Setsuled's Journal

So there's this new Batman movie out and it's pretty good. Batman, for you Kevin Mahers out there, was originally a comic book character who's become extremely popular over the past sixty years and has seen many incarnations. In the media of moving pictures (and no, The Dark Knight Returns doesn't work as a flip book), Batman Begins is the best Batman in nearly every way.

There's a plain canniness about Christopher Nolan's direction and, for the most part, editing is excellently communicative. In fact, especially during the first half of the movie, it can be said that Nolan's direction sinks comfortably into the styrofoam cup holders of our perceptions, and we feel a direct feed with the world of Bruce Wayne.

It's a movie that sits you down and broaches the discussion, "So, just how would a fellow get to be Batman?" And it's an intelligent and stimulating discussion. Christian Bale is excellent at getting the emotions for each segment, and the emotional core of every step on the road to Batmanness is consequentially felt by us. It's two things--there's a more realistic setting and society than previous Batmans and Bale's keen inhabitation of the story. When his parents' killer is on trial, and Wayne goes through a series of very pivotal decisions, Bale brings across the conflict on the face while still being the college misfit Wayne is at this point.

Set design, especially the area of Gotham known as "The Narrows", is beautiful, sombre, and unabashedly Blade Runner-inspired. Which is real good.

By now, actually, I'm sure you've read all about the movie's general greatness. There were only a couple of complaints I had about the film . . . The fight scenes were mostly disappointingly muddled, filmed seemingly with long lenses zoomed in to where you can see only confusing arm and leg motions. Sometimes, that's appropriate, but other times, it's only frustrating. The screenplay had mainly decent dialogue, and the incredible supporting cast made it seem often brilliant. But, as Robyn pointed out, there's this cloying "rhyming" problem, where characters keep repeating certain lines all through the movie. I suppose it's effective for driving certain points home, but I gotta think there're better ways of doing it.

So that's said.

I took a quiz made by Christa Faust, the result of which, as you can see, I have good reason to be proud of;


You are Philip Marlowe


Which Harboiled Dick Are You?
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