Well...saw it...meh. Crap movie...
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Oh, I'm sorry, I was thinking of Batman & Robin! Batman Begins! Right!
:DDDDDDDDDDDDD FU.CKING KICKASS.
Let's see, first the negatives:
1. The pacing: Too fast. The film doesn't hit the ground running, it fu.cking burns the track. I understand why, it simply had a massive story to tell, but it just didn't let you breathe. It was a bit annoying...though, mind you, it made me want to see the film again and again and again, so that I would/could take it all in, so maybe that was the idea.
The pacing issue wasn't helped by the fact that my dumbass Cinema had a break just after the "just some nut" scene, where Gordon and Wayne hook up at first...it was just a crappy place to have a break. It took you straight out of the film, and it broke the pace. After that 10 minute break, you had to re-adjust and get ready for the breakneck speed again. $hit. Can't wait to see this film without a d@mn break.
Maybe that now though that the origin is "out of the way", in the sequel there will be more moments where you can catch a breather.
2. The chase: Don't get me wrong, the Batmobile was kickass, and the chase was good, but it wasn't nearly as "dramatic" as I'd expected it. First of all, you never really felt Batman was in danger. Nobody shot at him, and he just ran over everyone. Second, when they first announced there'd be a chase sequence with the Batmobile in Batman Begins, they described it as a "French Connection" sort of chase...it definitely isn't...but it's still "good", so never mind...just a tad disappointing.
3. Judge Faden. The whole "I'm Batman" scene was changed, and I'm not necessarily saying it was better or worse, but because it was Falcone in the car instead of Faden, we never actually see Batman get the pictures against Faden. In Goyer's original script, it's Faden in the Limo with 2 girls. Batman lands on the roof, takes out the driver, Faden wonders wtf is going on, and then the black Limo screen comes down, revealing Batman in the front seat. Here, it's Falcone in the backseat. That's fine. But where's Faden? How did he get the evidence against him? Fine, he could have got it from Falcone's safe, or that he did it at another time...but still...it bugged me a bit. Fu.ck it.
To the good:
Well...what wasn't good? It's awesome. A really kickass film that I can't wait to see again.
The ending: Fu.cking cool. I knew it would be, based on the script, but the way it's played out between Oldman and Bale is awesome. "I never said 'thank you'." "And you'll never have to..." *Gordon smiles*, *Batman glides*...Awesome...And that Joker card...
The signal/s: Don't ask me why, but I sincerely appreciated the fact that there are two "signals". There's the signal Batman makes with Falcone, that looks similar to the old Burton/Schumacer signal, and the signal created by the police. I appreciated that. And though it's blurry, it wasn't "too" blurry, like I feared. You can tell it's a "bat-signal", not a giant blob on a spotlight. (Like it seemed in one of the T.V spots.)
Katie Holmes was seriously just fine. Don't understand the fuss most people make about her. Her lines do come off as preachy in the script and the movie, but Holmes makes the most of them, and her performance makes the lines work in context. She's just fine, and she was always going to be victimized as the only person considered a "star" instead of an "actor".
The fear gas parts...FU.CK. There's Zsasz on gas, there's Batman on gas, there's Scarecrow on gas...FU.CK. SO COOL. All the fear gas parts...You can see why Batman has rumors of being a "monster". They actually see him as one! Fu.cking cool. The only thing that annoyed me about this part was that you didn't see more of it! I want to see all the fear gas versions possible for 4 hours! That would work for me as a Batman movie!
As an added part: The voices of the people under the gas...FU.CK. WOW.
I found the way Holmes deals with Scarecrow at the end to be hilarious.
And, of course, the famous scene with Flass...JESUS FU.CKING CHRIST. I turned to my friend and said "FU.CK ME!" after that part. Wow. Bale was actually shaking with rage! And that voice! "SWEAR TO ME!!!!!" WOW.
Caine was really good. I thought that when they brought him in, he'd be good, but overall it would be "Michael Caine", and that he wouldn't take it seriously...but the way he took it seriously, is awesome. Great great performance.
Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson were excellent of course.
