(i started writing this the saturday after the movie opened. finally got around to finishing)
well i wouldn't consider myself upper middle class but the sentiment in the song lyric fits this post and i'm bound by my self-imposed rules. can i be more of a stereotype? writing about a comic book movie? on a blog? the only think stopping me from being this guy is i'm married and don't have a ponytail.
i can't remember the last movie i was as excited about as this new batman film. perhaps ghost world? i saw it last night with excellent company. i had threatened to dress up to show my anticipation of the movie. instead i opted to only embarrass myself by pulling this relic out of the archives.
i would give it one and a half thumbs up. the half thumb deduction being for gary oldman's jim gordon being used somewhat as comic relief. i'm too much of a fan of both the actor and the character to not have his silly batmobile comments grate just a bit. the majority of the half thumb deduction goes to katie holmes. she's overexposed enough these days so i won't waste a link on her. prior to this movie she never made much of an impact on me. the only thing i recall seeing her in was wonder boys in which i found her rather forgettable. after checking her filmography on imdb i realized i've seen a few other films with her in them and was oblivious to her presence. not to spoil things for anyone that hasn't seen the movie, i almost stood up and booed during the bruce wayne/disposable katie holmes-character kiss. the only thing that stopped me was not wanting to embarrass my friends. was tempted to boo when her name appeared during the credits as well.
my main complaint with the katie holmes character is actually a fairly common film complaint of mine, particularly for action oriented movies. i first noticed and was annoyed by this plot device in druggy oliver stone's jfk. this device is the unnecessary romantic subplot. didn't care about kevin costner's dissolving relationship with his wife. i want single bullet theories and cyril wecht type stuff. (random aside...i was once at the same concert as cyril. it was a treat). i'm not someone that blanketly dismiss romantic movies. about a boy is a favorite movie and i greatly enjoyed it. i quite like love actually and hell, "love" is in the title so i certainly don't automatically dislike cinematic romance. my favorite movie of all time is really mostly a love story. but the love story aspect of those movies advanced the plot and added to the film, rather than being something tacked on to appeal to a larger viewing public. it's just such as transparent money grubbing scheme.
actually i take that back. i guess the katie holmes character does advance the plot a bit. but i can't buy her as the straight and narrow assistant district attorney. isn't she barely old enough to vote? couldn't they have found someone from one of the law and order shows to play that role? might i suggest mrs. bobby flay? really, my main complaint is that that katie's character is made out to be the impetus for bruce wayne to become batman. i know that's a total comic book geek type of complaint but i am what i am. isn't avenging his parents death and wanting to clean up his city enough motivation? it was for decades worth of comics and the other films so why not this one?
but still, i complain too much. i really did dig the movie. and i'll be lined up opening week for the next one. i thought christian bale was possibly the best at the dual role of bruce wayne and batman. the supporting cast was stellar. michael caine was flawless as alfred. while the character was slightly different, morgan freeman didn't disappoint as lucius fox. the variation on fox made it rather believable the average everyday multimillionaire could equip himself with a batcave and all the other gadgets to fight crime. that may be the first time i've ever typed the word "gadget." and how about that rutger hauer? nice to see one of my favorite 80s villain/antihero types still doing quality work. it was no nick randall or reinhardt heymar wulfgar but i enjoyed his brief screentime.
batman begins is a great flick. it lived up to my rather high expectations. it will make up for all the disappointment i know i'll feel when i see this summer's other big comic book movie.
