[Screened @ the Loews Lincoln Square IMAX theater (NYC)/07-18-05: 8:15pm]
BATMAN BEGINS
Stellar cast and gadgets galore (along with a huge IMAX presentation for me, your viewing may vary) make this a long but still worthy addition to the 'Batman' franchise!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4 stars) [(2005)USA/WB] - (2 hr. 20 min.)
Co-written & directed by Christopher Nolan
Co-writer: David S. Goyer
Source: based upon Batman characters created by Bob Kane and published by DC Comics
Lead characters/Cast
Bruce Wayne/Batman - Christian Bale
Bruce Wayne (age 8) - Gus Lewis
Alfred (butler, Wayne Mansion) - Michael Caine
Ducard (League of Shadows recruiter) - Liam Neeson
Rachel Dawes (asst. district atty.) - Katie Holmes
Jim Gordon (Officer, then Lt.) - Gary Oldman
Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka "Scarecrow') - Cillian Murphy
Carmine Falcone - Tom Wilkinson
Lucius Fox - Morgan Freeman
Review(after two screenings - one in IMAX):
With four "Batman" movies already on DVD, one has to initially wonder what was director Christopher Nolan's ("Memento") reasoning for going back to the beginning.
Well, there is one good reason: 'Batman' has NO super powers, so exactly how does an ordinary guy learn to soar, fight bad guys en masse, and disappear like a bat out of hell???
For those that hate exposition this type of movie would seem to be the ultimate nightmare, but rest assured that after the first hour 'Batman' does 'begin', and he begins in earnest with a master plan to save all of Gotham from its greedy, corrupt self.
Long-overlooked leading man Christian Bale proves to have the perfect resume ("American Psycho," "Shaft") to play 'Bruce Wayne/Batman', a hero with issues galore and billions of dollars at his disposal to alleviate the tension.
Director Nolan also wisely supports Bale with a plethora of character actors on both sides of the 'Batman' camp. First off there's Oscar winning actors Michael Caine ("Hannah and her Sisters") and Morgan Freeman (''Million Dollar Baby") as Bruce Wayne's butler 'Alfred' and Wayne Enterprises main inventor 'Lucius Fox respectively.
On the villain side of the ledger there's Bruce's early mentor 'Ducard', played with vigor by Liam Neeson ("Gangs of New York"); the gangster 'Carmine Falcone', featuring the normally docile Tom Wilkinson ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"); and rising actor Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later") as the nemesis 'Scarecrow' (he's a gas).
Biggest surprise of the film is seeing the normally intense Gary Oldman's ("Air Force One") turn as 'Officer Jim Gordon', the one 'good cop' in Gotham before he becomes Gotham's police chief later in the series.
For those wondering about the IMAX difference, this film only improves slightly on 'giant screen' mainly due to the fact that some of it's great Gotham setpieces are only shown briefly throughout the film.
Hopefully future sequels will show off some of the great work by the model designers including a giant monorail system that crisscrosses the city of Gotham.
What I enjoyed the most was seeing Bruce turn the various military prototypes being developed by Wayne Industries into what later will become Batman's normal tools of the trade.
Seeing 'the Tumbler' before it gets the 'Batmobile' treatment was sheer genius. Also, like "Spider-Man," the audience gets to see Bruce Wayne experience the bumps and bruises that learning to fly can entail.
The only real drawback to this movie is that it's 'too' slick for its own good. Considering the fact that it's showcasing a more realistic approach to the series they could have made a rougher looking movie instead of having even the homeless guys sporting trimmed beards.
Still worth watching on the big screen so hurry out to your local cineplex cause the DVD release is happening sooner than you think!
Supporting characters/Cast
Earle - Rutger Hauer
Ra's Al Ghul (League of Shadows leader) - Ken Watanabe
Flass (fat, 'dirty cop') - Mark Boone
Junior Thomas Wayne (Bruce's dad) - Linus Roache
Martha Wayne (Bruce's mom) - Sara Stewart
Rachel Dawes (age 8) - Emma Lockhart
Judge Faden - Gerard Murphy
Police Chief Loeb - Colin McFarlane
Joe Chill - Richard Brake
Finch - Larry Holden
MOVIE TRIVIA from the all-knowing IMDb.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The device, on the heel
of his boot, that the Batman uses to summon a swarm of bats is taken directly
from Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One".
