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 Batman Begins 

What grade would you give this film?
A 75%  75%  [ 95 ]
B 17%  17%  [ 21 ]
C 6%  6%  [ 7 ]
D 2%  2%  [ 3 ]
F 1%  1%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 127

 Batman Begins 
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Ocarina of Time
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Post Re: Batman Begins
Algren wrote:
Yes, I have immense power. Moreso than a sheep like you; just one of the flock.

Sheep like me? :hahaha:, RIGHT again, for that reason I follow your horrible tastes :grrr:

JUst got tired of this shitty trend, I'm gonna feed my sheep :typing:

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Sun Jul 21, 2013 8:56 am
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Angels & Demons

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Post Re: Batman Begins
****3/4 out of *****

Christopher Nolan's magnificent contribution to the comic book genre has been easily attested to as one of the most influential films of the 21st century, and with good reason.

Unlike other films of the genre, Batman Begins gives its characters true depth and phenomenal texture, not to mention an astonishing amount of heart in the performances and writing. Bruce's journey is simply the most fascinating, richly layered adventure I've ever seen in cinema, superhero film or otherwise.

The remaining cast is sensational, with Liam Neeson giving a subtle yet menacing portrayal of Ras al Ghul, perfectly balancing roles as a sympathetic father figure, misguided freedom fighter and megalomaniac at once.

The supporting cast is excellent, with Michael Caine Alfred giving a great dynamic as the other father figure attempting to guide Bruce along a straight path while embracing/tolerating Bruce's attempts to bring fear to the criminals of Gotham, but also giving moments of levity with his sophisticated level of humor that Caine brings to so many great films.

Gary Oldman 'is' Jim Gordon, as perfect a casting choice as Christopher Reeve's Superman, portraying the moral cop surrounded by people on the take and feeling that it's an endless cycle until Batman makes his debut.

Cillian Murphy's Crane/Scarecrow is utilized perfectly here, allowing him to give a subtly creepy performance, but never overshadowing the main antagonist. Nolan avoids the tropes of having two super villains 'team up', and instead, has Scarecrow working for the more deadly and complex Ghul.

Rounding out the cast, Morgan Freeman gives a naturally charismatic and charming performance as Lucius Fox and, like Caine, also provides the film with levity and wit during Bruce's evolution.

Nolan also knows how to take limited actors and make them fit into their roles. Katie Holmes' Rachel Dawes could have been portrayed as any typical damsel in distress, but instead of just being the eye candy for Bruce to save, we see someone who embarked on her own path to clean up Gotham that is radically different from Bruce's (and Ghul's for that matter). She also provides the film with one of its greatest, most complex moments near the end.

And, of course, Christian Bale (tied with Daniel Day-Lewis for best modern actor) gives a dynamic performance in Bruce Wayne, and his transition to Batman is nothing short of breathtaking, displaying a wide array of characteristics that make Bruce more than just a man and more than a symbol. I have never encountered a character that made me feel so much for the man behind the mask.

The screenplay and direction are incredible, providing many bombastic and subtle moments that compliment each other.

The impact felt by this film outside the genre is awe-inspiring, branching beyond the superhero genre and into other mediums such as James Bond, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes. Yet what's even more remarkable is just how well Batman Begins stands up to those films over the last eight years, being regarded by many viewers and critics as still being the best product out of a medium it basically helped create/elevate with regards to reboots and detailed origin stories.

Ironically, most films out of the CBM genre itself over last few years that have tried to emulate BB's quality, have ultimately come off as watered down and generic in many aspects by comparison (i.e. Amazing Spiderman, Iron Man) with X:Men First Class being the one film that can be called quality, while the best quality emulators came from outside the genre.

Batman Begins did for film what Nirvana did for music, it changed the formula while keeping some of the better aspects.

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The Dark Knight: The best superhero film ever made

The Dark Knight Trilogy: The greatest story ever associated with the comic book medium.


Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:21 pm
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why so serious?
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Post Re: Batman Begins
^ I really love the Nolan Batman trilogy and all (each one earns an "A" in my book), but... yeah... no to that last line. The Dark Knight might have had some influence upon superhero movies and blockbusters in general (in fact, it did), but if you look at most of the superhero fare that was released between 2005 and 2008, it generally hewed closely to the established "lighter-and-brighter" formula that preceded Batman Begins.

