okay. if you have to catch one movie before the holiday ends, go for Batman Begins.

well, that is, if you have the stomach for darker heavier stuff.

or if you're not a purist like my dad ['they brought marvel elements into a dc comic film! purity is very important. batman is not angsty. christopher nolan is just frustrated he missed out on spiderman...' and he won't stop].

anyhow, i thought it was super. maybe because i'm blissfully ignorant of the actual storyline and occasionally, i like gritty films [not over the top like sin city though. that was awful and i only watched maybe half an hour of it].

not many people are fans of batman. because, well, not many people can relate to it - it's gothic, it's dark, it's cold, bruce wayne isn't exactly your friendly neighbourhood superhero like spidey who cracks jokes as he punches out criminals. he owns an empire. he's rich. he lives in a big house. many things most people won't understand. i mean, a rich do-gooder? who buys that, right? goes against the whole popular concept of 'i steal from the rich to give to the poor'. as kids, who really liked the batman comic anyway? i didn't, i thought he was boring and had no superpowers. spiderman remains my all-time favourite, especially the 'amazing spiderman' editions, which the movies are based on. but now that i have grown up [gosh that sounded cheesy], i quite appreciate the darker undertones of the dark knight. and it's nice that a billionaire character goes against the usual slimy stereotype and in this case puts his money to good use.

those were just some discoveries i made about the comic itself. as we all know, batman the comic has always been known to be darker than the usual fare, it deals with, well, something like the real world. it deals with terrorism and corruption. BUT. on to the movie itself. i'm not looking at it in batman context now, i'm looking at it as a film. and as a film i thought it was great. nolan dealt with complex issues like justice and fear and pulled it off. the whole ethic and moral controversy - is it ethical to take revenge? is it ethical to put people in jail? is it ethical to judge criminals when you don't understand their lives? he incorporated it into the batman comic - so what some people would say is, basically, it's just a movie with batman in it. it's not a batman movie per se, the background actually takes a second fiddle to the actual screenplay. nolan used the story as a backbone upon which to place his film. so for all you diehard comic fans out there, this really might disappoint. but for those who aren't very aware, you will appreciate the ideas he deals with. the grit of corruption and portrayal of the dystopia that is gotham city. the way fear irrationally consumes us and sometimes is the scariest thing of all [ha, paraphrasing roosevelt]. and it's true, in less exaggerated versions, in our lives. fear, corruption, prison ethics - really struck a chord.

the casting was pretty well done. katie holmes, i am quite objectionable to - but hey, who else right? not like Rachel had a big role anyway [SHE'S NOT EVEN PART OF THE COMIC!!! bruce wayne has a childhood sweetheart? that's just weird and uncalled for. but ah, this is the movies, there has to be some looooove]. christian bale's batsuit fit him like a glove. i think he's almost perfect for this role. michael caine was a substantial alfred. and other than that, well, cillian murphy was cute though psychotic. thought he did a pretty good job.

it's not like this movie is something i will rewatch and remember for years - but it's definitely something to catch while it's screening.

oh, and i want to watch Impenjarament. all the good stuff comes out just before the exams. i hate the a levels and how it is sucking away my life and time to appreciate things more important.

+ posted by M @ 9:58 PM