I used to think same. But then I finally looked at TDK in a different way. TDK is not Hero vs Evil, thus it is not Batman vs Joker. It is story of three decent men trying to do their absolute best to bring peace and well-being to the city, and Joker is doing his best to bring chaos to the city. My main point is that there is not one leading protagonist with personal story. But there are three equally leading protagonists that share the same aim. Because Batman is quite doll in TDK.
Since the 1st time I watched it as a big Batman comic TPB/graphic novel fan & collector,this remains my No1 Batman film,here’s my top 10 just for the hell of it- 10-Batman Returns 9-Batman:Under the Red Hood 8-Batman:The Dark Knight Returns(parts 1&2) 7-Batman:The Long Halloween(parts 1&2) 6-Batman (1989) 5-The Dark Knight Rises 4-Batman:Mask of the Phantasm 3-The Batman (2022) 2-The Dark Knight 1-Batman Begins
The ultimate superhero film which could in fact be the greatest ninja film too! The gotham constructed from scratch is amazing! the beginning was incredible with the origins story, the soundtrack is flawless and liam neeson is fierce.
Director Christopher Nolan reboots the hit DC hero in A way that’s action packed, well crafted, well acted, stylish & terrifically scored. (86%) (4.5/5 stars) (positive)
'putting star wars back down into the ground where it belongs'. The prequel trilogy: Yes, i'll agree with you there, mark, but the whole star wars saga has inspired millions of imaginations across the world, and has been inspiration for several movies which i know you have reviewed and liked, mark! It is a franchise that deserves success, George Lucas however took it in the wrong direction with the prequels I will agree that Batman begins is a lot better film that Revenge of the Sith
Fair enough, maybe I need to go back and watch it again (I'll be doing so anyway in the lead-up to Rises) but I just felt Bale could have stamped his mark on that film quite a bit more. In this one he's much more central to it, and it looks like that way with the new film. I'm also really looking forward to Tom Hardy as Bane.
after seeing all three movies more than twice i have to say that batman begins remains my favorite....not one scene i felt my interest lose even for a second but that wasnt always the case for dark knight rises....
The Dark Knight's good, but Batman Begins set the bar. I think it's largely because Bale's performance was the real centrepiece, whereas he then allowed himself to be upstaged by Heath Ledger.
Indeed, my favorite live action Batman film. But my all time favorite Batman films are the Mask of the Phantasm and Batman:The Dark Returns animated films.
i can see why kermode likes it so much because it's hard to imagine now but at the time begins was by far and away the most intelligent superhero film of that time, then TDK came out.
personaly the first Burton Batman film from 1989 was a perfecly good film for the time. I didn't like it at the time as a child as it was dark. but since then I have grown to really like the film. Batman Returns wasn't so bad but was much darker. Then they got into panto land territory and by Batman & Robin were just stinkers or adverts for toys rather than films & had become like the 1960s tv shows, Something the films were never meant to be originaly. The Nolan films are quite Amazing to be honest especialy The Dark Knight.
Kermode said "..in the middle of all this chaos", ie. amidst all the shit that's going on, or that's starting to happen. He didn't say "in the middle of the film", nor did he imply that he was speaking chronologically.
I prefer Batman Begins because I think Batman is the strongest character in the franchise: a tragic hero with strong psychological motivations for his actions. While The Dark Knight is entertaining and The Joker is good, the depth of Bruce Wayne/Batman that existed in Batman Begins is severely lacking in TDK.
I completely agree with having watched it finally. I got it mixed up with the Dark Knight which was pants compared to this film. I was completely wrong about this film.
@deraj nitram Very late response. Kermode is not critcizing the performance (though I doubt he loved it), but he is referring to the rumours that Kilmer is difficult to work with. Schumacher has publicly said he wouldn't work with him again. Probably one reason why the role went to Clooney.
Where the crowd in the narrows are freaked out and start clawing at a prostrate Batman who has landed on top of them- he then manages to latch onto the monorail and drag himself clear. Unlike the unfortunate Rhodes (Joe Pilato) in Day of the Dead. Cue the defiant taunts "Choke on 'em..."
@acledfloyd Haha I honestly meant to put Begins lol. I even did a video review of TDKR and stated that I thought it was far inferior to Begins. But I love your comment. I watched Begins everyday, the first week it was on DVD. Still on my top 3 for greatest superhero films.
I've heard Kermode complain so frequently about 28 Days Later's 'mislabeling' as a zombie movie. This is the first time I've heard him slip and refer to it as such. Then again, he has more interesting things to discuss in this review.
Yeah I don't really get how people can favour the other two over TDK. It enjoyed it more as a crime film more than a superhero film. I think it will be remembered for a long time
@5686darryl That doesn't explain why it's Day of the Dead in particular. That's just reffering to the toxicated people as zombies, there is no exact reference to Day.
