Shadow of the Bat.

Shadow of the Bat.

I used to think that Tim Burton’s interpretations of Batman were the best. Their outlandishness, visual style and pure insanity/fun made them stand out from Schumacher’s (Joel, not Michael) campier capers. Batman Forever wasn’t that bad (it saved the franchise in a way), but Batman and Robin was a bit too much (and I still can’t forgive Clooney for being the Bats). Having Schwarzenegger in it as well was bizarre, though thank God for Uma. Really. Nippled suits aside, we haven’t seen a Batman movie in a pretty long time. Until now.

Batman Begins has a bunch of actors whom you wouldn’t expect to see in a comic adaptation. First off, Gary Oldman as a good guy. Strange. Morgan Freeman as one of the token fatherly figures (!). Michael Caine as Alfred (?!!). I’m not going to talk about Scientology Girl, but she wasn’t that bad, either. Then you have Tom Wilkinson and Cilian Murphy. Strange, how all these actors are known for one thing (except for the one who was on Dawson’s Creek, but she was alright): acting. Which makes it a good movie, no?

Yes. It does. I think having most of the cast and crew be English gives it even more legitimacy. Which proves that once again, when done correct, the British can do it right. Granted, it wasn’t all filmed in England, but it’s got this European feel to it in the first half. (Most probably because it feels that none of it takes place in the States). Oh.

Yea, I know. Christian Bale as Batman. I haven’t left him out; he’s probably the best Bat so far. Though I do miss Keaton.

I loved the movie because it really focused on the Batman-Gordon dynamic that’s been running on so long in the comics. I know that you can’t squash at least 20 years’ worth of stories into a two hour movie, but this was done with aplomb and class. And Batman Begins is just that; a classy movie.

I’m just scared that this onslaught of comic adaptations we’re getting now is going to burn out the whole comic adaptation genre before it’s really picked up. We’re getting Fantastic Four later in the summer, and I’m probably going to watch it for one reason: Jessica. But the thing is, will people get sick of all this? It’s too soon to say. I guess it all depends on the merits of the individual movies themselves. I just hope that we don’t get a burnout. And I can’t imagine Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider, either.

But Batman Begins is an awesome movie.

“What is the point of all those push ups if you can’t even lift over a bloody log?”

Yes, Alfred.