Start from the top: "Batman Begins"
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Topic: Movies
No one said anything -- which is not surprising, since I only asked yesterday, and I had not posted for two months before that -- so I will start at the top of the list with "Batman Begins." Starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Just a spoiler warning -- if you haven't seen it yet, I will be spoiling some things. Don't read any more of this.
Really.
You'll be upset.
Don't go any further.
I mean it.
OK, this should be far enough.
Why do I bother with such a long spoiler warning?
Because no one spoiled it for ME! And I thank all of you who could have. Sincerely.
You see, when "Batman Begins" first came out, I knew I would want to see it. But I didn't get to it. And then lots of people I knew went to it, and I still didn't go. And almost to a person, those people told me they not only thought it was a really good movie, but also that they knew I would like it a lot!
And still, I didn't get to the theater.
So, when it came out on DVD, I had my family buy it (I was away on business that week). And finally, about two weeks ago, I saw it!
Can you tell I liked it?
Look folks, the "Batman" conceived of by Tim Burton was great, and Michael Keaton surprised me along with many other Batman fans by pulling off a believable Caped Crusader. Burton set a great atmosphere and put together a tight story. Keaton and Burton together chose to do a very somber Bruce Wayne, and it worked. I loved that movie, too -- though certainly some of the credit goes to Jack Nicholson, who did justice to the Joker.
But here, in "Batman Begins" we get to delve into the creation of this masked hero in ways that we haven't in other versions of the story. The origin was so much more complete, and tying it to one of Batman's most sinister and believable foes, Ra's Al Ghul, was an act of storytelling genius. (Credit Nolan and David S. Goyer) And, when the Bale/Nolan Bruce Wayne is faced with creating a secret identity, he does what the comics had him do -- he takes on the persona of a rude, spoiled playboy!
Folks, I don't mean to sound like a snobbish purist, but the "playboy" secret identity was a key component of Bruce Wayne for years and years in the comics. The simple fact is that the TV and movie versions of the story simply chose to go other directions.
So Nolan went back to the roots, and pulled it off well.
More "roots" showed up in the appearance of the second foe -- who seemed to be the primary villain for a good portion of the film -- Scarecrow! How excellent! Batman was always the hero who struck fear into the hearts of evil-doers. So Scarecrow was conceived as an opponent who would do the same to Batman. Cillian Murphy, whom I had never seen before, was insidiously wonderful in the role. That Scarecrow and his schemes were the catalyst for all the future supervillains in Gotham City was fantastic!
But the very best part of the story was the twist -- the revealing of Ra's Al Ghul and Wayne/Batman having to face him again. I loved this! And it all fit! Why get Liam Neeson in the movie otherwise?
So, I think this is enough. I didn't talk about Michael Caine's Alfred (not as stuffy as others have played him, but a great fit) or the inclusion of Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox (now the world knows where Batman got all those gadgets!) or Gary Oldman as (the future Commissioner) Gordon.
A sequel might have a tough time living up to the bar set by this movie, but with characters and actors like these, I think it's inevitable.
And maybe we'll see a little more of Katie Holmes?
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