bob
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Post by bob on Aug 26, 2012 19:12:07 GMT -5
Batman Begins Directed by Christopher Nolan. Written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan. Starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe and Morgan Freeman. Released on June 10, 2005 in Russia, June 15, 2005 in the U.S. I am not going to write too much about this movie right now because I don’t want to jam all my thoughts into the first post of the discussion. I lost track of how many times I've seen Batman Begins and I enjoy it more each and every time I see it. My "Three Reasons" why this film is particularly unique: 1) It managed to revive the Batman movie franchise which was left for dead after Batman and Robin killed it in 1997. 2) Due to the success of this movie it ushered in an era of movies based on comic book characters that are geared towards adult audiences. 3) It was the first of four movies that Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale worked together on, with the others being The Prestige, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Watch, discuss and enjoy Batman Begins! Also, remember to add your selection to the schedule. docs.google.com/folder/d/0B9hPR8HPrcOLa3RNTzhWdWtIbkE/edit?pli=1 |
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darthalexander
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Post by darthalexander on Aug 26, 2012 22:49:17 GMT -5
I completely avoided this when it came out because I was still pretty digusted by Batman and Robin. I just had no interest in it and I thought it would probably be some of kind of hack work.
I finally managed to see it and I really liked it. I was quite surprised and thrilled by seeing the material done in such a "grown up" way. I did feel that Katie Holmes was miscast though. I was also amazed that it didn't involve the Joker.
On a side note, I hope there's a Lex Luthor "pop" at the end of Man of Steel like this film had for Joker.
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bob
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The "other" Bob. FOC COURSE!
started the Madness Wars, Proudly the #1 Nana Hater on FAN
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Post by bob on Aug 27, 2012 8:05:05 GMT -5
On an interesting side note Batman Begins was the first of many movies the stars, besides Bale, worked with Nolan on. Michael Caine - Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises Morgan Freeman - Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises Cillian Murphy - Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises Liam Neeson - Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises Gary Oldman - Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises Ken Watanabe - Batman Begins, Inception en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_nolan#Recurring_collaborators |
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on Aug 27, 2012 10:48:05 GMT -5
Great movie. Loses a little bit of steam towards the end. The "I won't kill you but I don't have to save you" line was especially awkward.
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bob
Salacious Crumb
The "other" Bob. FOC COURSE!
started the Madness Wars, Proudly the #1 Nana Hater on FAN
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Post by bob on Aug 27, 2012 15:44:19 GMT -5
To me what really separates Batman Begins from all the previous Batman movies is that it manages to make both the caped crusader as well as the villains (in this instance Ra's al Ghul, the League of Shadows, and Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow) very interesting.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2012 16:49:52 GMT -5
I didn't like this movie the first time I saw it. After watching it a few more times, I've grown to love it.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Aug 27, 2012 16:58:14 GMT -5
I really wanted to see it in 2005, but my parents didn't want to(I wasn't old enough to drive, so I could go see it by myself), so I had to wait for it to air on TV before finally seeing it.
I liked it when I first saw it. Now I love it and own it on Blu-ray.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Aug 27, 2012 17:30:28 GMT -5
This is still my favourite of the Nolan trilogy
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Aug 27, 2012 19:23:58 GMT -5
I was not a big fan of this one. The origin story - like the film - is long, and very bland. The action is shot appallingly, God knows what went on in those fight scenes.
It just felt long and boring to me.
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bob
Salacious Crumb
The "other" Bob. FOC COURSE!
started the Madness Wars, Proudly the #1 Nana Hater on FAN
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Post by bob on Aug 28, 2012 9:52:04 GMT -5
I did feel that Katie Holmes was miscast though. I don't know if Katie was miscast, but she easily gave the weakest performance out of everyone in it. Then again I haven't seen many movies that Katie has been in. |
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Post by Bang Bang Bart on Aug 28, 2012 9:59:03 GMT -5
I think we're all in agreement that the fight scenes are some of the worst shot in any recent movie?
