Batman Begins

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

Sturgeon’s Law is that 90 percent of everything is crap. So the obvious corollary to that is that 10 percent of everything is gold.

Since no less an authority than Isaac Asimov stated (to me, in fact) that Sturgeon’s Law is immutable, then we can assume that 90 percent of everything done with Batman in the past seven decades is crap, and 10 percent is gold.

So what would happen if someone went through and cherry picked all the stuff from that ten percent?

Well, you’d have “Batman Begins,” a slightly overlong (they could’ve trimmed ten minutes), occasionally bewilderingly filmed (the fight sequences seemed to have been edited by putting the film into a blender, leaving the top off the blender, and starting it up) but ultimately satisfying and superior film that kickstarts a franchise that had sunk under camp and an abundance of superstar supervillains.

Lifting the best creations and concepts from everyone from Denny O’Neil to Frank Miller, “Batman Begins” traces–as the title suggests–Batman’s origins. A dissolute Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, traumatized by his parents’ death and subsequent events involving Joe Chill (rightfully restored as the Wayne’s killer), submerges himself in the criminal element and winds up being trained in the way of the ninja by Qui Gon Jin on behalf of Ras Al Ghul (although there’s some twists involved which, frankly, I saw coming a mile off, but still, they were nicely thought out.) Bruce eventually returns to Gotham City, where he becomes involved with his former sweetie who is, to her credit, neither a ditz nor homicidal. Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) arranges for Driving Mr. Batman, Michael Caine clucks concernedly as Alfred, and the Scarecrow is played by someone who isn’t Patrick McGoohan, which was a disappointment to me but I lived with it.

It’s amazing the stuff we’ve come to accept. I remember when fans went ballistic over the fact that Batman was wearing armor instead of tights. I’ll betcha that absolutely no one will be complaining about it this time around. Bale adopts Michael Keaton’s soft-voiced, whispering Batman style, Gotham City looks like a real city instead of a strange Gothic thing, and–in a novel twist for a Batman movie–the plot actually hangs together. The ONLY deficiency is the music, which is adequate enough I suppose, but you won’t come out of it humming signature themes the way you did when Danny Elfman was scoring it.

Overall a terrific relaunch of the Bat franchise.

PAD

98 comments on “Batman Begins”

  1. I am looking forward to seeing this later this week with the mere mortals.

    I wonder if Hollywood has “gotten it” yet. When comic books are adapted close to the source material, they tend to work pretty good. Of course, having a good script tends to help as well.

    Also, I know the Fantastic Four probably will be a disapointment, but the trailers are certainly enticing. Even my wife, who generally is tepid about all things comic, wants to see it.

    Thanks for the review PAD

  2. just saw the hbo making of batman begins & i tell you this movie is going to rock. i think it will be much better then fantastic four, but not as good as war of the worlds.

    joe v.

  3. Hi Peter: Earlier tonight I commented on your earlier thread, having just finished with our running of the sneak up here in Winnipeg.

    The thing that’s most outstanding about this version of the franchise is that the seriousness of the character comes through without being rammed down your throat. It’s believable. In previous versions that element of the character was satirized making him seem like a total buffoon or was so overbearing that you couldn’t help but want to gag.

    I’m glad they didn’t overdo Gotham. I’ve argued for years that if you want to make Batman into a hero people can associate with him, take him and put him smack in the middle of the worst area of the Bronx fighting real characters. While not going to quite that length (and again I say that the villain’s motives were somewhat …..far-fetched…..but I’m willing to suspend disbelief), the city felt like a real place, and the supporting characters certainly behaved like real people, not like some charicatures.

    The film noir atmosphere of the piece helped to sell the menace and foreboding of the main character.

    Of course it will be interesting to see what the opening receipts are like, but I think this’ll be one heck of a way to start off the summer movie season. The local reviews break this morning, so we’ll see what they have to offer.

    And of course the ending leaves the inevitable question: Who’s gonna play you-know-who in the sequel?

