"batman begins"

[rone]

I think i've avoided writing about the movie because it would just be an exercise in nerdiness that i could avoid.  But then mmcirvin posted his thoughts on the movie and, gosh darn it, if he's not above it, why should i?

I didn't mind Katie Holmes's acting; i think that the character was poorly written (perhaps even poorly conceived), and she made the best of it.  I was surprised by the special guest appearance of her nipples in the final scenes; maybe Christian Bale's a hell of a kisser.

I liked Bale's Batman voice.  I thought it was effective.  I was confused by the juggling of Ra's Al Ghul's identity — was Ken Watanabe really Ra's and Ducard usurped the name afterwards, or was Ducard Ra's all along and Watanabe played... someone else?  Gah!  CONFUSION.  Gary Oldman was so good, it pissed me off that they deviated so far from Frank Miller's Batman: Year One; the book gives almost equal time to Gordon (as well as Catwoman, but she's not even in the movie, so whatever), and the lack of development of Gordon's character is a huge missed opportunity.  Tom Wilkinson kicked ass and needed more screen time (but i've liked him in every movie i've seen him).  Cillian Murphy was spooky.  Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, well, i won't say they phoned it in, but they didn't exactly stretch themselves, either.

One thing that really bothered me was Batman's rush to save Katie Holmes.  I know i'm being a big nerd here, but Batman would never be so careless as to crush civilian and cop cars just to save some chick's life.  Another annoyance was the conversion of Flass from an overbearing Green Beret asshole to a seedy donut-eater who was more apathetic than corrupt.  Overall, though, the movie was fun, well-written, and well-paced (people who complained about the "slow beginning" should be locked into an Ingmar Bergman festival until they recant).

In conclusion, go read Batman: Year One. You might even find it at the library. Do it now.

Comments

[merde.livejournal.com]

AFAIK, her character was a complete invention. i recall no such character from any of the Batman comics i've read. (admittedly, i stopped reading comics in '91 or so.)

but yeah, basically she was written in because they felt they needed a love interest and for some reason, Commissioner Gordon's lovely daughter whatshername (who later becomes Batgirl -- shhhh, don't tell Bruce!) wasn't good enough for them.

i can't imagine why. at least she'd have made some sort of sense that way. instead of tossing in that crap where she LJBF's him -- i mean, honestly, who would LJBF him? holy crap, he's hot, he's a good guy, he's crazy rich, and he's a fucking superhero! -- they could've dragged out the sexual tension, with him having to keep concealing his identity from her because OMFG Gordon is her dad, and her eventually figuring it out and not letting on that she knows.

or, to put it more succinctly, Katie Holmes' character was the token chick.