The Batman

Really late, but a wonderful movie. Others have said this very well, of course. Blows all the other Batman movies away in my opinion--makes them truly forgetable actually. I've heard somewhere that they are doing a Superman movie too, and if this is any indication of how much better they can do these movies now, it'll be one of the only times I can remember relishing a remake over the original. Batman Begins is one the of first--it was excellent, and I left the theatre very grateful that there will be more on the way.

The look of the movie was fantastic--you could tell that the director appreciates comic books. The image of Bruce and his dead parents most vividly stands out in my mind. I am no comic enthusiast, but I have read a few and appreciated the look of this movie in light of comic book art.

The biggest element that sold this movie was character. It was driven by character--with action to keep it interesting, but unlike so many bad Comic-book movies (i.e. DareDevil) this movie spent the time to make you care. It didn't become overly dramatic--there were still lines that sounded as if they were literally lifted from the pages of a comic and put in the script ("Nice Coat" for example)--but there was depth here that we just haven't been treated too before. The best Superhero movies prior to this would be Spiderman 2 and the X-Men movies (but more X2 over the first one). This one left them far and away behind. Why? Because it dealt with character. And movies that care about the character--that respect the audience by giving them a story--a real story and not just an excuse to tie one action sequence to another--will always rise about the average "blockbusters" out there.

But most of all...this was the first time that they really dealt with the philosophy behind Batman. Its a rich idea in and of itself--best seen in a graphic novel by...the guy who did Sin City I believe...like I said, I am not a comic book guy, just a light-hearted fan...but the whole question of whether or not society needs a Dark Knight to ever have justice or if a Superman can give humanity the chance it needs to be its naturally good-self? A great question--and when its done right (which it was in the comic books I read) there are reasons on both sides. Good reasons...which is what makes for great story-telling.

Thanks to Nate Marshall, one time room-mate, for my meager comic-book education. I went out and bought a graphic novel that he lent me once--it was possibly the best one that I had read and I wanted to give it another look after watching this movie--"The Long Halloween"--a very good story. Anyways, not much else to say--I loved the movie and am eagerly looking forward to news of the next Batman.