Batman Begins

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Post by ShyViolet » September 10th, 2006, 7:00 pm

Here's one of the funniest parts of the Batman and Robin review/essay from The Agony Booth. (the review is ten very long pages, so I'm not giving much away. :) The whole thing is hilarious, though.


http://www.agonybooth.com/batman_robin/

Bruce explains that Dr. Fries used to be a molecular biologist, but when his wife Nora came down with "MacGregor's Syndrome", he undertook procedures to cryogenically freeze her until he could find a cure. Which is just what you would expect a "molecular biologist" to do, right? Still, someone named Nora Fries had to be cryogenically frozen. Victor's assistants must have had a field day with that one.

Apparently, Fries was a little out of his area, because his laboratory setup turns out to be a bit unconventional. It seems his technique for cryogenically freezing someone involves a 10 cubic foot vat of mysterious milky liquid with absolutely no cover on it. Also, it appears crucial to the procedure to position this vat directly below a catwalk that doesn't have a railing.

Bruce narrates the video, telling Robin that "here's where everything goes north." Hah! Predictably, there's some kind of explosion in the lab, and Fries gets hit with some huge sparks coming off his equipment (which happens all the time in laboratories, I'm sure). He falls right into the vat. Oh my, how did that happen? A nice touch is how this supposed "security camera" actually pans down to follow Fries as he plunges into the icy chemicals.

Dick watches this and cries out, "That's gotta hurt!" like he's watching an episode of America's Funniest Home Cryogenic Procedures. Bruce explains that the liquid was "fifty below" (Below what?), but that Fries "somehow survived" (Look, leave the sarcasm to me, Bruce). Unfortunately, the "cryo-solution mutated his body", and damn, ain't that always the way? On the tape, we see an icy Fries emerge from a big cloud of dry ice fog, contorting his face into expressions of deep pain.


Yeah, you and us both, Arnie.



Bruce says that Freeze's wife was presumed dead, then brings up a computer graphic of Freeze in his suit. He explains that Freeze can't survive without extreme cold, and that his "cryo-suit" uses "diamond-enhanced lasers" to keep him at "zero degrees". Zero degrees? Is this Fahrenheit? Celsius? Kelvin? The movie never says. But if we're talking about Celsius, then for the record, my refrigerator can keep stuff at "zero degrees" and it doesn't use diamond-enhanced lasers to do it.

Bruce calls for Alfred, who's off having an attack of Movie Illness and leaning against the Bat Suit. He eventually composes himself and comes over, and Bruce asks him to retrieve the "Wayne Diamonds". Dude, any diamonds that belong to you would technically be the "Wayne Diamonds", wouldn't they? Dick guesses that they'll be setting a trap for Mr. Freeze, but Bruce wants Dick to first spend "ten hours in the simulator". Perhaps this is a device that simulates being in a movie that actually requires you to act.

Bruce tells Dick he almost got himself killed tonight, but Dick gets defensive and says that Bruce is being "too protective", adding, "How are we supposed to work together if you won't trust me?" Then he storms off, and we cut to Alfred, taking time out from looking ghastly and propping himself up on walls to offer this sage query: "How, indeed?"

In the next scene, Bruce and Alfred are walking though Wayne Manor, and Bruce starts bitching and moaning that he can't trust Dick not to hurt himself. Alfred replies that Bruce's problem is that, in fact, he doesn't trust anyone. (Perhaps they should have called this movie Batman & Dr. Phil.) Bruce disagrees, pointing out that he trusts Alfred, but Alfred drops a major hint when he says that "I shan't be here forever!" Bruce, of course, completely misses this hint and bids Alfred goodnight.

Bruce walks out into the corridor and stares blankly into space. We cut to his pointlessly tilted POV of the corridor, and eventually he sees himself as a small child running through the halls of Wayne Manor. Little Bruce trips and skins his knees, so a young Alfred wearing a Starbucks apron comes out and dusts him off, and then they both fade out. Yeah, that was one fantastic memory. Bruce gets all misty-eyed and walks off.


Another great moment in the life of Young Bruce Wayne.

Last edited by ShyViolet on February 17th, 2007, 9:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ShyViolet » September 17th, 2006, 11:42 pm

BTW, as far as Thomas and Martha Wayne-death scenes go, Burton ALL THE WAY!!!!! :D


Yeah we don't really know that Joker killed his parents, but that was an INCREDIBLE scene, and that guy really resembled Jack! SO dramatic and scary, buids up dread. You can see why Batman is as driven as he is.

