04/08: The Caped Crusader
Category: In the Cinema
Posted by: TheZin
Batman Begins
Warning, spoilers. (I tried to keep it to a minimum.)
Really, don't read unless you have seen the movie.
Pre P.S.
I'm not good at writing movie reviews, so up yours. The Storyline
Bruce Wayne is the only living member of the Wayne family.
For you who haven't got a clue what batman is about, then the Wayne family has made an empire for itself and is one of the most powerful families in the city. Wayne's parents get shot after which he swears revenge to the criminals responcible.
Anyway, in the beginning we see young 8-year-old Bruce playing with one (possibly only) of his friends, Rachel Dawes, who grows up to be a District Attorney and a damn good one, it seems. Bruce, by a series of events, falls down a well and is terrified by the bats inside. Until his father, Thomas Wayne, comes to his rescue, he is quivering in hole in the ground, which later becomes The Batcave, but more on that later. Moving on. Young sir loses his parents to a mugging gone wrong and blames himself for it. (They were at the theater and the show was about bats. he got scared, they left).
10 years later, Bruce is 18 and decides to get revenge on the man who shot his parents but is beaten to the punch by another criminal. Seeking the other side of life (the criminal side) he travels a thousand miles and davels in criminal activity and winds up in a prison that is far far away in some asian country. Henri Ducard, appears as Ra's al Ghul's representative offering Mr. Wayne a different future. A place in The League of Shadows. One thing leads to another and suddenly he is being trained on a hill in the arts of hiding, ninja and all things martial (not to mention martial arts). He is forced to take the life of a local thief who, the league says, is a criminal and must be killed but goody-two-shoes, Bruce Wayne, refuses. Following a fight and a big explosion, the house in which he was being trained, gets destroyed and he barely manages to escape but also saves Henri Ducard to prove he is a good person after all.
He returns about 9 years later and slowly realises that he, as Bruce Wayne, can do very little to help the poor and the starving but he, as a symbol of courage, freedom and justice (Batman), can do a whole lot.
The family name Wayne is one of the more powerful family names in Gotham and as such he has access to all kinds of cool gadgets and things which he uses to build Batman. Basicly, this movie was made to explain how and why Batman has such cool gadgets and skills.
All suited up and ready to go they introduce the main villain, Dr. Jonathan Crane a.k.a. The Scarecrow. Before this they also bring in a mobster, Carmine Falcone. Although it's just a pawn of the mastermind, he does controls the city and the thugs within.
This is where the real action begins and Batman starts to act up to his name from the comicbooks. The Scarecrow and his mastermind, Ra's al Ghul, want to fill the city with a fear-inducing toxic gas and thus destroy the city or let the city destroy itself, to be more exact.
Batman gears up, beats them, saves his girlfriend, the one decent cop Jim Gordon, and rebuilds the now burnt down Wayne Mannor.
At the end we get a hint as to who will play the villian in the next movie.
The Characters
Bruce Wayne - The rich guy. It's tricky to evaluate him, because Bruce Wayne isn't Bruce Wayne anymore. Bruce is face he puts on while he isn't Batman. The actor does a good job at playing Bruce and I'm very much happy with it in comparison to the other Bruce Wayne's from the other Batman movies.
Batman - The caped crusader. In comparison to the very first show where the bat-bumerang was so far batman's bat-ass that he couldn't bat-act properly, this time Batman is a dark figure but a belivable hero. I am a fan of the comics and the cartoon so I can't say that it's bad but the only thing I didn't like, honestly, was the new Bat-Car. In all other aspects, it's a pretty sweet character.
Henri Ducard / Ra's al Ghul - Yes, he is actually al Ghul. But only because Ra's al Ghul is supposed to be an immortal person and thus a position in the League of Shadows. I am very happy with the acting Liam Neeson did. It was evil and cold-hearted and fitted perfectly but I didn't like his facial hair.
Rachel Daws - Spiffy and rightous district attorney trying to make Gotham City a cool place to live in. He is somewhat clumsy at confessing her love for Bruce but I'm sure the second part of this story will rock more.
Alfred Pennyworth - A rock by Bruce. I love his character in a very non-gay and manly way. I am annoyed that a person with a clear and pure English accent uses the word 'Nevah' twice. Did I expect this? NEVAH!
The Acting
Some parts were great and others were not so great. It doesn't fall below any of my standards. They had great actors and they kept to the original comicbook batman as much as they could.
All in all
Well, well, well. Compared to the original Tim Burton movies, which were more comedy than action, this movie lets you belive that this is an actual world with actual people. It keeps the dark aura surrounding batman and doesn't make fun of his tight outfit. It tries to explain all of the gadgets, villians and thoughts of Batman and does a fine job at it. It proves what a action-movie hero could be!
8 for acting.
10 for directing
8 for the storyline
11 for the new way.
Batman's costume gets 10/11.
Batman's car gets 6/11 for it being so tank-like.
The Scarecrow gets 3/11 for pulling a potato-sack over his head and making evil faces at Batman.
