Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 3.0
Almost...
First, the good: "Batman Begins" is, in my opinion, the best Batman movie ever made. The screenplay, the cinematography, and all of the performances are excellent. It's actually the first Batman movie that's ABOUT Batman. The four earlier films were more about the villians than the title character.So what almost sinks it? The action sequences. Is it too much to ask that, when Batman punches out a villian, that we actually get to SEE Batman punch out a villian? Instead, we get rapid fire cuts where you see a fist here, a leg there, in such a blur that you can't actually perceive what's happening. I "get" the directors intention. He's trying to simulate the chaos of an actual fight, and to show that Batman is so bad that he can take out the bad guys in a blink of an eye. But for me, it just doesn't work cinematically. It has been said that Bruce Lee actually had to slow down his movements so that the camera could register them. Hong Kong directors who work with real martial artists like Jet Li understand that techniques one would use in the real world don't necessarily look good on film. In my opinion, the director of "Batman Begins" should have kept this in mind. It would have made for a more satisfying experience. Can anyone honestly say that you wouldn't have liked to see Batman take out multiple thugs Hong Kong style? I sure would.I saw the short documentary of "Batman Begins" on HBO. They claimed that they invented a completely new style of martial arts for the character to use. I sure would have liked to have seen that.