BATMAN - Batman Begins, 2005

Again - those big-action Hollywood superhero films rarely catch my eye. I didn't even know that this film had come out until I started paying more attention.

This glossy, full-of-attitude and darkness Batman franchise is extremely stylish, and I like the way we're taught to really think about Bruce Wayne as a human, and the implications of his crime-fighting. That line of thinking is really interesting, and an asset to the film. 

That said, I really didn't like Batman Begins - not as a film on its own and especially not after having seen The Dark Knight. I thought that there was far too much focus on his strange Martial Arts fight training, and that plotline was weird - plus Liam Neeson looked like a catfish. There wasn't enough focus on Bruce Wayne's and Rachael's adult relationship, and also not enough focus on the public reaction to his superhero persona. I thought the crime plan was weird and not engaging. The shining beacon of light was of course Cillian Murphy.

[Photo from http://v4.valkiria.net/skin/film/pic/misc_img/b_batman_begins.jpg]

BATMAN - The Dark Knight, 2008

All the hoopla around The Dark Knight forced me into actually wanting to see it. I'm typically not interested in the big-budget Hollywood action films, but I have to say - I fucking loved TDK. It was shiny and action-packed and realistic in an unrealistic way. I don't know if Heath Ledger's death affected the way I judged his performance, but it was really, really great- dedicated and fucking creepy. I was engaged for the entire two-point-five hours, and would see it again in a second. I'm thinking IMAX.

Seeing TDK has gotten me on this Batman kick. I now plan to watch all its prequels. I should have done this before seeing it, but you can't always get what you want. I'll be talking about/reviewing those as I see them.

[Photo from: http://www.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/the-dark-knight-characters_472x312.jpg]