  4. Posted by: Joe Krolik,
    And of course the ending leaves the inevitable question: Who’s gonna play you-know-who in the sequel?

    I wonder who THAT could be? Wow! Glad I read that spoiler in your spoiler-warning free post.

  5. LALALALALA!! I AM NOT LISTENING TO JOE!!! LA LA LA!!

    So, Peter…you BÃSTÃRÐ! Can’t wait to see it — gonna try to go next weekend. How “kid-friendly” is it, though? Can I take my (rather mature) 9-year-old Batfreak daughter who has been waiting anxiously to see it over her mother’s skepticism (but with her father’s excited dorkdom)?

  6. “Since no less an authority than Isaac Asimov stated (to me, in fact) that Sturgeon’s Law is immutable, then we can assume that 90 percent of everything done with Batman in the past seven decades is crap, and 10 percent is gold.”

    I don’t know that that assumption naturally follows. The above hypothesis fails to take into account other comic book characters alone who are 100% crap. Surely Batman gains at least a few percentage points in the balance. Stacking up the number of hours of quality animated Batman against the amount of time given to live action drek alone would kinda skew the numbers.

    Sorry for the little digression, but I just couldn’t help myself.

    -Rex Hondo-

  7. The most I’ve seen in previews was the 10 minute sneak peak at the end of Smallville’s season finale…a better 10 minutes than the 60-some Smallville actually gave…but I digress…

    This all looks good, and the more I hear, the more I think that this film will “get it right.” Burton’s first film came close, and in both his versions, there are elements that you can clearly recognize, but it’s like Jim Carey playing the Riddler…you can tell who he’s trying to be, but all you see if Jim Carey. Burton’s Batman/Gotham looks like the Dark Knight, but you can almost tell that Burton’s behind it all.

    I don’t get that impression with Begins: So far as the advance stuff shows, it’s just Batman.

    Fantastic Four: It looks better than the advance word makes it seem. I think a lot are going to have low expectations for this one, which could mean it actually does better than predicted.

  9. Mr. David,

    I THOUGHT that was you last night. I would have liked to introduce myself but the only opprotunity I had to shake your hand was in the men’s room (I guess it was a good (w)omen) and I make it a point not to shake anybody’s hand in the bathroom.

    I would like second your review, except I thought the movie score was dead on.

    On a personal note, I helped publish one of the (many) movie tie-ins, which is why I was there last night, but I’m a true blue fanboy as well. It was a little surreal to watch Batman Begins WITH DC Comics.

    It was nice “sorta” meeting you,

    Steve

  10. I make it a point not to shake anybody’s hand in the bathroom

    that’s probably a good policy…altho I’ll go you one further and suggest to make it a point not to shake anybody’s anything in the bathroom 🙂

  11. “Can I take my (rather mature) 9-year-old Batfreak daughter who has been waiting anxiously to see it over her mother’s skepticism (but with her father’s excited dorkdom)?”

    Absolutely. In my opinion, absolutely. The fight scenes are relatively blood-free, no sex unless you count two gorgeous women briefly frolicking in a fountain (but not, repeat, NOT having sex with each other). It’s really not a problem.

    PAD

  12. Hulkeye: No, Hollywood doesn’t “get it”; Hollywood never “gets it” and is, in fact, incapable “getting it”. Some individuals in Hollywood do, however; and Nolan & Goyer are two of them.

  14. PAD (and anyone else who has seen the movie): I’m looking for guidance when it comes to seeing this movie with my 8 and 6 year old boys. PG-13 movies are not foreign to them, they’ve seen ‘Spider Man’, ‘I, Robot’, ‘Hero’ and others and they both would love to see it. )Actually, they are both dying to see ‘Serenity’, unfortunately that isn’t going to happen.) I’m just curious as to how appropriate this might be for those two. Thanks.

  16. Saying “you know who” is a spoiler? Either our standards for spoilers have gotten way looser or I am kinda daft since “you know who” means nothing to ms.