It's lucky Nolan re-wrote the end and gave more to do for Gary Oldman because Gordon simply wasn't there enough...that isn't a bad thing, as it's obvious he'll be much more of a major player now that the origin story is out of the way...but there simply wasn't enough of him, and it's lucky he had something to do with saving the city.
I loved the obvious "Nolan" trademarks. The parts with the stethoscope, obviously Nolan, with the things that remind of other things, quick cuts to a memory and back, just like Memento. I love those little things. It's those little things that go a long way, such as that, and the arrow head, and the "milk" that Bale and Holmes discuss...it's scenes like those that make me smile and think that Holmes and Rachel deserve to be in this movie...you see that they're friends. Good work by Nolan. (Who added in those parts.)
Thomas Wayne was awesome. My friends were a bit disappointed Martha Wayne had nothing to say, but I concentrated more on the fact that Thomas had something to say, and that's more than B89 or the other movies had. He was actually a character. A purely good one. And thanks mainly due to Alfred and Bruce, his legend lives on, even after his death. As I have a very good, loving, relationship with my father, it was something I was very much appreciative of, and something that hurt me even more when he died. I was on the verge of tears (well, I'm lying, I did have tears in my eyes) when his parents were gunned down so suddenly. Continued through 2 scenes afterwards, as, even though I'd seen it before, the scene with Bruce feeling guilt for his parents death touched me.
First of all, I tell my father everything, and he's very much open with me as well. Second, I remember that as a child, he'd lay in bed with me at night, and we'd talk about all sorts of things, and, sooner or later, we'd talk about death. And it just hurt me as an 8 or 10 year old to hear my own father talking about death, and laughing (sometimes) about his own death. I used to cry about that (yes, after all the big talk, I'm just an emotional little child at heart...), and seeing Bruce having to face that at something like 8, I truly felt his pain. Awful. Heart-wrenching, seriously.
Anyway, it's great, epic in scope, love all the shots of Tibet, or Bhutan, or whereever...the cinematography sometimes is nothing short of stunning.
Back to things that bugged me, and didn't have anything to do with the film:
1. Cell phones. I'll fu.cking kill every last one of the motherfu.ckers in my cinema. There was this one guy whose phone rang off for about 4 times during the film, and the first time it went off, he didn't pick it up after 10 rings. Motherfu.cker. And then there were two other people whose phone went off. Fu.cking b@st@rds.
2. My friend. I went with 3, and 2 enjoyed it, the other one didn't. That didn't surprise me, as he obviously just doesn't enjoy the genre. (He hated Spiderman 1 and 2 with a passion.) But it's not that he disliked it...he simply started talking to the guy next to him, loudly, of course, and started playing with his cell phone by the end of the film. Motherfu.cker. I was thinking about not talking to this guy after we graduate, and now I'm ever so close to it, simply as he didn't shut the fu.ck up.
3. The promotion. I realize that because it's Israel, the unofficial ass-end of the world, nobody thinks about promoting movies here...but plenty of films get at least a few fu.cking street signs...Batman Begins didn't even get that. And it showed. Maybe it was because it was an early showing (19:00, instead of 22:00, or 00:00), but the place was half full (all clapped in the end, including myself, with a loud "FU.CK YEAH!" from me of course)...
4. Kids. I fu.cking hate people who talk during a good movie. When it's crap, ok, but this was a fu.cking good movie, and there were 2 kids behind me who had to comment on every scene. And it's not that they were stating "Oh, that was $hit!". They were explaining the fu.cking movie for the rest of the audience...LOUDLY. (After Chill gets shot by Falcone's assassin, and not Wayne.) "Whoa! So he didn't kill him!"
Gee, thanks kid. Didn't get that one. And it wasn't just that, they just wouldn't SHUT THE FU.CK UP! Where's Samuel L. Jackson when you need him? Where's Christian Bale when you need him? I swear, at that moment, I would have given everything to become a "terrible idea, a wraith", beat the crap out of them and ask them "DO I LOOK LIKE A COP?!?!?!?!"
Anyway, I told them to shut up twice. :\
Anyway, now that my thoughts and rage-filled feelings are out there...all that's left to say really is...Batman Began...and he fu.cking kicked all kinds of ass. And lots of it. Can't wait for him to "return".
