The Education of Bruce Wayne
I usually like to watch a hyped-up movie after the hype has died down, and I did such with "Batman Begins." Here's how I rank it:
As an Origin Movie: 9.5/10; among the best.
As a Summer Movie: 7.5/10; I think ROTS was more "rewatchable", WOTW is more "blockbusterish" and F4 will have better effects.
As a Batman Movie: 8/10; way superior to "Batman & Robin," not as funny as "Batman Forever," better flow then "Batman Returns," and not as poetic as "Batman."
Overall, I'd give it an 8/10. Here's why:
One, the fighting: The ninja training is cool, but the fight scenes move too quickly for me to believe that it's really Christian Bale in the Batsuit kicking butt. You see flashes of arm swipes, hand chops and leg-extended kicks but not much in the way of shots of one full-body fighting another.
Two, the characterization: Bale seems more comfortable as Bruce Wayne then as Batman. I've always had the impression that Bruce Wayne is the real disguise, and Batman the actual person. But this movie kind of says Bruce gave his real self up to be two people: a rich, spoiled playboy and a nightly avenger.
Three, life lessons: Apparently, everybody teaches Bruce something. This includes how to fight (Ra's/Ducard), how to run a business (Fox), how criminals conduct themselves (Falcone), how the legal system is supposed to work (Dawes), family and loyalty (Alfred), getting the gear (Ducard, Alfred & Fox), overcoming phobias (Thomas Wayne, Alfred, and Dr. Crane) and chemistry (Scarecrow?). Unfortunately, I don't see much of the "Detective Batman" I've come to know and love. This version just doesn't strike me as a Batman who routinely outsmarts people on his own (he needed an awful lot of help). Detectives are naturally inquisitive people; Bruce seems more interested in fighting criminals than solving crimes, which makes the claims of "ending the corruption" kind of hollow. Oh well, he's young.
Four, the villains: Anyone who didn't know Ducard's true role should be ashamed. Targeting Gotham for destruction as opposed to say, Las Vegas or Los Angeles is a thin motive to say the least (other than murder and drug trafficking, what made Gotham so evil?) Falcone, for all his propping up in the movie, turn out to be a "transitional bad guy" which was a shame. And one of Batman's most deadly villains got stopped by an assistant D.A. with a taser. 'Nuff said.
Last but not least, the cast: In reality, this had more known names than either of the last two Batmen (both of which were ripped to shreds for among other things, having two many star actors). Morgan Freeman plays Fox with quiet respect. Liam Neeson makes Ducard's transition from teacher to mentor to protagonist very believable. Gary Oldman's Sgt. Jim Gordan always seemed to be one drink from ending up in Arkam until the end. Tom Wilkinson's Falcone was straight gansta. Rutger Hauer's Earle could have given Max Shreck a run for his money. Katie Holmes' Rachel Dawes ranks #3 as the "girl in Batman's life" right after Catwoman and Vicki Vale and before Dr. Chase Meridian and Julie Madison (yes I had to look her name up). Cillian Murphy's Dr. Jonathan Crane is very "he seemed like such a quite and nice guy" type.
Recommendation: Watch it if you want to see a different interpretation of the Dark Knight.
As an Origin Movie: 9.5/10; among the best.
As a Summer Movie: 7.5/10; I think ROTS was more "rewatchable", WOTW is more "blockbusterish" and F4 will have better effects.
As a Batman Movie: 8/10; way superior to "Batman & Robin," not as funny as "Batman Forever," better flow then "Batman Returns," and not as poetic as "Batman."
Overall, I'd give it an 8/10. Here's why:
One, the fighting: The ninja training is cool, but the fight scenes move too quickly for me to believe that it's really Christian Bale in the Batsuit kicking butt. You see flashes of arm swipes, hand chops and leg-extended kicks but not much in the way of shots of one full-body fighting another.
Two, the characterization: Bale seems more comfortable as Bruce Wayne then as Batman. I've always had the impression that Bruce Wayne is the real disguise, and Batman the actual person. But this movie kind of says Bruce gave his real self up to be two people: a rich, spoiled playboy and a nightly avenger.
Three, life lessons: Apparently, everybody teaches Bruce something. This includes how to fight (Ra's/Ducard), how to run a business (Fox), how criminals conduct themselves (Falcone), how the legal system is supposed to work (Dawes), family and loyalty (Alfred), getting the gear (Ducard, Alfred & Fox), overcoming phobias (Thomas Wayne, Alfred, and Dr. Crane) and chemistry (Scarecrow?). Unfortunately, I don't see much of the "Detective Batman" I've come to know and love. This version just doesn't strike me as a Batman who routinely outsmarts people on his own (he needed an awful lot of help). Detectives are naturally inquisitive people; Bruce seems more interested in fighting criminals than solving crimes, which makes the claims of "ending the corruption" kind of hollow. Oh well, he's young.
Four, the villains: Anyone who didn't know Ducard's true role should be ashamed. Targeting Gotham for destruction as opposed to say, Las Vegas or Los Angeles is a thin motive to say the least (other than murder and drug trafficking, what made Gotham so evil?) Falcone, for all his propping up in the movie, turn out to be a "transitional bad guy" which was a shame. And one of Batman's most deadly villains got stopped by an assistant D.A. with a taser. 'Nuff said.
Last but not least, the cast: In reality, this had more known names than either of the last two Batmen (both of which were ripped to shreds for among other things, having two many star actors). Morgan Freeman plays Fox with quiet respect. Liam Neeson makes Ducard's transition from teacher to mentor to protagonist very believable. Gary Oldman's Sgt. Jim Gordan always seemed to be one drink from ending up in Arkam until the end. Tom Wilkinson's Falcone was straight gansta. Rutger Hauer's Earle could have given Max Shreck a run for his money. Katie Holmes' Rachel Dawes ranks #3 as the "girl in Batman's life" right after Catwoman and Vicki Vale and before Dr. Chase Meridian and Julie Madison (yes I had to look her name up). Cillian Murphy's Dr. Jonathan Crane is very "he seemed like such a quite and nice guy" type.
Recommendation: Watch it if you want to see a different interpretation of the Dark Knight.
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