Batman Begins
We finally got around to seeing the re-re-revisioning of the Batman origin story on film. I was very surprised about the story arc taken with it, but pleased that the Bat movie franchise seems to be back on track after some big missteps lately.
I think the movie captured the essential dark and intense qualities of the Batman story. It did quite nicely with capturing the gutter feel of the narrows (slums). It even had a Fritz Lang's Metropolis feel with different lives in the layers of the city
It always surprises me when film treatment writers try to mush/mixmaster everything together in a single movie. I think I am surprised because despite all the chopsuey of previous comic plotlines ... in the end it kind of makes sense
We get parts of Miller's revisioning of the Batman origin in his Year One series -- Bruce returns after a time away, young officer Gordon -- we get a core element of the Scarecrow stories (i.e., out to poison the water supply), but he is the pawn of a greater enemy -- Ras Al Ghul, hooboy, you gotta go DEEEP in the playbook to know this one ... lots of strands of RAG stories, when he freed the inmates of Arkham, when he was training/testing people to see who could be his successor, and ultimately the whole eco-terrorist RAG where he is said to be immortal, and the bringer of balance when cities go too far
I suppose that they weren't gonna go with the essential supervillians here, perhaps it was too early to do another JKR, Pens, Catty, or Mr. Freeze film? From the trailer, I thought it was going to go along the FM:Yr 1 line, and have him return, try out the ropes, and then have to face Scarecrow ... instead it was kind of muddy and desperate, and sometimes I thought to myself, does it seem plausible to me that this guy was going to take on the whole city when he didn't seem credibly able to do so like he did (by the end), when in the middle portion it seemed completely unlikely
I wasn't really in love with the action sequences, I think it was generaly shot too tight, and missed an opportunity to define the character other than having action sequences essentially equal/mean chaos
I felt Bale did well enough as Bruce, Caine was a solid Alfred ... the Katie Holmes character didn't really have much to work with, it was a throwaway character to me ... I can't imagine that Alfred could not have said her little quip of wisdom or for that matter, Morgan Freeman's character. Neeson very wooden as RAG, I liked Cillian in the role of the Scarecrow ... and perhaps think that maybe the movie may have worked better if they set up RAG in the shadows over the three movie set, and let Cillian run free in this one, he does really well with quirky characters
All that said, I thought it was an okay first movie ... of reportedly three. Perhaps a bit too much Phantom Menace for me, a little too heavy on setting the picture up and not enough work on paying it off, at least a little bit here ... it's a bit odd to say it, but Bale is more effective SANS hood than with (first 2/3rds of the movie) ... that being said, The Joker is on the clock next
Recommended, our evaluation: B