Batman Begins

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Obviously this was watched in preparation for The Dark Knight this weekend. I don't think I'd seen Batman Begins since it was out in theaters, so it was good to have a refresher.

I feel the same about it now as I did then. It's a pretty damn good superhero movie, but with numerous flaws that keep it from being the end-all be-all that some seem to feel it is. Most notably: the action isn't all that great, which in a superhero movie is kind of a big deal. But also, I think there are some script problems, like the overuse of repeating dialogue for dramatic or comedic effect ("It's not who you are on the inside, but what you do that defines you" "You must not have got the memo" "You still haven't given up on me, Alfred" "Nevuh!" and so on). And also, the movie is so good at being a dark, serious movie that it feels awkward every time they try to cram in some obvious "summer entertainment" moments... like random people on the street making quips about the batmobile and shit (there's even that one black stereotype who's all like "damn bling bling this shit is fly.")

The script stuff I'm confident will be fixed in the sequel, but I'm still worried about the action.