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winterI 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!
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!
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-24 03:05 am (UTC)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.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-24 04:22 am (UTC)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.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-24 04:41 am (UTC)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.