  17. First, that 90% bit is NOT Sturgeons’s Law — it’s Sturgeon’s REVELATION.

    And i happened to be at a panel discussion at Emory University when Robert Bloch propounded Bloch’s Corollary to Sturgeon’s Revelation:

    “…and your agent gets the other ten percent.”

  18. Yeah, I know, except I’ve noticed when you say “Sturgeon’s Law” people know what you’re talking about, and when you say “Sturgeon’s Revelation,” they usually don’t. So I tend to go with the more popular perception on this one because it’s just not worth arguing about.

    PAD

  19. Wait, PAD, you missed the most important part of the review: Denny O’Neil’s most visceral reaction to whatever might have caused him to viscerally react! Was there a repeat of the ‘BatVisa’ moment, or at least, an analogue?

  20. Posted by Don,
    Saying “you know who” is a spoiler? Either our standards for spoilers have gotten way looser or I am kinda daft since “you know who” means nothing to ms.

    In the case of some random statement, no. If I walked up to some lady on the street, and said “YOU KNOW WHO!”, she would probably scream, hit me, and run. Though she wouldn’t have to worry about being spoiled for Batman Begins.

    However, in a Batman movie there can only be so many “you know who’s”..and why call it a “you know how” unless you suppose we would know who it was.

    I think we can assume it isn’t Killer Croc, yes?

  21. RE: taking the youngins.

    I’ve read at least one review that mentions some fear-induced images that were intense…I’ve no idea what that means, but if your kids made it through Spider-Man, and I, Robot, they probably can handle a few scary images. I mean, it’s only PG-13, right?

  22. Basically, there’s some sequences where the Scarecrow’s fear powder induces terror-filled illusions in his victims. These usually manifest as monstrous visions such as worms crawling out of the Scarcrow’s hooded mouth. Stuff like that. But the images are very quick rather than dwelled upon, and besides, even within the context of the story it’s “make believe.” So if your kid freaks out upon the slightest sight of worms, that could be a problem. Otherwise, no.

    PAD

  23. Bob and PAD: Thanks for the response. No, they both handle scenes like that with much more aplomb than I do. (Admittedly, the riot scene in ‘I, Robot’ kind of freaked out the youngest. He’d never been exposed to any kind of mob violence. Truth be known, it bothered me as well.) And hey, if they can handle the Ringwraiths from LOTR, I’m sure they can handle the nightmares from the Scarecrow. Thanks again, you two, I appreciate it.

  24. I was more concerned about things like the impalement scene from Spiderman. Took me a long time to let the boys watch that, simply because I didn’t want to have to explain it. It’s one of the things keeping me from taking the boys to see Episode III. I’m kind of bugged by the idea of Anakin offing an entire school of children, things like that. I’ll probably break down as soon as school is out, however.

  25. Knuckles…you don’t actually see him off the kids….really, its far more gruesome watching what he does to the art of acting.

  26. Nothing but high praise for this movie Peter.

    I do agree with you with respect to the fight scenes. I had the same problem with Resident Evil Apocalyspe. They were just too chaotic.

    Other than that I felt the movie (even with 2 villians) was excellent.

    Frank Millers Sin City is still the best Hollyweird Comic Adaptation to date, but BB and X2 are right up there on my DVD wish list.

    Regards:
    Warren S. Jones III

  27. PAD wrote: “Since no less an authority than Isaac Asimov stated (to me, in fact) that Sturgeon’s Law is immutable, then we can assume that 90 percent of everything done with Batman in the past seven decades is crap, and 10 percent is gold.”

    Sorry, Peter, I don’t follow your reasoning as logical here. Accepting Sturgeon’s Law (and didn’t he say ‘crud’, not ‘crap’?) merely means that 10% of Batman is not crap. There’s a big difference between “not crap” and “gold.”

    For instance, in my opinion: DETECTIVE COMICS #475: gold. BATMAN: DARK DETECTIVE #1: not crap.

    Sorry, don’t mean to be so pedantic.