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Post by nocomments87 on Aug 28, 2012 10:51:05 GMT -5
I had just seen this one again recently on Blu-ray, along with The Dark Knight, before I went to see Rises in theatres. To me, it's the weakest of the 3, but at the same time, it's necessary in the story that the entire trilogy told. What makes this movie is the story and the music score. When you watch this and The Dark Knight back to back, you start to realize that Katie Holmes wasn't so bad afterall...especially when you have Maggie Gyllenhaal doing a worse job in the same role.
For those with Blu-ray, the Batman Begins Blu-ray doesn't exactly come recommended...it's in dire need of a remaster (this one was one of WB's lazy HD-DVD ports).
Out of 10, I give this movie a 7. Good movie, but there's plenty of room for improvement. The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises nailed it as far as what Begins was lacking. Great lead-in for those two movies, though.
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bob
Salacious Crumb
The "other" Bob. FOC COURSE!
started the Madness Wars, Proudly the #1 Nana Hater on FAN
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Post by bob on Aug 28, 2012 16:51:31 GMT -5
For those with Blu-ray, the Batman Begins Blu-ray doesn't exactly come recommended...it's in dire need of a remaster (this one was one of WB's lazy HD-DVD ports). That's very disappointing as I really want this on blu-ray. Oh well. In my first initial post I mentioned how this movie ushered in an era of movies based on comic books that are geared towards adult audiences. Three years from now will have been a decade since Batman Begins was released. This idea along with the psychological approach to superhero movies has clearly influenced the genre of film. Should this practice continue 13 years from now would it be fair to call Batman Begins one of the most influential films ever made? Or would it be an over reach because it only influenced super hero moves? |
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Post by nocomments87 on Aug 28, 2012 20:15:27 GMT -5
For those with Blu-ray, the Batman Begins Blu-ray doesn't exactly come recommended...it's in dire need of a remaster (this one was one of WB's lazy HD-DVD ports). That's very disappointing as I really want this on blu-ray. Oh well. In my first initial post I mentioned how this movie ushered in an era of movies based on comic books that are geared towards adult audiences. Three years from now will have been a decade since Batman Begins was released. This idea along with the psychological approach to superhero movies has clearly influenced the genre of film. Should this practice continue 13 years from now would it be fair to call Batman Begins one of the most influential films ever made? Or would it be an over reach because it only influenced super hero moves? If you can find it cheap, I'd say go for it. But, if I know WB, I can see them doing a nice trilogy boxset...maybe even with a remastered Batman Begins (and possibly The Dark Knight too...that Blu-ray has some issues too, mainly with the 35mm film parts in 2.35:1 being plagued with edge enhancement. The IMAX scenes in 1.78:1 look stunning). It's popped up for $5 before...at that price, I don't see why not. As for the other point...I would say there were other movies before it that sorta tested the waters for a comic book movie geared towards an adult audience ("Blade" being an example of that one), but Batman Begins was definitely an influence for mainstream comic book movies geared toward an adult audience. Batman Begins had elements that you didn't find in other comic book-based movies...really allowed you to see just what made Batman "tick", and WB seemed to try to go a similar route with Superman Returns from 2006...but without the critical success that Begins had (at least WB made money...that's all they care for). The 2000's as a whole has been a great era for comic book movies, and it seems like different movies have raised the bar just a bit each time. Batman Begins was definitely one of those movies that changed how we saw superheroes on the big screen. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2012 5:40:03 GMT -5
For those with Blu-ray, the Batman Begins Blu-ray doesn't exactly come recommended...it's in dire need of a remaster (this one was one of WB's lazy HD-DVD ports). This idea along with the psychological approach to superhero movies has clearly influenced the genre of film. Should this practice continue 13 years from now would it be fair to call Batman Begins one of the most influential films ever made? Or would it be an over reach because it only influenced super hero moves? Personally, I don't think so because, while it may be thematically influential, it wouldn't be technically so. I consider films like The Jazz Singer or the remake of The Thief of Baghdad influential in terms of what you could do on screen, or even something like Bonnie and Clyde in terms of what you could get away with in terms of violence. I wouldn't put Batman Begins in that category; what I would do, however, is say that it had a great influence on what you could do in a mainstream film in terms of psychological exploration. I'm not a huge fan but Batman Begins does an excellent job of stripping down what works with Batman i.e. the grittiness, the self-exploration, the moral ambiguity at play, and presenting it in a mature way. It's not a particularly thrilling movie but, considering what passed for a Batman film in the past, it was a much needed shift into a realistic direction. It wasn't Nolan's best work but it was a needed step and, with the rest of the trilogy, you can see how well this film sets up the story. |
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bob
Salacious Crumb
The "other" Bob. FOC COURSE!