But Begins? They completely mucked it up. I didn't think that little boy was a very good actor to begin with, the whole thing is completely anticlimatic, very "ordianary" feel, not larger than life like in Bats '89. And sticking in that whole thing with young Bruce and Alfred, with Alfred comforting him was a COMPLETE waste of time and totally deflates the tension from the film, as well as the intrigue of the Batman mythos! :roll: :roll:
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Post by Ben » September 18th, 2006, 8:47 am

Begins was, frankly, pretty lame, and I don't know how/why it has built up the level of critical and midling-commercial success that it has.

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Post by Josh » September 18th, 2006, 11:06 am

I think the reason critics admired Batman Begins as much as they did is due to the film's take on Bruce Wayne. To be honest, I likewise enjoyed seeing his past and his motivation for being Batman.

With that said, I agree with you, Ben, that Scarecrow could have used more development. However, I really believe we haven't seen the last of him.

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Post by ShyViolet » September 18th, 2006, 11:45 am

I sure hope not! :)


I think the reason critics admired Batman Begins as much as they did is due to the film's take on Bruce Wayne.

I agree, but I also think it was due to the fact that it was such a HUGE contrast to Batman and Robin, the last Bats film. Its grittiness is on the other extreme from B & R's campiness.

Still, I can't help wondering (even though I mostly liked it) how Begins would have been received had the two Schumacker films NEVER come out, and it was released after Batman Returns. Would it have been as critically/commercially popular? :wink: :roll:
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Post by ShyViolet » October 1st, 2006, 12:42 am

All right! :) According to Wikepeidia the Joker's personality in Batman Begins 2 will be largely inspired by The Killing Joke:

The Dark Knight
Main article: The Dark Knight (film)
A Joker playing card was shown at the end of Batman Begins, where it had been used as a calling card by a costumed criminal who was not explicitly named. Screenwriter David Goyer explained in Premiere magazine that he plans to use the Joker as the main villain for the sequel, The Dark Knight. Warner Bros. officially announced on July 31, 2006 that Heath Ledger would portray the Joker.[1] Director Christopher Nolan has said that this portrayal will be inspired by The Killing Joke and the character's first two appearances in the comics
[2].
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Post by ShyViolet » October 12th, 2006, 2:43 am

A very cool fan made picture:

Image




:)
Last edited by ShyViolet on October 14th, 2006, 2:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Ben » October 12th, 2006, 4:58 am

Very good. :)

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Post by ShyViolet » October 13th, 2006, 7:16 am

It sort of reminds me of this picture:

Image
Last edited by ShyViolet on October 14th, 2006, 2:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Daniel » October 13th, 2006, 3:25 pm

ShyViolet wrote:A very cool fan made picture:
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/8044/21njgusrv5.jpg
Wow that is cool 8). But its a fan made? Meaning its not real? Dang! :( it looked so genuine, hope the real Joker looks as good, if not better than this one :wink:

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Post by ShyViolet » October 14th, 2006, 7:49 am

Here's a cool fan-made wallpaper, based on "A Death In the Family"--another rendition of how the Joker "could" look like....



http://superherouniverse.com/superheroe ... family.jpg


(Also, I always thought it was weird when the '89 Batman came out and all this merchindise was being sold--shirts,hats, pins--I had a tiny Joker action figure you could attach to any surface with one of those plastic suction thingies--that NONE of the renditions looked anything like Nicholson. Nope, they were all based on the traditional comic book Joker, who was um, skinny! :P )
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Post by Ben » October 14th, 2006, 9:50 am

What was funny is that I saw Mike Nichols fairly mixed-up "Wolf" again the other night and had forgotten how skinny and lean Nicholson is in that picture. It was made two/three years after Bats and yet he slimmed down for that and would have made a terrific Joker with that body.

I guess the thing to think about was how bloated Joker was with all his opulence...that's how Burton/Nicholson's take works best for me.

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Post by ShyViolet » October 14th, 2006, 10:58 am

Yeah, he just looked...crazy. I had no problem buying him as the Joker...I never even really thought of him as "fat" until later years when friends were saying he was.

And this was the '80s after all--excess, opulance, and greed were everywhere. So basically Jack's Joker fit right in! :twisted: Ha ha.

I posted a pic of Nicholson from The Shining on page 2 of the thread.
He definetely looks more like a potential Joker there. :)

Christian Slater would be so perfect. I still can't figure out why no one has thought of him! :? :)

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Post by Ben » October 14th, 2006, 12:34 pm

Maybe because his whole career has been filled with comparisons to Nicholson's, and because he over acts in every thing he's in?

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Post by ShyViolet » October 15th, 2006, 6:43 am

Hmmm....true. :?

CS was all the rage in teenybopper land back in 1990 though! :P (Kinda like Johnny Depp was around that time. :wink: )

But I mean if he is like Jack, doesn't that make sense? People say Jack is too old to do it, so he's kind of like a younger version of him.

But then he probably wouldn't do half as great a job anyway... :roll:
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