a new beginning for the dark knight 



On Tuesday night I caught a midnight showing of Batman Begins, and I have to say that I'm beginning to believe that Hollywood finally seems to be learning how to make consistently good movies (note: I don't, however, have very high hopes for the upcoming Fantastic Four--we'll just see about that one). Finally, they're getting it right, especially in respect to the tired Batman franchise. Batman Begins is, hands down, the best movie in the series. In fact, I'd like to just pretend the first four movies never existed and move on from here (seriously, Batman and Robin is high on my list of the worst movies ever made). Gone is the stomach-turning darkness of the first two Tim Burton films (and don't get me wrong--I love Tim Burton). Obliterated is the cartoon campiness of the latter films. And thank goodness. The vision of Batman Begins is, I think, perfect. In fact, I'm having a hard time thinking of anything I didn't like about the film. Maybe Ken Watanabe could have been used a bit more, but besides that I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Even Katie Holmes didn't bug me.

I won't go on and on about it; I really wouldn't know where to begin anyway. I'll just sum it all up with this: the cast is absolutely wonderful (Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman), a line-up that any lover of good acting would be happy with. The plot is fascinating--it's great to get a convincing glimpse into the psyche of Bruce Wayne and to see how his vigilantism all got started. The action is fun to watch without being so over-the-top that it's impossible to suspend one's disbelief (like in the previous Batman movies). And for my money, Christian Bale is the best Batman yet.

Honestly, I had given up on the possibility of a good Batman film, but Batman Begins has given me a new hope for the Dark Knight. My sincere hope is that this will revive the franchise and be the beginning of several good sequels. And if Hollywood can just disregard the errors of the past, we can even bring back some of the old villains. I'm so looking forward to seeing a better incarnation of the Joker especially. But anyway, I would highly recommend Batman Begins, and if you're disappointed with this movie, well... I just don't know what to say. 

Posted: Thu - June 16, 2005 at 02:01 AM           |

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