Batman Begins

(Written Monday... cut and paste from The Board)

So I saw Batman Begins last night at the IMAX which was without a
doubt pretty good. The IMAX that is. I love the big screen. It is
so great to have to move your head to see everything, just as you
would in RL. Anyway, the film.

Yeah, it was good. The city of Gotham was sprawling and very
imposing. High rise towers stretching for miles. It was a very
well realised city just a short step from the ones of today. It
reminded me a lot of the city in Fray actually... but of course
this is a standard city in lots of comic books and films. The poor
live on the lower levels. The rich live at the top. Elevated
trains connect the city where we usually get to see flying cars.
It's dark and shining at the same time. And everyone is corrupt.

The film is about corruption and social structures, economics and
the self-destruction of cities. Everything and everyone is well
motivated- even the idea of Batman suddenly becomes less fantasy
and more necessity. The bad people are bad people, not monsters
created by vats of radioactive liquid. It is a stunning twist on
the comic books (which I guess I haven't actually read but I am
guessing that they are more comic fantasy than grim reality).

The characters are strong. Christian Bale makes a good play-boy
billionaire and is suitably swamped by the persona of Batman when
he dons the cape not to be cringeworthy. The female lead (I forget
names...) is surprisingly good too. At least she isn't the typical
girl that gets into trouble and screams for a hero.

So... well, I didn't enjoy it all that much. I need some silly
campness. It was a good film in all intellectual aspects but it
failed to hit my funny bone or get my sympathies. The world that
was created was logical and real which was quite a feat. But it
wasn't very engaging.

I preferred the laughs and silliness of Mr & Mrs Smith...