Saw this on Saturday. After all the good reviews, I was expecting a really good movie. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong. It was a good movie, but it wasn't great.
It started out very well for the most part. Of course I loved the high mountain scenes, and the whole martial arts deal was interesting. The only thing I didn't like about that was that some of the instruction being given was kind of cheesy. On the whole though, it was pretty good. And I liked the flashbacks to Bruce Wayne's childhood and the following years. This all was a interesting and intriguing.
But the movie fell apart for me once Bruce Wayne returned as Batman. For me the movie degenerated into a cheap flick. I think the chase scenes in the "Batmobile" pretty much ruined it for me, and several other scenes fell into the same category... cheap, no substance, scenes thrown into the movie for seemingly only one reason... dramatic special effects. When most of the movie had a certain realism about it, these ridiculous scenes were jarring and disappointing.
The parting words from his childhood girlfriend were corny too, and the acting not so well, which is unfortunate because overall I thought acting was quite good. This one scene though was not.
Still, all in all the movie was good. I have no problems recommending it, but I wouldn't go expecting to see a "great" movie... just an entertaining one.
Those are good points Ron. I did think some parts like the end were corny and I wasn't overall thrilled with the early batmobile and the chase scene. I did believe that the part of the film when he returned as Batman was better than you did given the high caliber of acting and other events.
I didn't particulary find that his childhood sweetheart played by Katie Holmes was a very good character. She seemed mainly filler and her part should have been given more substance and been played by a better actress.
The best role that I felt was spot down on the character was Jim Gordon, the good cop, played by Gary Oldman. That man can sure act, and I hope he starts getting some more recognition for how he truly becomes the person in a film whoever he plays.
Maybe, I should have you submit a review for Batman (if you wanted to do that) now you've seen it, since you have a different perspective than mine on how it ranks.
I agree that the story line about his childhood sweetheart was pretty weak. If there had been more depth to it, it could have definitely added to the quality of the movie.
I did think the returning of Bruce Wayne to become Batman was well done. It's just that the second half of the movie didn't consistently have the quality of the first half. There were still many good scenes, but too many were cheap special effects stuff that I didn't think fit the story line very well.
And yes, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon was very good.
A review? Hmmm. We'll see. It's one thing to chat about a movie... quite another to write a review. I'll play with it a bit and see.
When most of the movie had a certain realism about it, these ridiculous scenes were jarring and disappointing.
LOL, it's based on a comic book, I wouldn't think realism would be a criteria, silly
X-Men, The Hulk, Fantastic 4 (the latter which I haven't yet seen, so do a review Miraenda), I would say would all lack realism, but as I said, aren't movies based on comic books supposed to be that anyway? LOL.
But if you mean that the special effects just didn't grab you, then that's a different story.
LOL, I didn't find anything objectionable about the special FX, I was pretty much entertained, but I guess I'm easy
« Last Edit: September 04, 2005, 02:53:55 PM by Leigh »
LOL... had to capture this quote too. It will be priceless in the future
Yeah, the story is from a comic, and I wouldn't expect it not to be fantasy, but so much effort was put into a good storyline and a certain "realism within the fantasy", that the chase scenes and a few others simply didn't hold up to. The special effects were fine, but the storyline at that point wasn't as good as the rest of the movie.
This movie is so loaded with talent: Director Chris Nolan (Memento, Insomnia), Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, and of course, Katie Holmes, who is certainly the most talented looking of them all.
The movie does have it's flaws, as Ron pointed out very well, leaving me kind of ambivalent as to whether it really is a great movie. Being the optimist we all know I am , although my initial thoughts were that this movie just falls short of greatness, I decided to round it up to great. Chris Nolan, who I'm certain will read this - you owe me one...or at least a fraction of 1..
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Quote from Hope Floats
Birdee Pruitt: Childhood is what you spend the rest of your life trying to overcome.
Wha?!!! After you've brainwashed me to tagging you as a "Realist" you now change your mind and have become an "Optimist"?!!!! With no warning at that!!
Okay, so now I will tag you as an "Optimistic Realist" then!!
Hmmmm, food for thought --> I wonder if there is such a thing as a "Pessimistic Optimist" or an "Optimistic Pessimist"?
« Last Edit: November 27, 2005, 04:18:11 PM by Leigh »
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, although my initial thoughts were that this movie just falls short of greatness, I decided to round it up to great. Chris Nolan, who I'm certain will read this - you owe me one...or at least a fraction of 1..
