Action

Batman Begins movie review

by Chris   ⋅   June 25, 2005   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Is it really worth nine bucks? I had really paid little to no attention to the making of this film, but in the weeks leading up to its release I gradually caught the Batman bug. The weekend it released, I was darn ready to slap down the $18.00 necessary to get Kris and I in the door at the local Cineplex to check it out.

You know the story, so I won’t repeat it here. Goyer’s script is rather good, though the constant repetition of the word “fear” kept reminding me of Donnie Darko. It made me wonder why he had screwed up Blade Trinity so royally. Nolan was a welcome choice for the project; a technically sound director who knows how to effectively place the camera, though those who believe him to have revolutionized the format of the filmic narrative obviously never watched the famous backward Seinfeld episode. His insistence on the action adhering to a practical limited-CGI and no-wires regimen was definitely a welcome change, but as all the hand to hand combat is shot in maximum-blur close-up, you never really get to witness the ideology in effect. Bale does a serviceable job as Bruce Wayne, though I don’t think he’ll replace Keaton.

Now, with a week’s passage since our viewing of the film, I really can’t recall anything that actually stood out amongst the other Batman films.In fact, I daresay I remember more things “Batmanesque” from the Joel Schumacher bombs than I remember from Batman Begins. While definitely enjoyable as an action film, I’d have to say Batman Returns is still my favorite in the series. Check it out if you have the cash, but there’s no reason not to wait until the DVD.

About the Author:

Chris Nelson has been an avid film fan since the age of six. His all-time splatter favorites include Lady Snowblood, Evil Dead 2, Re-Animator and Razorback.