Edit: Remeber the original Penguin and Batman!
Warning, spoilers. (I tried to keep it to a minimum.)
Really, don't read unless you have seen the movie.
Pre P.S.
I'm not good at writing movie reviews, so up yours. The Storyline
Bruce Wayne is the only living member of the Wayne family.
For you who haven't got a clue what batman is about, then the Wayne family has made an empire for itself and is one of the most powerful families in the city. Wayne's parents get shot after which he swears revenge to the criminals responcible.
Anyway, in the beginning we see young 8-year-old Bruce playing with one (possibly only) of his friends, Rachel Dawes, who grows up to be a District Attorney and a damn good one, it seems. Bruce, by a series of events, falls down a well and is terrified by the bats inside. Until his father, Thomas Wayne, comes to his rescue, he is quivering in hole in the ground, which later becomes The Batcave, but more on that later. Moving on. Young sir loses his parents to a mugging gone wrong and blames himself for it. (They were at the theater and the show was about bats. he got scared, they left).
10 years later, Bruce is 18 and decides to get revenge on the man who shot his parents but is beaten to the punch by another criminal. Seeking the other side of life (the criminal side) he travels a thousand miles and davels in criminal activity and winds up in a prison that is far far away in some asian country. Henri Ducard, appears as Ra's al Ghul's representative offering Mr. Wayne a different future. A place in The League of Shadows. One thing leads to another and suddenly he is being trained on a hill in the arts of hiding, ninja and all things martial (not to mention martial arts). He is forced to take the life of a local thief who, the league says, is a criminal and must be killed but goody-two-shoes, Bruce Wayne, refuses. Following a fight and a big explosion, the house in which he was being trained, gets destroyed and he barely manages to escape but also saves Henri Ducard to prove he is a good person after all.
He returns about 9 years later and slowly realises that he, as Bruce Wayne, can do very little to help the poor and the starving but he, as a symbol of courage, freedom and justice (Batman), can do a whole lot.
The family name Wayne is one of the more powerful family names in Gotham and as such he has access to all kinds of cool gadgets and things which he uses to build Batman. Basicly, this movie was made to explain how and why Batman has such cool gadgets and skills.
All suited up and ready to go they introduce the main villain, Dr. Jonathan Crane a.k.a. The Scarecrow. Before this they also bring in a mobster, Carmine Falcone. Although it's just a pawn of the mastermind, he does controls the city and the thugs within.
This is where the real action begins and Batman starts to act up to his name from the comicbooks. The Scarecrow and his mastermind, Ra's al Ghul, want to fill the city with a fear-inducing toxic gas and thus destroy the city or let the city destroy itself, to be more exact.
Batman gears up, beats them, saves his girlfriend, the one decent cop Jim Gordon, and rebuilds the now burnt down Wayne Mannor.
At the end we get a hint as to who will play the villian in the next movie.
The Characters
Bruce Wayne - The rich guy. It's tricky to evaluate him, because Bruce Wayne isn't Bruce Wayne anymore. Bruce is face he puts on while he isn't Batman. The actor does a good job at playing Bruce and I'm very much happy with it in comparison to the other Bruce Wayne's from the other Batman movies.
Batman - The caped crusader. In comparison to the very first show where the bat-bumerang was so far batman's bat-ass that he couldn't bat-act properly, this time Batman is a dark figure but a belivable hero. I am a fan of the comics and the cartoon so I can't say that it's bad but the only thing I didn't like, honestly, was the new Bat-Car. In all other aspects, it's a pretty sweet character.
Henri Ducard / Ra's al Ghul - Yes, he is actually al Ghul. But only because Ra's al Ghul is supposed to be an immortal person and thus a position in the League of Shadows. I am very happy with the acting Liam Neeson did. It was evil and cold-hearted and fitted perfectly but I didn't like his facial hair.
Rachel Daws - Spiffy and rightous district attorney trying to make Gotham City a cool place to live in. He is somewhat clumsy at confessing her love for Bruce but I'm sure the second part of this story will rock more.
Alfred Pennyworth - A rock by Bruce. I love his character in a very non-gay and manly way. I am annoyed that a person with a clear and pure English accent uses the word 'Nevah' twice. Did I expect this? NEVAH!
The Acting
Some parts were great and others were not so great. It doesn't fall below any of my standards. They had great actors and they kept to the original comicbook batman as much as they could.
All in all
Well, well, well. Compared to the original Tim Burton movies, which were more comedy than action, this movie lets you belive that this is an actual world with actual people. It keeps the dark aura surrounding batman and doesn't make fun of his tight outfit. It tries to explain all of the gadgets, villians and thoughts of Batman and does a fine job at it. It proves what a action-movie hero could be!
8 for acting.
10 for directing
8 for the storyline
11 for the new way.
Batman's costume gets 10/11.
Batman's car gets 6/11 for it being so tank-like.
The Scarecrow gets 3/11 for pulling a potato-sack over his head and making evil faces at Batman.
Edit: Remeber the original Penguin and Batman!
Malcolm Lincoln wrote: