James Fabiano (jamesfabiano) wrote, @ 2005-06-22 00:00:00

Where it really all Begins...again
I just got back in after seeing Batman Begins in the theater.

All I can say is, any pain the Joel Schumachers of the world put us through has finally been cured.

While the EXCELLENT animated rendition of Batman (brought to life by Kevin Conroy) seen in his own animated series starting in 1992, and today on Justice League Unlimited, is still my standard for other media versions of the Dark Knight, I'd say with BB, we now have a live-action rendering of Bats' lore that the fanboys can like, and if there's any justice, that average moviegoers will like. The build in the actual movie took its time, and there was stuff I'd have to get a second viewing to get, but I was truly satisfied by the time the end credits rolled. Christian Bale will hopefully stay awhile, I can see him as someone who can eventually carve a niche the likes we've seen in the animated world with Conroy.

No spoilers, but there were two markout moments in particular: a swerve building up to the climax (one we agreed was quite appropriate) and near the end a cool teaser of possible things to come. I knew both would happen, but as I was watching the film with people who knew nothing ahead of time, I still got an amazing rush from said scenes. Other than that, the origin, the bits borrowed from comic lore, Bats' stealth (perhaps too quick, but befitting of the character), his refusal to directly kill (great scene involves Bruce having second thoughts about such and tossing a gun he was carrying into the ocean), the building of his trust with Jim Gordon, him scaring people into divulging information...it just all seemed right.

You can have your Episode III's, let the SW fanboys drink their Kool-Aid and thus be convinced that Darth Vader bellowing "NOOOOOOOOO!" was great cinema. That's just fine. For me, Batman is not only the savior of Gotham, but of my summer moviegoing as well. I don't think I need to see anything else, as a matter of fact. Now back to finding more Jean Harlow movies, and generally catching up on my DVDs...

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