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A second stage Scarecrow look was created for the hallucination scenes but was never shown on film. The mask was more organic and tighter around the actor's face.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Before Christian Bale was cast as 'Batman', many other actors were considered for the role including Ashton Kutcher and David Boreanaz.
Only days before the role of Batman was cast, eight actors were asked to audition for the part. The actors were Christian Bale, Joshua Jackson, Eion Bailey, Hugh Dancy, Billy Crudup, Cillian Murphy, Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal.
While Bale won the part, Christopher Nolan liked Murphy's audition so much, he cast him as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Marilyn Manson was considered for the role of Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanting to use as many practical effects as possible, Christopher Nolan told the production crew that he wanted the Batmobile to actually do its own stunts without camera trickery, CGI or models, and as a result, the Batmobile built for the movie could take sharp turns at 60 miles per hour, brake to a complete stop on a moment's notice, and could even go into a ramp-less jump, clearing up to 40 feet in the air.
The Batmobile, 9 feet wide and 16 feet long, has a top speed of 106 miles per hour and can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6 seconds. The engine is a 5.7 liter V8 Chevy. It runs on unleaded gas and can do about 7 miles per gallon. It has four 44-inch tires at the rear, made by Interco Tire Corp, while the front is covered in jagged plates of armor. It was designed and built by Chris Corbould and Andrew Smith at Shepperton Studios in England. This Batmobile was built from the ground up and is estimated to be worth half a million pounds.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Before Christopher Nolan took over, director Darren Aronofsky was attached to make a Batman movie based on the graphic novel "Batman: Year One" and have the author Frank Miller write the screenplay.
By 2003 there was a first draft screenplay with story boards, which are properties of AOL Time Warner. Warner's decision for not producing the film is unknown, but based on the details that have since leaked out, it would probably have to do with the screenplay, which strayed a considerable amount from the source material, making Alfred an African-American mechanic named "Big Al," the Batmobile being a souped-up Lincoln Towncar, and Bruce Wayne being homeless, among other things.
This is all detailed in David Hughes' book "Tales from Development Hell."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Director Christopher Nolan decided that there would be no second unit, and so for the whole of the one hundred and twenty nine shooting days Nolan oversaw every shot of the film personally.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BATMAN BEGINS
Stellar cast and gadgets galore (along with a huge IMAX presentation for me, your viewing may vary) make this a long but still worthy addition to the 'Batman' franchise!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4 stars) [(2005)USA/WB] - (2 hr. 20 min.)
Co-written & directed by Christopher Nolan
Co-writer: David S. Goyer
Source: based upon Batman characters created by Bob Kane and published by DC Comics
Lead characters/Cast
Bruce Wayne/Batman - Christian Bale
Bruce Wayne (age 8) - Gus Lewis
Alfred (butler, Wayne Mansion) - Michael Caine
Ducard (League of Shadows recruiter) - Liam Neeson
Rachel Dawes (asst. district atty.) - Katie Holmes
Jim Gordon (Officer, then Lt.) - Gary Oldman
Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka "Scarecrow') - Cillian Murphy
Carmine Falcone - Tom Wilkinson
Lucius Fox - Morgan Freeman
Review(after two screenings - one in IMAX):
With four "Batman" movies already on DVD, one has to initially wonder what was director Christopher Nolan's ("Memento") reasoning for going back to the beginning.
Well, there is one good reason: 'Batman' has NO super powers, so exactly how does an ordinary guy learn to soar, fight bad guys en masse, and disappear like a bat out of hell???
For those that hate exposition this type of movie would seem to be the ultimate nightmare, but rest assured that after the first hour 'Batman' does 'begin', and he begins in earnest with a master plan to save all of Gotham from its greedy, corrupt self.
Long-overlooked leading man Christian Bale proves to have the perfect resume ("American Psycho," "Shaft") to play 'Bruce Wayne/Batman', a hero with issues galore and billions of dollars at his disposal to alleviate the tension.
Director Nolan also wisely supports Bale with a plethora of character actors on both sides of the 'Batman' camp. First off there's Oscar winning actors Michael Caine ("Hannah and her Sisters") and Morgan Freeman (''Million Dollar Baby") as Bruce Wayne's butler 'Alfred' and Wayne Enterprises main inventor 'Lucius Fox respectively.
