Comments on: Batman Begins

By: The Dark Knight Rises » DVDs Worth Watching

The Dark Knight Rises » DVDs Worth Watching — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 04:34:59 +0000

[...] Dark Knight (because I was upset by Heath Ledger’s passing), and I was three years late on Batman Begins. So this is something of a naive writeup. Plus, at 2 hours and 45 minutes, I’m more [...]

By: Dark Knight Rises on DVD December 4 » DVDs Worth Watching

Dark Knight Rises on DVD December 4 » DVDs Worth Watching — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 20:15:58 +0000

[...] Dark Knight Rises, the third in the most recent cinematic Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, comes to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on December 4. [...]

By: Batman Movie DVD Set on Sale Ã‚Â» DVDs Worth Watching

Batman Movie DVD Set on Sale Ã‚Â» DVDs Worth Watching — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:18:10 +0000

[...] memories of its overblown glory. I know, at least, they’ll be easier for me to follow than Batman Begins. And I’ll enjoy seeing the special features and making-ofs. [...]

By: patrick

patrick — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:14:32 +0000

Christian Bale’s work tends to be right on all the time

By: Dark Knight Sets Box Office Record » Comics Worth Reading

Dark Knight Sets Box Office Record » Comics Worth Reading — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:19:34 +0000

[...] are expecting this movie to beat the total domestic take of Batman Begins by the end of this first week, though, over $200 million. That’s quite a rapid return. [...]

By: James Schee

James Schee — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:27:23 +0000

Hmm the odd part for me is that the part you said was slow, was the most interesting part for me.

When he gets back to Gotham and puts on that ugly suit, it got sort of dull for me. I may be going through a phase though. Since I watched the new Hulk movie in the theater last night. It was okay, but the Hulk just looked silly to me too.

I’ll probably go see the new Batman this week though, its showing in my local theater which has $1 during the week shows.

By: Batman: Gotham Knight » Comics Worth Reading

Batman: Gotham Knight » Comics Worth Reading — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:25:17 +0000

[...] penned by current and past Batman writers. The idea is for them to use the template created in Batman Begins as a reference for what Gotham looks like and what characters they can incorporate in their [...]

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:52:21 +0000

Interesting you should mention Gotham Knight… And I take your point about plausibility. As I tried to explain in my comments (but may not have gotten through successfully), I find many people think of Batman as more plausible than other superheroes, but that doesn’t work for me because of what all his writers and artists and stories have added on over the years. But yes, I agree that someone who goes on that quest won’t be the nicest person to meet. :)

By: The Deacon

The Deacon — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:35:32 +0000

I see your point and I’d say that the new animated flick Gotham Night deals somewhat with that theme in the first segment. A group of skater kids trade stories about Batman encounters. The different ways each sees Batman is interesting.
This may be picky, but I don’t necessarily aim for a creepy Batman, it just seems to me that somebody who transforms himself into a war machine to fight the nastiest of the nasty will end up with some rough and unpleasant edges, and that just seems more plausible to me. (I know, I know, plausible and super hero movies? Whateva!)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:22:08 +0000

That’s fine — disagreement can be more interesting, sometimes. I’m glad you enjoyed it; thanks for explaining more about what you saw in it.

I think we fundamentally have different views of what Batman should be. I think he should only strike fear into bad guys. You (and the movie) seem to aim more for someone who frightens everyone, if only a bit.

By: The Deacon

The Deacon — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:59:37 +0000

Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with all of you. The first hour was doing something that no other batman movie (or comic that I know of) has done. That is, show how batman was made. In the old stories and movies, you see poor little Bruce’s parents shot down and the next logical step is, of course, swinging around in a bat suit beating up bad guys. Huh? I appreciated the inclusion of how he decided to be a symbolic figure of fear, where that symbol came from, and the ways that this relentless pursuit of justice (or is it revenge?) for his parents has left him empty, even in the end. I also appreciate the way that the Scarecrow is his opposite. He uses fear for very different reasons.
Also, you’re not supposed to want to be next to Batman. The ol’ “it takes a monster to defeat a monster” dictum is at work here. Batman is a symbol power, fear, and above-normal ambition, not humor like Iron Man. Batman is fare more serious than Tony Stark. His suit doesn’t have missiles or servo motors and it can’t fly. He is the engine and he tunes his body and mind like a machine.
After that movie, Batman stopped being a super hero to me and became a Samurai.
I enjoyed the first one quite a bit, and still enjoy watching it now.
I can’t wait to go see DK tomorrow!
Cheers, folks. Sorry to disagree, but at least I’m cheery about it!

By: A Different Dave

A Different Dave — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:50:08 +0000

Pretty much ditto on what the first 2 commenters said. My wife was a good sport and went with me to begins (she even put on a Batgirl (Bruce Timm version) t-shirt to match my Batman tee. I enjoyed it but it didn’t stick much – and when my wife gave me the DVD for Christmas two years ago, well… let’s just say it still has the wrapper on it. And she has already announced she has no desire to see the new one because “it looks scary.”

One thing: I thought the filmmakers missed a plum opportunity to offer a up a little harmless fan service: IIRC, there was a scene set outside the back door of Captain (?) Gordon’s apartment (wow, memory fuzzy). It would have been cool to see a young teen girl with red hair and glasses out on the porch/fire-escape/whatever observing the chaos – and then a voice from inside says “Come back inside, Barbara.”

yes, I’m a dork

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:04:24 +0000

I agree about the lack of emotional resonance of Batman Begins. I remember liking it when I saw it, but not a lot of it remains with me now.

I doubt I’ll see The Dark Knight. I can’t get past the visual portrayal of the Joker. He should be insanely evil, but not gross. I had the same problem with the Penguin in Batman Returns. It hurt to watch that movie. Of course, the next two films were painful to watch as well, but for different reasons.

However, I hope this new film is a success. If so, it would serve as a fitting memory for a talented actor who died far too soon.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:38:22 +0000

I’m glad to hear you liked the second one more! KC saw this first one in the theater (at a convention sneak preview, so with a very jazzed sympathetic audience), and he loved it. Watching it again on DVD with me, he agreed that the first hour was somewhat slow going. So I think the sense of surprise is helpful to the enjoyment, as are the surroundings.

By: Brian Morton

Brian Morton — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:12:36 +0000

Johanna, I know what you mean. I saw Batman Begins in the theatre when it came out, but had trouble remembering it a week later. I enjoyed parts of it while watching them, and I liked the car, but nothing resonated, as you say, emotionally. I tried watching the dvd last year, but wandered off about halfway through, looking for something that might interest me more.

That being said, go with KC to see this one in the theatre, it gave me almost everything the first one didn’t. I’ll not hype it up any more, there’s plenty of that already, but I think you’ll be pleased with Nolan’s work this time out.

Oh, and take lozenges. Batman’s snarly voice made me want soothing candies every time he talked.