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Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:41 pm
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now we know
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Post Re: Batman Begins
Begins changed nothing. The Dark Knight did though, and not for just superhero movies.

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Sun Oct 06, 2013 1:30 am
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Post Re: Batman Begins
Meh. This was pretty good I guess. Not as good as The Dark Knight or Batman Returns, but miles ahead of the two Schumacher schlock fests and about on par with the 1989 original. I feel I'm going to have to re watch TDKR and re rate it because I can;t imagine its as boring as I remember. My main issue with this film was how confusing it was. How hard would it have been to tell the story in chronological order? Maybe it makes me stupid, but I don't like to be confused beyond measure when watching a movie. When the movie started ff in Bhutan, I was like "WTF are these people? Why is Batman here? What is he doing?" I had to look up the wikipedia plot synopsis just to figure it all out. Once the film gets going in the middle and becomes less confusing, it's better and sets up The Dark Knight well. When I re watch that, I'll hopefully have a renewed appreciation for it. Honestly, I don't think Maggie Gyllenhaal was any better than Katie Holmes was here. Rachel is just a boring character played by two boring actresses. Bale is the best Batman. Kilmer and Clooney are bland, and Keaton feels like he's barely in his movies. and the rest of the cast is great. I do prefer my Batman more fantastical, but this is still enjoyable, even if its not my preference.

B


Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:25 am
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This is a brilliant film. I've just watched it for the fourth or fifth time. The first time I saw it back in 2005 at the cinema, I wasn't a fan at all. I suppose I was expecting something in the vein of earlier Batman films, and it took years for me to get over that evolution into a different Batman. I saw The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises at the cinema, and they did not impress me either.

Every time I watch Batman Begins, I like it even more. Since my first cinema viewing, every time I watch it I appreciate the first half, the scenes to set up Batman, the exchanges between Wayne and Fox, and so forth. But on this occasion I loved the entire film even more. Maybe even this was the first time I concentrated enough to fully grasp every idea. Last time I watched it, I think I gave it a B+. Now it's up to an A-. There is so much groundwork laid in this film. That might have also been the reason I didn't take to it at first. I was 19 when it came out. Perhaps I wanted less detail, more visual stimulation. It is truly a sensational Batman film. It is not perfect. Nolan cannot shoot hand-to-hand combat well at all. It's over-edited and messy (which was a gripe of mine even back in 2005). But everything else is bang on. The story is really strong. It takes the entire film to earn the title card "BATMAN BEGINS", and that is a very well planned move by Nolan. One of the reasons this is such a success is that it doesn't feature a huge villain or even any memorable and elaborate Batman set pieces, yet it is still a vividly gripping action film. The League of Shadows back story is great. The idea that they step in to reset civilisations is far-reaching but never unbelievable in this world. Claiming they were responsible for an economic downturn is a little overthought, but I can overlook it. And one of the final lines is probably one of the biggest teases ever in the history of film. He flips the card over, and "I'll look into it". Boom.

It is one the best comic-book films to be released since X-Men kick-started it all.

I've seen The Dark Knight a few times too, but I did not start off with an underwhelming experience with that one, so the progression hasn't been there. I'll watch that again next. I don't expect much improvement over my score, which is around a B or B+, but I have only seen The Dark Knight Rises once (at the cinema), so I look forward to seeing if I appreciate that more upon repeat viewing.


Sat Nov 18, 2017 3:00 am
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Post Re: Batman Begins
It slow in the first half and the switch between past and present does not work for me but the themes that the movie tries to explore are GREAT. The action scenes have great setup but somehow Nolan is not crisp enough directing action scenes (sorry if I offended someone here). The finale is quite generic CGI laden as well and Bale really feels like secondary character in here. Regardless of all this it never has pacing issues and most of the ideas are introduced aptly before using them in the script. Its also a lot of fun to see those cool Batman gadgets and their invention.


Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:07 am
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Post Re: Batman Begins
A solid reboot for the Batman franchise that obviously feels very different from the Burton/Schumacher run. Main issue with it is I don't find Ra's Al Ghul to be a compelling antagonist, Scarecrow was much more interesting before being sidelined, and I'm also not a fan of the film's non linear narrative. The Dark Knight would end up being better.


Thu Mar 24, 2022 10:36 pm
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