Netflix delivers a good one.
Jan. 8th, 2006 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreBatman Begins was one of those movies that I really meant to see in the theater.. but a combination of other obligations and a lack of funds kept me from doing so.
Netflix brought it to my door the other day, and I am very happy with the film. Christian Bale is nearly perfect as the young Dark Knight, and Gary Oldman simply becomes Lt. James Gordon.
But the best part was how they handled Batman's gear and Gotham City. One of the problems of the last couple of Batman films was that I stopped believing in both the city and the equipment. Batman is supposed to be based somewhere in reality.. someone could do what he does with enough money, talent, and determination. In the same vein, Gotham is supposed to be a real city. Dirty, crowded, with different neighborhoods showing different faces. The later Batman films turned Gotham into some weird art deco nightmare, with nothing at all real about it. Same with Batman. The gear was ridiculous by the time of Batman & Robin. Not so in Batman Begins. Gotham is a very real city, with the exception of the monorail system. Batman's gear is quite feasible. (Forbes magazine did a story on what it would cost to make yourself Batman. About $3.5 million, but you're on your own in finding an ancient order of ninja to train you.)
Possibly may favorite point was that while there were two members of Batman's rogues' gallery in the film, they were pretty much separate stories. Ra's Al Ghul was masterfully played by Liam Neeson (and if you object that he actually played Henri Duchard, you don't know your Bat history.) and Cillian Murphy was appropriately psychotic as Dr. Crane/The Scarecrow.
Good film. Well worth seeing again.
Next up: Better Off Dead, one of my all time favorites.
Netflix brought it to my door the other day, and I am very happy with the film. Christian Bale is nearly perfect as the young Dark Knight, and Gary Oldman simply becomes Lt. James Gordon.
But the best part was how they handled Batman's gear and Gotham City. One of the problems of the last couple of Batman films was that I stopped believing in both the city and the equipment. Batman is supposed to be based somewhere in reality.. someone could do what he does with enough money, talent, and determination. In the same vein, Gotham is supposed to be a real city. Dirty, crowded, with different neighborhoods showing different faces. The later Batman films turned Gotham into some weird art deco nightmare, with nothing at all real about it. Same with Batman. The gear was ridiculous by the time of Batman & Robin. Not so in Batman Begins. Gotham is a very real city, with the exception of the monorail system. Batman's gear is quite feasible. (Forbes magazine did a story on what it would cost to make yourself Batman. About $3.5 million, but you're on your own in finding an ancient order of ninja to train you.)
Possibly may favorite point was that while there were two members of Batman's rogues' gallery in the film, they were pretty much separate stories. Ra's Al Ghul was masterfully played by Liam Neeson (and if you object that he actually played Henri Duchard, you don't know your Bat history.) and Cillian Murphy was appropriately psychotic as Dr. Crane/The Scarecrow.
Good film. Well worth seeing again.
Next up: Better Off Dead, one of my all time favorites.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: Of a similar genre, perhaps
Date: 8 Jan 2006 20:39 (UTC)I took pictures intending to post them, but I've never had much luck posting them because I don't upload them to a personal website. It's fun to watch locally filmed stuff to pick out the impossibilities of going down one street, turning a corner, and being physically 10 miles away. :D Of the recent films shot near my work, Blade Trinity, Fantastic Four and I Robot come to mind. Although they tend to film at night so I haven't seen anyone famous. Oh, and Smallville... the LuthorCorp building is right next door to me. :)