  28. It’s one of the things keeping me from taking the boys to see Episode III. I’m kind of bugged by the idea of Anakin offing an entire school of children, things like that.

    Well, you don’t actually see that, as somebody else mentioned.

    But there are a few chopping of limbs (like every other Star Wars movie) and Anakin (literally) goes up in flames. 🙂

    Personally, I think the whole immolation scene for Anakin is the only reason this one went PG-13.

  29. Ok, bad dialogue aside, you all have me convinced. The boys will get to go see Episode III. I mean, hëll, I actually want to see the dámņ thing for once. But first things first: ‘Batman Begins’.

    Thanks again, all. I appreciate it. And now I’m going to listen to Felix Hernandez attempt to run his PCL W-L record up one more notch.

  31. I’d be happy to see ‘Batman Begins’ twice, but my boys have had their ‘Star Wars’ on for quite some time now.

  32. …(and didn’t he say ‘crud’, not ‘crap’?)…

    Sturgeon’s own account is that he was giving a speech at a con, and, trying to make a point, he stated that “90% of science fiction is crap” (his exact words). Hearing the crowd rumbling, he hurriedly added, “- but 90% of everything is crap.”

    And thus was Sturgeon’s Law born…

  33. Ebert loved “Batman Begins” — gave it four stars. Although not remotely conclusive, it’s a positive sign.

    The “Batman Begins” marketing plan is terrific, from what I can see — very broad and integrated. I’m curious how big the marketing budget is. To me, it seems to be rivaling or perhaps even exceeding that of “The Hulk,” which reportedly had a marketing budget of $40 million.

    Thus, if “Batman Begins” is, in reality, a good film, its box office take will be some indication of what the take of “The Hulk” COULD have been if it had been a better film. Remember that “The Hulk” smashed at the box office the first week ($62 million) then the box office take fell off the table — a sure sign (to me) word-of-mouth killed it.

    Here’s wishing DC great success with this baby!

  34. Getting optimistic for “Batman” … and hoping Knuckles remains potimistic for “Revenge of the Sith”. Since Ebert came up, regarding “Begins,” above, I’ll mention he and Roeper both endorsed “Sith”. In fact, Roeper said he thinks this is the best Star Wars movie since “The Empire Strikes Back,” an endorsement which I think I can second (and not to dis “Return of the Jedi” in saying that).

  35. Okay James, if you KNOW who “you-know-who” is, so tell everyone already!

    That’s why I used the phrase there. At this point, you haven’t a clue who I am referring to. So lighten up please. Thanks.

  36. Hey Knuckles, I have Felix in my fantasy baseball league. Any chance he gets called up soon? The Cedar Bluff Catfish need his skills quite badly.

  37. Wouldn’t it have been cool if the actor from SMALLVILLE (I’m drunk and don’t remember his name) would have had a small walk on role in the movie? All the “comic geeks” (of which I’m one) would would have yelled ” This is the first meeting of Batman and Superman!!”

  38. Two quick points. (A)How can you not know who ‘you know who’ is? (B)I hate to say it, but I think the FF movie is going to make Howard The Duck look like Gone With The Wind (Casablanca, Citizen Kane) pick a classic. Every new preview I see makes me groan more and more.

  39. DAVE W. Writes;

    “Two quick points. (A)How can you not know who ‘you know who’ is?”

    Was that a super fun play on words or were you being serious? Because, IF you were being serious, than someone who HASNT seen the movie, ISN’T going to know who the filth flarn, flarn FILTH “WHO”,in question, is!

    …..right?
    (it only just makes me wanna see this movie that much more! Dang you JOE KROLIK!!! 😛 )

  40. If all this silliness of mine only makes you and everyone else want to see this film more and more, then I humbly submit that my work has been successful.

  41. dave w:

    I hate to say it, but I think the FF movie is going to make Howard The Duck look like Gone With The Wind

    actually the latest preview that I saw (the one that was ‘unveiled’ with SWIII) has given me pretty high expectations.

    yes, there are some deviations from the comic, but there always are. i thought everything else looked great. especially love the scene where the torch jumps off the building to divert the missile.

