Snippitts of Illusions

The Dark Knight or "Why so serious?"

The second film in the new Batman franchise, like the second film of the X-men, or Spiderman franchises surpasses the first.

Batman Begins sets up the franchise with a fairly by the numbers comic book film. It shows the origins and early triumphs of the character while delivering a fairly memorable ending for the main villain and a set up for the second movie.

We had to wait for three years for The Dark Knight, and sit through another film entirely by Christopher Nolan about magicians. This movie (to be covered later) would be a better film than Batman Begins, but only just. The Dark Knight however surpasses both of the previous films.

The movie opens up with a bank heist in progress. The perpetrators of the crime all sport clown masks and it become apparent very quickly that the mastermind behind the robbery has asked them to kill each other to reduce the amount of ways the money has to be split. Of course by the end of the robbery only one man is left standing and he reveals himself to be none other than the Joker.

Yet with this opening, it doesn't feel like a comic book movie. Previous films would show the origins of the villain, set up his modus operandi. The Dark Knight does no such thing. It shows you what kind of man The Joker is, one who thrives on chaos, but it's only a seed and even though that seed grows through out the movie you never see whom or what planted it.

The film takes place 6 months after the first one. The criminals in Gotham have taken to ground because of Batman and a new district attorney Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne's company is thriving under the direction of Lucius Fox, and he and Alfred spend time waiting for Wayne Manor to be rebuilt in a luxurious penthouse suite. In Harvey Dent, Bruce sees hope for the city and himself in that he may soon be able to hang up his mask and cape and enjoy life. Alas, for both them: The Joker.

The movie plays like a big budget action-crime drama. If it weren't the Batman and the Joker on your screen you wouldn't think of it as a comic book film at all. The Joker (played by Heath Ledger in an amazing portrayal) seeds chaos by slowly taking over the different crime syndicates in Gotham and threatening Batman the only way he can, through the lives of innocents. The Joker revels in the torture and fear he reaps his character can be summed up with a quote:
"Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the... little emotions. In... you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?"
He's mad, maniacal and sociopathic. The criminals soon realize that what they have unleashed on the city was far worse than the Batman.

The movie is fairly methodical. It lays its plot out slowly, bit by bit and it's an intricate plot, where when one thread reaches an end another begins. The Joker plays cat and mouse with Lt. Gordon, Batman and Harvey Dent. Leading them in one direction while setting up the next joke in the other. Batman looks for an endgame while Lt. Gordon and Harvey Dent search for a way to capture the villain. When they finally do, they discover that he's in complete control of the situation and has been all along. He wanted to get captured to set up the next phase of his plans. He hopes to bring down Dent, the new hope of Gotham, and discredit Batman.

The films ends as you would expect, a confrontation with the Joker followed by another shorter confrontation with Two-Face (the horrifically burned Dent.) It's not uplifting though. The good guys (in this case the aforementioned Batman, Lt. Gordon and Harvey Dent) do not save the day completely. The Joker succeeds in his plan to destroy the legitimacy of law and structure and by the end of the film you are made painfully aware that he has won.

This film is a tremendous leap in what a comic book film can be. It has some of the cliches (there are one liners here that for good or ill smack of the comic book movie) but those cliches are inherit to the characters more than anything. More so than the first movie, you can believe this one. There's a legitimacy to it. Swap out the Batman and the Joker for different characters and this would have been a serious crime drama, much like The Departed. Well almost....

The film has it's problems, and most are inherit to the characters. Christian Bale sounds like he swallowed gravel before each scene as Batman (this is, I think a fault of what we the audience think Batman should sound like.) Some of the dialogue gets a bit heady in spots. The film almost, ALMOST takes the route of having the hero "lose" his powers (this is the scene where Bruce Wayne puts away the costume to out himself.) This lasts all of about 10 minutes before he's racing through the streets again as Batman to save the day. So it's nice to see them not play with what has become a cliche in the second film of comic book movie franchises. The action in a couple of spots screams something out of a comic book movie (or mindless action film at the very least.) But all of this is trivial honestly. The movie surpasses the cliches and the niggling little problems and comes out as an incredible film on all counts.

