Jenn and I dropped Rae off with her grandparents this afternoon so we could catch the latest silver screen rendition of the Dark Knight. We were not disappointed.
Where previous Batman movies have concentrated on a brooding hero and dark set design, this film embraces it’s source material. A hero in flux, searching for the path to greatness. A city in the last throes of a descent into hell, yet not all the way gone. Villains who use fear to prey on the innocent, not those who use the monologue to prey on the audience.
I really mean it when I say this is the best Batman film to date. Sure, Jack Nicholson’s joker is nice, but that was a movie and this is a film. Dark but hopeful; stylistic but not beholden to an art director; concerned with characters that aren’t caricatures.
Perfect:
Ras al Ghul
The Scarecrow
Alfred
Gotham
Lucius Fox
Underdone:
Bruce Wayne’s acceptance of justice
Jim Gordon
Earle
Overdone:
Carmine the mob boss
Flass the crooked cop
Like all comic book movies, no self-respecting geek can admit that Batman Begins was perfect. What it was, like Bryan Singer’s X-Men movies or the Sam Raimi Spider-man movies, was faithful to the tone and themes of the source material. We could quibble about Katie Holmes or the continuity of the back-story, but those are pedantic, fruitless arguments. What we have is a piece of summer entertainment that was engaging, dramatic, action-packed and fun. My inner twelve-year-old is happy tonight.
Now, if Fantastic Four, War of the Worlds and the eventual Watchmen movie are equally good (if not better) the geeks will truly inherit the earth. Singer’s Superman looks to be great too.
I’m totally geeking out and loving it!
I think I would go further on my own review of Batman Begins. Rather than requote it point by point here is the link to my review but I also hope that F4 lives up to its source.
I am not to optomisic about WOTW because of limitations inherent in the source material compared to the other two. But I will rent that one later and see.
As for BB, I will say here that it is much more faithful to the comic book than anything seen before. In doing so it was for me, a real comic buff, much more of a joy to watch. I want to see more films with this tone.
Liked the fact that the villian was one of the lesser known old comic book villians and that so much time was spent on character, and not so dark a background as the recent movies, without going to the 1967 camp style.
Good luck with HP6. Read it. Loved it. My review has no real spoilers so it is safe to look at. You will not see it by clicking on the Batman link above however.
Peter
http://thepeterfiles.blogspot.com/2005/07/batman-begins-omnimax-review-from-navy.html