Batman Begins
Posted on July 21, 2008 - Filed Under Film |
I saw this film earlier tonight on Sky One, and I swear it will be the last time I ever try to watch a movie on that channel. The ad-breaks are about 10 minutes long, and just when you think that you’ve seen the last idiotic commercial for their dreadful programming, along comes an advert for Weetabix, followed by more dreary ads.
Anyhow, I found the movie itself quite disappointing. I tend to dislike superhero films in general, but I had moderately high hopes for this one, given all the hype surrounding its sequel, and because I think Christian Bale is a rather good actor. Nevertheless, it wasn’t altogether bad, and I think that it’s at least better than any other superhero film I’ve seen (unless you count Robocop as a superhero).
The main problem with the film (and this is pretty obvious when watching it for the first time and on the verge of its sequel’s release) is that it spends a very long time establishing the foundations of the Batman story. This is all necessary, of course, but by the time that the films has explained how an orphaned billionaire has become a man who fight crime by night in a Batsuit then there is not much time left to craft a very meaningful plot for the film itself. This results in a rather weak and hurried story in which Batman lacks a strong antagonist, since neither Liam Neeson nor Cillian Murphy’s characters are sufficiently developed (although Murphy does manage to turn in a delightfully deranged performance in the limited time afforded to him).
While Batman Begins is only a middling film, there is good reason to hope that the sequel, unencumbered by the necessity of constructing an entire back-story, will be better. However, on the basis of this film, with its clumsily shot fight scenes, trite dialogue and dull, instantly forgettable set-pieces, I’m not terribly optimistic. Heath Ledger’s Joker better be as good as people claim…
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5 Responses to “Batman Begins”
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Try Iron Man if you’re looking for a better super-hero version.
Your review is spot on imho.
*better super-hero movie, that should be.
Christian Bale’s work tends to be right on all the time
Hello, just came across your blog; have to agree with you on Batman Begins. I honestly didn’t get what all the fuss was about. I’m not sure that we needed that much back story; I think Nolan is a stickler for realism and felt he had to provide a reason for every one of Bruce Wayne’s actions. How did you find The Dark Knight in comparison? I would say, however, that there are other better superhero movies…Ironman was good and lots of fun!
I like The Dark Knight a lot, but it still contains some of the flaws of the first film, such as generally weak dialogue and awkward fight sequences in which it’s hard to see what’s going on. Having said that, the story’s far better than the first film’s, and it makes for compelling viewing right up until Ledger’s last scene. I thought the pace sagged a little after that, leaving a weak ending. So that’s my take on it.