review by HotDonkeyBear Patron
Batman Begins 2005
Rewatched Jul 14, 2012
HotDonkeyBear’s review:
OK. I get it. Some people really don't like Christopher Nolan's films. Especially The Dark Knight.
I keep reading things along the lines of "Chris Nolan raped my Joker" and "fuck this shit... Bane should be 600 pounds" etc.
Whatever.
Now that's over... Batman Begins.
The casting is excellent, but a chain is only as good as it's weakest link. That piece of shit just happens to be Katie Holmes. I'd like to put it down to how her character is written but every other character is well crafted and ported by the "actors" within the role. I can't help but think that little miss Dawson's Creek was still under contract with Warner Bros so she kinda got shoe-horned into the role.
The music is fucking genius. I regularly slate Hans Zimmer for his samey, shitty, lazy scores. Honestly, he's brilliant but has a knack for just "phoning it in" sometimes. But paired up with James Newton Howard, the dynamic duo seem to bolster each others strong suits with regards to sound design and orchestration. As thrilling and exciting as film music can be. I'm fucking glad there was no bombastic theme. It'd have taken you out of the picture entirely. That shit suits Danny Elfman circa 1989 but not here. In fact... I'm struggling to remember a super hero theme tune from the last decade. But those two notes and how they're implemented throughout the film? Very clever indeed.
Many people abhor the Nolan twist on Batman. The beauty of Bob Kane's characters is that they've been moulded, molested and whored out in so many different guises throughout the years that whatever comes next is bound to be equally divisive.
The beauty of this film over it's sequel is that this truly is a film about Batman, whereas The Dark Knight focusses more on his opposition. Beyond that, the biggest plus for this film over the sequel is that it's set at night. In my opinion Nolan's biggest crime is pulling Batman out of the darkness and into the daylight.
Who cares... whatever interpretation you have, whichever incarnation is portrayed, however they're bastardising this "symbol", he'll Always be several billion times cooler and more credible than that godawful fucking bitch Superman!
Love the film.
Love the cast... mainly.
Love the score. Love the look.
The Plot... an action/ comic cliche, well implemented.
It's a great movie in my opinion but then Im one of these controversial arseholes who doesn't really like the whole Marvel: Phase 1 thing.
After seeing the ultra-plain Spider-Man reboot the other day it astounds me how it compares to this. In that regard, the biggest mistake Sony made with TASM is that they tried to darken the reboot instead of embracing the bright, fantastical awesome that Spidey can be.
Gonna catch The Dark Knight on Sunday night with my girlfriend and truly prepare for The Dark Knight Rises (awful fucking title but ... ah well).
PS: In the scene at the end where Bruce and Rachel walk through the smokey ashes in the grounds of Wayne Manor, I can't help but notice she's wearing a silk blouse. I sat there thinking, "she'll never get the smell of bonfire'y smoke out of that lovely silk blouse now"!
What the fuck have I become?!
Rape him? From his wheelchair?
Sorry, I just find Superman a really boring character. That Bryan Singer travesty was the final nail in the coffin.
So he goes from more or less drowning in a swimming pool when someone places a kryptonite medallion around his neck, to lifting an entire island made from the stuff?!
Say what?
Plus, everything has to involve kryptonite... because he's just soooooo super. Kryptonite Bullet? Kryptonite Medallion? Kryptonite Eternity Ring? Kryptonite 12" 8 speed dildo?
Superman is an alien. Batman is a borderline psychotic human.
The fact that Superman is so "badass" that bullets bounce off his eyeballs means that there's no tension. No split second of "holy fuckballs... is he gonna get back up"?
You can't ever really hurt Superman. The fact that he has zero hum a frailty means I don't really give a fuck about him. As far as I know he'll still be zooming around the planet in 2000 years from now. Fuck him in the ear.
After all the shit Nolan gets for his Batman, I'll be all ears to learn how people are going to react to a Superman film produced by Nolan and directed by Zack Sucker Dick Snyder
Couldn't Bruce Wayne just pay people to beat up baddies while he gets head off high-end escorts?
Adam... you er... know these aren't real people right? That it's all just make believe?
The Brave And The Bold is a little "kiddy'fied"... even for kids.
And what the fuck is up with that retarded dog?
Seriously though. After reading some of your reviews, I'm glad to see you're so passionate about film. You ain't wishy washy and that's a fucking solid gold fact. good on you.
The fact that Superman is more or less invincible means I'm not all that invested in what he does.
I love the fact that Batman gets the living shit knocked out of him but doesn't back down.
What was your take on The Green Lantern? Did you review it?
I totally get your point. I thought it was a complete waste of time, for both the audience and the people involved in making it.
I fucking LOATHE origin stories. They bore the crap out of me.
Loved The Avengers but then I wasn't overly enamoured with the Iron Man or Thor movies.
Really enjoyed The Incredible Hulk and Captain America (the least successful films). Go figure.
Am in no way looking forward to The Wolverine. Hopefully now Darren Aronofski isn't directing it he'll be onboard for the Batman reboot in a few years. After they've fucked up a pointless Justice League movie that is
Hahaha. You're probably right.
Wolvie fan huh? I bet you're a Venom fan too... right?
I enjoyed First Class up to a point. This Wolverine tangent seems so utterly pointless. I just want to see someone spectacularly mess up X-Men 4. The best part of the 3rd one (besides the ridiculously amazing score by John Powell) was the fact that Magneto actually got to show off his mad skillz
DC don't really have anyone besides Batman and Superman. Even Wonder Woman failed to have her pilot picked up by a network. I mean... who cancels a pilot before it's even aired?!
Marvel have a wealth of characters but unfortunately some of the more successful ones are still whored out to other studios:
Sony - Spider-Man
Fox - X-Men, Daredevil, Fantastic Four
shame