Batman Begins (2005) - Review Thread

According to superherohype.com, the cast and crew of Batman Begins arrived on Iceland yesterday. Christian Bale and Liam Neeson will begin filming in about a week or two. I can't wait to see some pictures from the set. Finally, after 7 years, a Batman film is in production and this one might end up being the best of them all.

I saw Batman Begins and LOVED IT! And although I will admit that Batman Begins is the better film, for some reason, I enjoy Tim Burton's Batman film a lot more. I can't explain it. Does anyone else feel the same way?

I was watching Batman Begins on ABC tonight and it occurred to me that this film does a number of things better than The Dark Knight.

1. It's more epic. The various locations added a lot of scope to the picture.

2. Christian Bale is a lot better here. Then again, that could be because his Batman voice is not annoying.

3. Katie Holmes isn't that bad. I don't know why I was so harsh on Katie back then. Maybe all the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes Mania bothered me or something. But, as I said, she's pretty good. And she has chemistry with Bale. The only real flaw is that she looks too young. She barely looks out of college. No one is gonna believe that she's an Assistant District Attorney.

4. Gotham looks like... Gotham. Here, they kept the Chicago shooting to a minimal. They relied mostly on sets in England.

5. The score is WAY better. James Newton Howard was on the forefront of this soundtrack and he created some beautiful music. Hans Zimmer was given too much control in The Dark Knight. So, that film has the generic nonsense that has plagued summer blockbusters for the past decade.

I attended AMC's "Dark Knight Trilogy" marathon. So, after watching all three movies in a row, I was left very unsatisified by Dark Knight Rises. Batman Begins is flawed, in my opinion, but at least it has HEART. Dark Knight has a great script and a brilliant villain. Dark Knight Rises has neither of these things. The movie is just a race to the finish line.

I watched all three movies at AMC's Dark Knight marathon. Having gone through that experience, I feel that Batman Begins is not only superior but should be given a lot more credit. And this is coming from someone who has been very critical of the film. Batman Begins is - more Batman - than any of the three Chris Nolan adaptations. Using "The Narrows" and including Arkham Asylum gave the movie a style and tone that fits Batman perfectly. I may prefer Dark Knight, but people are correct when they say it's Heat with Batman characters. Batman Begins is the only Nolan film that people can look at and say, "THAT'S a Batman movie."

Call me crazy, but years from, when other Batman films get made and the Nolan fandom has faded away, I think people will look back at Batman Begins a lot more fondly. When I was a kid, everyone preferred Superman II because of General Zod and the increase in action scenes. But now, everyone agrees that Richard Donner's original film is the superior one because it has heart, soul, and treats the Superman mythology with respect and awe. I think Batman Begins will become that in a decade or two.