It ends on a down note... but there's something inspiring never the less with the last line.

"Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight."

Labels: Christopher Nolan, Comic book films, Movie Reviews

posted by F.G. Shaw @ 2:10 AM 0 comments

My Review of Batman Begins, a retrospective.

Batman Begins marks a reboot for the Batman franchise on film. The previous franchise had two well done films (though still very grounded in the realm of the comic) and two films that... well, to be frankly honest were abominations to the character.

Batman Begins is fresh. It's settled in realm of realism that lends a bit of legitimacy to the idea of the character. Christopher Nolan first came into the limelight with his film Memento, a psychological labyrinth where the audience remained as lost as the character until near the last 10 minutes of the movie. It wowed people. Made folks stand up and take notice of this up and coming director. With his next film Insomnia he created a remake of a Swedish film (of the same name) that also delved into the psyche of the mind. That he would tackle the Batman franchise is, in many ways, a boon. He wanted to keep it real, wanted it to be easy for the audience to suspend their disbelief (and for the most part he succeeded.) But most of all it would seem he wanted to get back to the roots of the character as a detective (a detective in a cape sure, but a detective never the less.)

Batman Begins, while being very different than the other comic book films that had been released before it (and for the most part since) is still very much a first film in a series of comic book films. It deals with the hero's origins. What made him what he has become. Why he fights the way he does. Who are his friends (and enemies) and why. The movie does this in a fairly unique fashion (especially when compared to the Hulk, or Spiderman or even the Punisher) but it still follows the tropes that have been set down before it. We see the training sequences with the League of Shadows and we believe it. Not because it's realistic (far from it) but because the characters seem so invested in what they are doing. That's the secret in making a successful comic book film. It's why Iron Man works, it's why the first two Spiderman films work. The characters believe it, and because they do, you as the viewer also do as well.

After the first half hour we get Bruce Wayne creating the Batman bit by bit, culminating with him taking down Falcone at the docks. Now the criminals and the citizens know this guy is out there, but of course we learn of a bigger plot. Nolan loves to weave his plots into an intricate fabric. Memento does this, as do all of his other films since (I cannot speak of the one he made before Memento as I've never seen it.) Learning that Dr. Crane (the Scarecrow) has been smuggling drugs into the city for another purpose, and that purpose seems quite sinsister (more so than simply making a buck.) We learn that the main villain Ra's al Ghul, thought to be dead after Bruce Wayne destroys his mountain fortress, is alive and well (he lied about his identity) and is going to unleash chaos on Gotham City. The only thing.... all of this is almost expected. Not who the villain may be, or what the plot is, but the fact that there's something more going on. Many similar films do this (both comic and simple action films.) It's a cliche, yet I don't entirely mind that it's a cliche. We the audience have come to expect it.

Yet.

Burning down Wayne Manor and the fantastic action sequence on the train takes the film over the top. Still firmly grounds it in the realm of the comic book. In many ways, that's actually a good thing. For a first film as part of a larger franchise you want this. You want it to still feel like it's something from it's source media. You're playing to fan boys and folks who liked the original Batman movie by Tim Burton. They need that firmly grounded comic book reality, especially by the films end (it doesn't hurt making it a Hollywood summer action flick either.) Butwhy though? Well honestly it lets us the audience know that the franchise is 1) in good hands with somebody who respects the source material and 2) gives us a good footing for the inevitable sequel.

Batman Begins at the time of its release was probably the best comic source film made. It has been surpassed by its own sequel The Dark Knight and Iron Man, but it's still a fun romp, a wild ride worth watching. The film is dark, but not too dark. It has crazy action sequences but doesn't get carried away really until near the end. It has a memorable villain and plays to the tropes only enough to ground itself in the source material, but otherwise makes it easy for the audience to suspend their disbelief.

Worth owning in my opinion.

Labels: Christopher Nolan, Comic book films, Movie Reviews

posted by F.G. Shaw @ 12:18 AM 0 comments