started the Madness Wars, Proudly the #1 Nana Hater on FAN
Posts: 79,137
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Post by bob on Aug 29, 2012 16:53:12 GMT -5
I had no idea Blade was based on a comic book. I guess that just shows my age.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Aug 29, 2012 19:09:51 GMT -5
That's very disappointing as I really want this on blu-ray. Oh well. In my first initial post I mentioned how this movie ushered in an era of movies based on comic books that are geared towards adult audiences. Three years from now will have been a decade since Batman Begins was released. This idea along with the psychological approach to superhero movies has clearly influenced the genre of film. Should this practice continue 13 years from now would it be fair to call Batman Begins one of the most influential films ever made? Or would it be an over reach because it only influenced super hero moves? If you can find it cheap, I'd say go for it. But, if I know WB, I can see them doing a nice trilogy boxset...maybe even with a remastered Batman Begins (and possibly The Dark Knight too...that Blu-ray has some issues too, mainly with the 35mm film parts in 2.35:1 being plagued with edge enhancement. The IMAX scenes in 1.78:1 look stunning). It's popped up for $5 before...at that price, I don't see why not. As for the other point...I would say there were other movies before it that sorta tested the waters for a comic book movie geared towards an adult audience ("Blade" being an example of that one), but Batman Begins was definitely an influence for mainstream comic book movies geared toward an adult audience. Batman Begins had elements that you didn't find in other comic book-based movies...really allowed you to see just what made Batman "tick", and WB seemed to try to go a similar route with Superman Returns from 2006...but without the critical success that Begins had (at least WB made money...that's all they care for). The 2000's as a whole has been a great era for comic book movies, and it seems like different movies have raised the bar just a bit each time. Batman Begins was definitely one of those movies that changed how we saw superheroes on the big screen. To me, Blade honestly started all of these major comic book films. I think if Blade was a bust, it may not have happened or at least not happened as quickly as it did. But because Blade, one of the most obscure characters in comics, was a success it led to things like X-Men and Spider-Man. As for the Batman Begins Blu-ray, I bought it back in June for $10 from Wal-Mart. I think that's Wal-Mart's standard price for it now. So shoddy port of the HD-DVD version or not, it is still worth it for $10. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2012 19:36:54 GMT -5
I had no idea Blade was based on a comic book. I guess that just shows my age. Not really. Blade was never a major character, being a secondary character in the Midnight Suns family of books (a favorite of my brother's actually). He was interesting but it took someone like Wesley Snipes to bring him into prominence. |
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Post by psychokiller on Aug 29, 2012 20:03:38 GMT -5
I like Batman Begins, but it's my least favorite of the trilogy. The Dark Knight is by far my favorite of the 3 movies. I think what puts The Dark Knight Rises ahead of Begins for me is Bane. Also, the action scenes are way superior in DKR. I didn't really enjoy Ra's al Ghul too much as a villain. He was too boring to me. I love Scarecrow though. What Begins has though that I like a lot that the other 2 films didn't was the dark atmosphere of Gotham.
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Aug 29, 2012 20:09:26 GMT -5
I like Batman Begins, but it's my least favorite of the trilogy. The Dark Knight is by far my favorite of the 3 movies. I think what puts The Dark Knight Rises ahead of Begins for me is Bane. Also, the action scenes are way superior in DKR. I didn't really enjoy Ra's al Ghul too much as a villain. He was too boring to me. I love Scarecrow though. What Begins has though that I like a lot that the other 2 films didn't was the dark atmosphere of Gotham. That is one thing BB had going for it. Gotham looked unique in BB, imo. TDK and TDKR made it look like any generic major metropolis with a long history. |
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