    I don’t expect it to be the same calibre as Batman Begins (as far as BB goes, I’m starting to fear that my expectations are going to be -way- too high going in leaving only room for disappointment), but i think (hope) it will be an entertaining, well-done movie.

    and c’mon…Jessica Alba…skin tight suit…seriously 🙂

  42. SPOILER WARNING
    is it necessary to post a
    SPOILER WARNING
    in order to offer a speculative comment about
    “You Know Who”?
    Because I don’t know who, so this IS pure speculation.
    But if we’re talking about a ubiquitous character that will inevitably show up in ever new version of Batman,
    that still narrows it down to Commisioner Gordon, Robin, Catwoman and the Joker.
    And if ANY of them are eliminated because this is the fifth movie in this current series, well, they have ALL appeared in the series, so should all be eliminated.
    But if the film (which I haven’t seen) contains an indication that it’s someone other than any of those four, I would assume that it might be a character with ties to one of the three villains featured in the film.
    And unless the Scarecrow has a daughter I don’t know about, that does kinda narrow it down.
    I assume this is an obvious enough observation that it’s not going to actually “spoil” the enjoyment of a sequel that hasn’t even been written yet for anyone.
    (By the way, has DC or any subsequent writer ever down anything with the offspring from “Son of the Demon”, or was that expensive hardcover graphic novel a complete rip-off, introducing a non-continuity character to the Bat-universe?)

  43. “Sturgeon’s Law is that 90 percent of everything is crap. So the obvious corollary to that is that 10 percent of everything is gold.”

    So everything that’s not crap is gold? There’s no middle ground?

  44. Re: all of the bickering over “Sturgeon’s Law”…

    …boy, but I’ll bet Peter wishes he had just opened the review with something as eloquent as “hey, this movie really didn’t suck!”

    Seriously folks…let’s get back to focusing on the real message. There’s a good (non animated) Batman movie. By many accounts, very good. I’m certain that this, along with Michael Jackson being acquitted of all charges against him are signs of the impending apocalypse…do you really want to spend your last few minutes on earth bickering over semantics? 🙂

  45. “So everything that’s not crap is gold? There’s no middle ground?”

    No, no middle ground! You’re either crap, or your gold, and if you’re crap, the terrorists win!

    errr, or something like that.

  46. None of my business, of course, but I highly recommend that parents see a movie they have questions about before taking their kids instead of depending on anyone else’s opinion, because everyone has different standards.

    I thought “you know who” was either Robin or Joker. Not a spoiler in my opinion…

  47. Joe Krolick writes;

    “If all this silliness of mine only makes you and everyone else want to see this film more and more, then I humbly submit that my work has been successful.”

    And I say, AMEN!

    Got Batman Begins runnin through my wee fanboy mind I’m so stoked to see this puppy!

  49. I am definitely going to see this next week. Especially since I am starved for entertainment in English, and I live in the only country that didn’t see Episode III released on the same day as in the States.

    Meh. Second week of July…

    (Plus, Batman Begins is getting more publicity here, due to Ken Watanabe being in it.)

    Rob in Japan
    (cut me some slack, it’s only my second post here)

  50. Luke: I am optimistic for ‘Revenge of the Sith’. Sure, the dialog is probably crap, but that’s to be expected. I just want it to be fun, which Episode II simply was not.

    Hulkeye: I don’t think Felix will be called up anytime before the All-Star break, and perhaps not even until August at that point. As long as the M’s keep limping along with not catastrophic starts from our AAAA rotation of Moyer, Piniero, Sele, Franklin and Meche, there’s no reason to bring him up (other than the M’s actually want to win games). That said, he’s still got some work to do on his control. His fastball is still a bit erratic at times, and he hasn’t harnessed it quite yet. He has got some badass presence on the mound, however. All hail the King!

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