TC Candler's Review B+

Hey, wait a minute... I don't like silly, childish superhero movies...  do I?

I hated "Daredevil".
I didn't like either "Spider-Man".
The "X-Men" movies were mediocre.
I can't say that I remember the "Superman" movies fondly.
The 1989 "Batman" was dull.
I hated all the "Batman" sequels.
"Catwoman" was abysmal.

In fact, by my definition, a superhero movie usually equates to a moronic, silly and childish piece of crap designed specifically to make tons of money with merchandising and Burger King tie-ins.

I hate them. I hate them. I hate them.

In fact, I resent the genre for angling the entire medium of film toward a younger demographic. Every major release in this day and age seems to appeal at least somewhat to kids in order to capture the massive dollar amount that they generate. I say... "Fuck the kids"! This is an adult world. They can have it later. That's why I almost always appreciate a film that ignores the 13-25 year-old demographic and delivers a literate and intellectual story about adults and for adults.

Okay, that rant is over for now...

In fact, the only superhero film I even remotely liked was "The Hulk". Not surprisingly, it was the one superhero film that didn't do too well with the younger demographic. It was arguably the least financially succesful superhero film in the last 20 years. (Not counting the joke that was "Catwoman").

So, I finally arrive at "Batman Begins", a film I presumed would follow the trend of silliness evident in all the other movies of this ilk.

I actually liked it?????? What the hell??????

With movies like this, so popular and so familiar, I usually dispense with the plot summary. So I will delve right into the opinions...

I loved the look of this film. It maintained the slightly somber feel that accompanies the Batman saga, but it wasn't afraid to venture into daylight from time to time. Heck the first third of the film takes place in the snowy mountains of somewhere or another... I wasn't paying attention.

My biggest gripe with comic book films is the lunacy of the plots. I usually cannot suspend my disbelief at all. However, "Batman Begins" had me from the get -go. I was buying the story... it didn't seem ridiculous to me. SHOCKING!!!

Another thing that surprised me was that the villains weren't absolutely ludicrous. Comic book villains are usually so dumb and over-the-top that I lose all sense of belief. Here, they are relatively subdued... I liked that a lot.

The only problem I had with the film was the insanely stupid 'Batman Voice' that Bale chose to use. What the hell was that all about? Very silly indeed!

The acting was rather impressive all around... Especially from the supporting cast. Only Katie Holmes left me wanting for more. She was rather dull. I liked the turns by Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman... they brought some added weight to the film. Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy were both solid as the bad guys. And apart from Bale's silly voice, he was a very good Batman... his face carries the emotional weight of the character and doesn't let the character venture too far into camp territory.

I will say this though... Superhero movies by their very nature are not capable of a grade in the A-range. It would have to be tremendous just to merit a B+ from me. The silliness of a man bouncing around in a spandex suit with pointy ears just will not allow me to go any higher. But "Batman Begins" was about as good as I could have imagined from a film in this genre. I teetered between a B and a B+... but because of the pleasant surprise, I am going to reward it with a B+. "Batman Begins" is the best in it's genre because it isn't too silly It isn't too campy. It isn't too childish. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It strikes the right balance. It is geared to a slightly older audience than your typical popcorn flick. I had a really good time with this one!

© Written by TC Candler

How We Rated This Film TC Candler - B+ Richard Propes - B- Jacob Hall - A

Richard Propes' Comment

I didn't hate this film. On the contrary, it's an enjoyable little flick. I will admit that, initially, my expectations were getting the best of me. This is, after all, a Christopher Nolan film. My beef is not with Christian Bale...I rather enjoyed the lad (except for that simply awful vocal choice. I have a hard time believing that at no point in the process of shooting this film did someone say to him "Stop it, Christian. That sucks."). My biggest beef is with everything that supports Bale in this process...I tend to enjoy our little preggers Katie, but she's almost hysterically awful here. The choreography of the fight scenes is dreadful, and Michael Caine is only minimally effective. What worked for me? I loved the absence of CGI, loved Liam Neeson, and mostly enjoyed Bale's performance. Overall, I respect the effort and enjoyed the film just enough to consider it an ever so slightly above average superhero action flick. Nothing more.

Jacob Hall's Comment

What truly makes “Batman Begins” excel beyond other comic films is one thing: an almost total lack of CGI. Yes, the Batmobile (redesigned into a truly awesome humvee type vehicle) was built and can truly do what it is doing in the film. That is a real explosion; it wasn’t created in a computer. This adds to the film’s reality: no CGI actors punching each other, no flashy flips and twists. As good as CGI can be, it is still obviously CGI. Nolan has made a bold decision to limit his CGI to the bare minimum and it has paid off in spades.
I’d like to take this moment to say that the batsuit no longer has nipple and sculpted abs and that Batman can now crouch and turn his head in the new suit.

The reason why even the most jaded filmgoers should see “Batman Begins” is simple. The film is rich and deep. It’s complex and intelligent. It’s thrilling and not gaudy. It’s a beautiful film that is exciting, thought-provoking and directed toward a mature audience. It’s refreshing to see a film that doesn’t go from action sequence to action sequence with only filler in between. The action here only exists because the characters choose to do it, not because it is the point of the movie.