batman begins
It's been quite a blockbuster movie-going week for me this week. After Star Wars came the Batman prequel, which was similarly silly in dialogue (especially if you imagined Katie Holmes' lines being directed at Tom Cruise instead of Christian Bale) but somewhat more enjoyable in general.
What I really liked was the way it neatly lined up with the first Batman film (well, of the previous cycle - there wasn't a lot in common with the campy Sixties version), both in terms of plot (I won't elaborate, since there may be those amongst you who have yet to see this who actually want to, unlike StarWars) and in terms of the very Michael Keaton esque performance Bale gives. I really enjoyed him as Batman, but I did find it hard to believe that he and Homes (who was also decent, despite that annoying half-her-face-collapsing facial tic she has when she smiles) were close in age (as they were shown as kids who were at most 2 years apart). Of course I was then surprised to find out that doe-eyed Holmes is actually 26 and Bale a mere 31 (he looks more like 35, albeit a sexy 35).
I also liked the overall darkness of the film - it was far more Tim Burton-esque than Joel Schumacher-esque, at any rate. I look forward to seeing what they actually do with the enxt installment (which we all know is coming) - a remake of the 1989 film? A fast forward to after Batman and Robin (did anyone else notice the cameo appearance of the small child who is obviously lined up to become Robin? Sorry, but its only a small spolier, I promise)?
Others have said that the 911 symbolism in the film (yes, it is there in a big way) was especially tired, but I actually thought it played on the question of whether Gotham is New York (if my memory serves me rightly, Batman was actually set in New York originally... I shall ask my Batman-obsessed English postgraduate friend for a more in depth analysis) rather well. Admittedly, the centrality of Wayne Tower and its targetting by the terrorists intent on the destruction of corrupt Western civilisation was a bit irritating, but with War of The Worlds (join the boycott!!) coming, we had better get used to it. There no longer is sucha thing as an action-adventure film which doesn't reference September Eleven. How would the filmmakers avoid it even if they wanted to?
Lastly, I'd just like to note that seeing Batman Begins right after Star Wars is all the more amusing for the fact that Yoda tells Obi-Wan that Qui-Gon, his own Jedi master, has found a form of immortality. With Liam Neeson in essentially the same role at the beginning of Batman, it seems he has found, if not immortality, then a new franchise at the very least.
What I really liked was the way it neatly lined up with the first Batman film (well, of the previous cycle - there wasn't a lot in common with the campy Sixties version), both in terms of plot (I won't elaborate, since there may be those amongst you who have yet to see this who actually want to, unlike StarWars) and in terms of the very Michael Keaton esque performance Bale gives. I really enjoyed him as Batman, but I did find it hard to believe that he and Homes (who was also decent, despite that annoying half-her-face-collapsing facial tic she has when she smiles) were close in age (as they were shown as kids who were at most 2 years apart). Of course I was then surprised to find out that doe-eyed Holmes is actually 26 and Bale a mere 31 (he looks more like 35, albeit a sexy 35).
I also liked the overall darkness of the film - it was far more Tim Burton-esque than Joel Schumacher-esque, at any rate. I look forward to seeing what they actually do with the enxt installment (which we all know is coming) - a remake of the 1989 film? A fast forward to after Batman and Robin (did anyone else notice the cameo appearance of the small child who is obviously lined up to become Robin? Sorry, but its only a small spolier, I promise)?
Others have said that the 911 symbolism in the film (yes, it is there in a big way) was especially tired, but I actually thought it played on the question of whether Gotham is New York (if my memory serves me rightly, Batman was actually set in New York originally... I shall ask my Batman-obsessed English postgraduate friend for a more in depth analysis) rather well. Admittedly, the centrality of Wayne Tower and its targetting by the terrorists intent on the destruction of corrupt Western civilisation was a bit irritating, but with War of The Worlds (join the boycott!!) coming, we had better get used to it. There no longer is sucha thing as an action-adventure film which doesn't reference September Eleven. How would the filmmakers avoid it even if they wanted to?
Lastly, I'd just like to note that seeing Batman Begins right after Star Wars is all the more amusing for the fact that Yoda tells Obi-Wan that Qui-Gon, his own Jedi master, has found a form of immortality. With Liam Neeson in essentially the same role at the beginning of Batman, it seems he has found, if not immortality, then a new franchise at the very least.
posted by weasel at 5:53 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home