretty cool though. I wouldn't be surprised if they modify it in future movies to look more like the 'traditional' Batmobile, he doesn't even have a proper Batcave yet.

Not many faults in this movie, and it kicked a lot of ass. Good enough for me.

[trunks69420]

katie holmes has nice boobies.






and i liked the movie too.. the gift was amazing.. that part where she takes her.................wait.. this is about batman?.... shit.



that movie is good too.. bale is a good batman. far better than clooney. i actually did like the scarecrow. i dont think of any villian at a movie that has the subtitle 'begins' as weak. maybe the scarecrow has 'began' as well... blah. that didnt make sense.. but you see what i mean?. word. i liked how it wasnt so.... ahnold. it didnt have the extreme cheese factor going for it. i think its a step in the right direction. the next installment if done in a similar fashion should prove impressive.

that is all.

[Hylas]

The final scene of Batman Begins with Bruce Wayne and Rachel Dawes together while Wayne is searching the ruins of his house, with the official and final acknowledgement of Batman's identity, made me think of a sort of mix between the ending scenes with Peter Parker and Mary Jane at the end of both Spiderman movies.

I think the Scarecrow is a villain who can't really have a bigger part. It was good as it was. I agree with Tackler. In fact I hope they won't make of him the main villain of a sequel. Would be a wrong idea.

[MADRUCKIS]

but actually calling him "just a guy in a mask" is sort of handicappin the guy

to be honest...all of batmans enemies are just men/women in masks (cept for a chosen few Freeze and Catwoman for example) Even the Joker has no real abilities, if you dont count being able to kill someone with a pun :laugh:

I think I still have the comic where he kills one of the robins..bashes his head with a crowbar and then blows him up

*contemplates*

anyhoo.................

Scarecrow, if done correctly, could be a big nemesis. The movie made him out to be just some lackey.....but in reality, Cranes fascination with fear consistently does its dirty work vs the Bats. Its tough to fight fear. Penguin is a pretty useless character but Burton did alright with him. Raz Al Ghul is such an important villian...hes deserves a movie to himself

[MADRUCKIS]

Batman Begins Sequel Chatter
What might fans expect?
by Stax
June 21, 2005 - Box Office Mojo spoke with Warner Bros.' head of distribution Dan Fellman about the prospects for a sequel to Batman Begins, which topped the North American weekend boxoffice and finished in first place in several international territories this past weekend.



"I think people love the character, and it's been eight years since the franchise unfortunately took a negative turn [with Batman and Robin]," said Fellman. "It took the vision of a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan to bring it back, with a great script and cast. We're well positioned moving forward with the summer. We're going to have a first week of $85 million, and [Batman and Robin] had $59 million. That's enough to bring Batman back for a sequel."

The rumor mill already suggests one of the cast members will not be returning. According to The New York Post, Katie Holmes won't be reprising her role as A.D.A. Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne's love interest, because Warners is steamed over all the press her relationship with Tom Cruise is getting instead of the film.

"Everyone is in agreement that the movie's strength is with Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman," claims Page Six. "The next romantic interest will be a much stronger actress. ... Warner is happy that people are now focusing on who'll be playing the Joker rather than Katie and Tom."


sounds goooood to me

[Phenom]

With all this talk about the movie. Has anyone played the game yet? Is it any good?

[MADRUCKIS]

got horrible reviews alllll around

[Phenom]

Lol. They still can't make a decent batman game. (Atleast that's what I'm hearing)

Anyways.... I'm gonna go see this movie tomorrow I guess. (It's been a while since I've been to the movies)

[Hylas]

The rumor mill already suggests one of the cast members will not be returning. According to The New York Post, Katie Holmes won't be reprising her role as A.D.A. Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne's love interest, because Warners is steamed over all the press her relationship with Tom Cruise is getting instead of the film.

Fantastic news! Though I don't get why they want to put romance in the next movie too. All superheroes movies nowadays have to have the romance in them... Get back Kurt Russell's pure action! :tongue:

[Aubrey McFatum]

A new actress? For which role?