On the villain side of the ledger there's Bruce's early mentor 'Ducard', played with vigor by Liam Neeson ("Gangs of New York"); the gangster 'Carmine Falcone', featuring the normally docile Tom Wilkinson ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"); and rising actor Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later") as the nemesis 'Scarecrow' (he's a gas).
Biggest surprise of the film is seeing the normally intense Gary Oldman's ("Air Force One") turn as 'Officer Jim Gordon', the one 'good cop' in Gotham before he becomes Gotham's police chief later in the series.
For those wondering about the IMAX difference, this film only improves slightly on 'giant screen' mainly due to the fact that some of it's great Gotham setpieces are only shown briefly throughout the film.
Hopefully future sequels will show off some of the great work by the model designers including a giant monorail system that crisscrosses the city of Gotham.
What I enjoyed the most was seeing Bruce turn the various military prototypes being developed by Wayne Industries into what later will become Batman's normal tools of the trade.
Seeing 'the Tumbler' before it gets the 'Batmobile' treatment was sheer genius. Also, like "Spider-Man," the audience gets to see Bruce Wayne experience the bumps and bruises that learning to fly can entail.
The only real drawback to this movie is that it's 'too' slick for its own good. Considering the fact that it's showcasing a more realistic approach to the series they could have made a rougher looking movie instead of having even the homeless guys sporting trimmed beards.
Still worth watching on the big screen so hurry out to your local cineplex cause the DVD release is happening sooner than you think!
Supporting characters/Cast
Earle - Rutger Hauer
Ra's Al Ghul (League of Shadows leader) - Ken Watanabe
Flass (fat, 'dirty cop') - Mark Boone
Junior Thomas Wayne (Bruce's dad) - Linus Roache
Martha Wayne (Bruce's mom) - Sara Stewart
Rachel Dawes (age 8) - Emma Lockhart
Judge Faden - Gerard Murphy
Police Chief Loeb - Colin McFarlane
Joe Chill - Richard Brake
Finch - Larry Holden
MOVIE TRIVIA from the all-knowing IMDb.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The device, on the heel
of his boot, that the Batman uses to summon a swarm of bats is taken directly
from Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One".
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A second stage Scarecrow look was created for the hallucination scenes but was never shown on film. The mask was more organic and tighter around the actor's face.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Before Christian Bale was cast as 'Batman', many other actors were considered for the role including Ashton Kutcher and David Boreanaz.
Only days before the role of Batman was cast, eight actors were asked to audition for the part. The actors were Christian Bale, Joshua Jackson, Eion Bailey, Hugh Dancy, Billy Crudup, Cillian Murphy, Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal.
While Bale won the part, Christopher Nolan liked Murphy's audition so much, he cast him as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Marilyn Manson was considered for the role of Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanting to use as many practical effects as possible, Christopher Nolan told the production crew that he wanted the Batmobile to actually do its own stunts without camera trickery, CGI or models, and as a result, the Batmobile built for the movie could take sharp turns at 60 miles per hour, brake to a complete stop on a moment's notice, and could even go into a ramp-less jump, clearing up to 40 feet in the air.
The Batmobile, 9 feet wide and 16 feet long, has a top speed of 106 miles per hour and can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6 seconds. The engine is a 5.7 liter V8 Chevy. It runs on unleaded gas and can do about 7 miles per gallon. It has four 44-inch tires at the rear, made by Interco Tire Corp, while the front is covered in jagged plates of armor. It was designed and built by Chris Corbould and Andrew Smith at Shepperton Studios in England. This Batmobile was built from the ground up and is estimated to be worth half a million pounds.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Before Christopher Nolan took over, director Darren Aronofsky was attached to make a Batman movie based on the graphic novel "Batman: Year One" and have the author Frank Miller write the screenplay.
By 2003 there was a first draft screenplay with story boards, which are properties of AOL Time Warner. Warner's decision for not producing the film is unknown, but based on the details that have since leaked out, it would probably have to do with the screenplay, which strayed a considerable amount from the source material, making Alfred an African-American mechanic named "Big Al," the Batmobile being a souped-up Lincoln Towncar, and Bruce Wayne being homeless, among other things.
This is all detailed in David Hughes' book "Tales from Development Hell."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Director Christopher Nolan decided that there would be no second unit, and so for the whole of the one hundred and twenty nine shooting days Nolan oversaw every shot of the film personally.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++