What do you mean, I don't have a Batman icon? >_

[winter]

I need Batman icons. Lots of Batman icons. And Ducard ones.

I was a little worried about the movie, but Christopher Nolan did a bang-up job. There's this rhythm, this angle to the story that means you get right into it. You're not watching a popcorn flick or an elaborate over-the-top allegory, you're living the story. And that's very hard to do with a Batman movie.

It helped that the actors were awesome. About the only one I didn't care about was Katie Holmes, but that was mainly because her role was standard-feisty-chick, while she played opposite Bale's multi-layered complexity. I remain a staunch worshipper of Bale's acting skills: every role I see him in, he's different. I usually have trouble with actors who have distinctive looks (case in point: Elijah both in Eternal Sunshine and Sin City), in that it's hard for me to believe it's this or that person, and not the actor. Bale? Easy.

Though I have to say that he wasn't the hottest thing in the movie. That was Liam Neeson. Come on. Ninja! And that delightful hauteur, too.

With the back lineup being Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman, I didn't have to wonder why I liked it. But Rutger Hauer got a special squee the moment he showed up, because OMG Rutger!


I was very, very iffy on an Asian Ra's Al Ghul until the denouement. But the way it turned out, it was perfect: it's perfectly like Ra's to play mindgames like it. It also means that there's a possibility to bring his character back in further movies, because come on. He's left in a falling rail car more than 10 seconds before it hits the ground and skitters over the floor, without even exploding. Even if we're not taking comic!Ra's into account, it's movie canon that he's a ninja. No self-respecting ninja would be caught sustaining more than a couple of bruises in a stunt like this

Using Ra's as the villain also means I'm not that upset about Bruce leaving him to die, because he knew he wouldn't - it was more of a "this time, get yourself out of there". Because one thing I like about Batsy is how he saves everyone, good and evil. Altogether, Bale's Batman was way fun, with the right mix of darkness and Boys' Own Stories.

(And no, I didn't see any possibility for Ra's/Bruce slash. What three pages of notes? Move along, nothing to see, these are not the fic notes you're looking for...)


As for the rest, I didn't expect anything but the best performance from this cast, and everyone knows Batman movies rock where visuals are concerned.

In conclusion: NINJA!

Comments

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

*bounces* Isn't it fantastically beautiful and incredible? And the characters! GAH! For the first time, I fancied both hero and villain :D And I have no shame about it :)

Also, the sequel is rumoured to be having Paul Bettany as the Joker ;) And there'll be no Katie, thank goodness :D

[winter]

...Paul Bettany? :D :D :D

I think that, overall, I fancied the villain more. But that's because Brucie-darling, as someone recently said, does not have issues, but lovingly bound collections. I think I need a new version of my Evil icon.

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

I can't stop thinking of him as Darth Qui-Gon, after a friend on my flist nicknamed him that :D

[winter]

AUGH. He was Darth Qui-Gon! And I used to wonder what would have happened if Dooku had dragged Qui-Gon over to the dark side...

Which friend was that, for curiosity's sake? Just so I know who to curse ^_~

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

I can't even remember now. I just recalling squeaking and flailing a bit and then wanting an icon :D

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

I too was joking with a fellow TPM fan that he was Sith Qui-Gon^_^

And yes, it's soo slashy^^

*ignore the fic being written on her laptop*

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

it's perfectly like Ra's to play mindgames like it.

Did you notice the line "But is Ra's al Ghul immortal?"

Batman didn't realize the answer to that is "Yes." And, of course, Ra's isn't going to *tell* him.

The only thing that bugged me is that Ra's al Ghul said that Bruce had left him for dead. Bruce carried his enormous carcass out of a burning building, dragged him back up over a cliff, and finally left him in the care of a village in the foothills. How, by any definition, is that 'left for dead'? Ra's al Ghul isn't someone who would allows himself that sort of illusion, so what the heck happened there?