Nice review. The only thing I disagree with is I don't see any comparison of this Batman to the Frank Miller Batman like Mark feels. Does anyone have any idea why he thinks so?
Oh. Maybe. When I think of Frank Miller Batman, my mind immediately went to Dark Knight Returns, lol. And the Batman in that was really brutal and violent.
I am a physicist so I spot a lot of bad science in movies, but even with that I love batman begins, and it will always be one of my favorite movies. And also water is water so if it can get through 1 inch metal pipes like it does in the movie it get can through the less than a centimeter of skin to get the the blood stream.
Batman Begins felt like a weird mishmash of gritty realism with silly events thrown in (Batman learned his skills in a MYSTERIOUS NINJA DOJO IN THE MOUNTAINS) whereas The Dark Knight actually felt like strange events happening in the real world. It just seemed to hang together better for me. I should watch BB again though
I would disagree that Liam Neeson's reappearance is a much of an unexpected twist. Bruce Wayne destroys the lodge of the League of Shadows when he is told what they expect him to do. We know their plans. So when they corner him at his home, it's no surprise.
At what point in Batman Begins do they reference Day of the Dead? I haven't seen the movie since it came out so I don't remember, but I would like to see it again based on that statement alone. I don't remember seeing anything like Day of the Dead in that movie. Can someone tell me what scene he is referencing?
id disagree its definately not for 10 year olds at all mainly because its too long, i first saw it when i was ten and didnt even get half way through then i rewatched it after being blown away by the dark kinght and realised how great it really was
How could've ever thought that 'The Dark Knight' was a better film is beyond me. Won't lose myself to that sort of hyperbole again ... 'Batman Begins' is what 'The Dark Knight Rises' has to top.
That's where the 'comic book' side of the film comes in... and obviously if the military designed a micro wave emitter that vaporised an enemies water supply they would most probably tweak it so it does not penetrate the human body, possibly by manipulating the wavelength. At the end of the day I don't care, it's a fine, fine movie.
@DWR6943 Yeah, a lot of people say that about his reviews but I'm quite inclined to disagree - he reviews for a film buff audience, the kind of people who wouldn't be too surprised to hear about Liam Neeson's character being not too good after all (I mean Batman fans would've already recognised him as Ra's al Ghul from his appearance anway), actually he only really gives away Bruce's little disagreement with him when asked to kill the prisoner.
As bad as this review occasionally is (love Kermode but the spoilers in this review are unprofessional), it genuinely makes me miss the anticipation of this kind of movie. Going in to a Batman movie thinking it will 'scare me in parts'... helluva thing.
I think it's the bit when everyone is freaking out on fear gas and Batman is being mobbed. The train passes overhead and he manages to reach down and grab his grapple gun. Always made me think of a zombie film, when they are all surrounding Batman and grabbing at him.
@acledfloyd I got a bit too giddy with my comment. I meant to type Begins is the best Batman film by far. I thought Rises was god awful and TDK was slightly better.
I felt it was a great film, all three were great films, but not necessarily a great "Batman" Film, I don't think there has been one yet to be honest. The best , or closest thing to a satisfying Batman Fan experience so far- has actually been the recent batman games on the consoles- those are amazing narrative and mood wise. consistent with comics and the mythology of batman. he s a dark , vengeful , noble, tortured, knight and it has humour without it becoming comic. comic without being comical.
+CisforCock the scene where batman rescues the little boy from the fear gas. Right before scarecrow rides up on the horse, i think. That general area though. Where everybody had red eyes. May have actually been zombies, as seen through the child's perspective, under the effects of the fear toxin.
I think it's the bit when everyone is freaking out on fear gas and Batman is being mobbed. The train passes overhead and he manages to reach down and grab his grapple gun. Always made me think of a zombie film, when they are all surrounding Batman and grabbing at him. Could be wrong though.
@vishifishi01 XD I think we can agree mate, that is THE LEAST of those films' problems. You know, if anything, Schumacher's movies had too little character motivation. It was just film stars hopping around from one action scene in an overblown set to another. Why the hell does Two Face team up with Riddler, anyway? He doesn't give a fuck who Batman is, he just wants to kill him - he has nothing invested in that mystery. As for B&R - I tried to be fair to it but it's simply UN-WA-TCHA-BLE.
But seriously, where the fuck is the "obvious" reference to Romero's Day of the Dead in this film? I literally know every single shot of that film, and there's nothing in Batman Begins that reminds me of it. Haha, anyone?!
@projectcyclops When the streets are full of the nutty slum people and they grab hold of Batman before he ziplines onto the train to face Ra's Al Ghul.