[winter]

Oooh yeah. Tricky, Ra's, hinting at the Lazarus pits like that. I'd love him to show up in the next movie, because the dynamics they have are brilliant. Then again, I'm a sucker for mentor-gone-evil stories. *looks at her Dooku-and-Qui-Gon notes*

I think that was either a left-over from a previous version of the script, before someone noticed Bruce is the kind of person who saves Joker and Lex Luthor from certain death, or that there was a point to the Tibetan saying "he will know you saved his life". The Tibetan warned Bruce not to go to the citadel, so perhaps he was not a friend of Ra's, or was playing his own game. And if that was so, why?

Hm. Interesting. Thanks!

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Then again, I'm a sucker for mentor-gone-evil stories. *looks at her Dooku-and-Qui-Gon notes*

Now *that* is a realationship that needs exploring in fic. Especially since Dooku believed that Qui-Gon would have been on his side in AotC. Dooku might have fooled himself enough to think that he could be a Sith and still do good, but he kept telling Obi-Wan the truth.

I think that was either a left-over from a previous version of the script

It was annoying continuity error? I suppose that's possible. It's just a puzzle that annoys me mightly, because it's the entire reason that Ra's crashes Bruce's party, and thus tips him off that the League of Shadows is up to something. If Ra's hadn't decided to get revenge on Bruce, he'd probably have been successful in posioning all of Gotham, as Bruce wouldn't have known anything was wrong until the police reports started coming in.

[winter]

I loved Marnie Goodbody's take on surviving Qui-Gon, though she did have the whole timeline changed so that Dooku had not gone bad. I think that with Qui-Gon's deep understanding of human nature and his gentleness and empathy, that Master/Padawan team could have taken over the Sith order whole. I also think that's why Sidious had Qui-Gon killed - to remove Dooku's support structure. I have a fic in the making that explores that :)

I think Ra's slight megalomania - or rather his theatricality - would have demanded for him to show up at Bruce's anyway, for the requisite taunting of his fallen pupil. Also, Bruce had already meddled in Ra's' plans by stopping Crane, which made Ra's realize he was dangerous and needed to be taken out before the main plan could proceed. But still, it's interesting why Ra's was not told who dragged him out of the fire.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Marnie's done my absolute favorite version of "Qui-Gon doesn't die". A lot of it is she's got a great take on Obi-Wan's point-of-view, and her young Qui-Gon is just so adorably stubborn and compassionate. Also, things still go to hell in a handbasket with Palpatine running things, but with the Separatist splinter-Jedi, there's a chance that things will work out.

You're right, it is Ra's theatricality that makes him show up at Bruce's party. The man can't resist showing off how good he is at what he does. It's one of his serious failings (you know, besides being a Malthusian eco-terrorist).

I'm hoping for fic about why Ra's was mistaken, or at least told Bruce something not true. It was just such a weird mistake for Ra's to make.

[winter]

Now you've got me thinking on what would have happened if Dooku had gone bad, but at the same time Qui-Gon survived. Could the new Dark Jedi Order have faced Palpatine and saved the Republic, or forged a better one out of the ashes of the old?

I'm circling around a fic that explores the whole Tibet angle, and I think it'll end with an explanation for just that. Though it'll take a little time, since Shan Tao Yun insists to be featured, and I haven't read his latest book yet.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Could the new Dark Jedi Order have faced Palpatine and saved the Republic, or forged a better one out of the ashes of the old?

I don't even think the Temple Jedi could have saved the Republic if Qui-Gon had survived the Duel of the Fates. They might have endured for a generation longer, but they were too tied to the Senate, and the whole structure of the Old Republic was rotting.

Dooku is someone I see as being arrogant about his abilties to the point of hubris. He thought he could become a Sith, use it for his own goals (which I do think were well-intentioned in that he wanted to preserve his culture, but heck, *Anakin* was well-intentioned), and walk away without cost.

Oh, I'd love to read a Tibet fic. I do wonder what Ra's al Ghul was doing in the time that Bruce was setting up as Batman. That's at least a few months, if not as long as a year.