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Watched Batman Begins for the first time since I saw it in theaters last night. Watched The Dark Knight for the first time EVER immediately after.
My thoughts...
Batman Begins - I've gotta say, I love how this movie starts out. And by that I don't mean I enjoyed the first act, actually I found it to be pretty painful to sit through until Bruce Wayne officially became Batman. But alas - no, I actually LOVED the very opening shot of the film. It's perfect!
I think with this film, I finally understand why some people dig Nolan so much (I really liked Insomnia too, but I haven't seen it recently). Either he or his DP really know how to frame shots, but I don't think his style works so much in this flick when there are quick edits made. Those actually came across as pretty sloppy to me, this film's strength from a technical standpoint were the very slow shots. Which is sad, because that exact tip-toe pacing is what caused me to scoff more than I should have at the flick. It's a bit heavy-handed, don't ya think? Lots of talk, very little action. Even less interesting action.
It was alright I guess, I can see why nobody really mentions this movie anymore. Especially after I watched...
The Dark Knight - A masterpiece. I'm actually surprised I enjoyed it so much. I've dreaded finally watching this film for years now. Just thinking of this film used to give me nightmares of greasy, black "WHY SO SERIOUS" t-shirts with stretched-out collars. I still don't quite get that obsession, that line wasn't even one of the coolest parts of the movie.
What I did like was how natural this film felt. Did they film this on a RED? It looks fantastic! Also there was a very good attention paid in the sound editing, the music was sparse, lining a realistic tone within many key action scenes. You really have to appreciate a director, cast, and crew that can make a story this wild seem plausible. Especially with Harvey Dent in the picture (oh man, was I stoked to see him, I had no idea he'd show up in this film!)
My editing qualms from Batman Begins were also nulled. The cuts were superb, each tightly-wound action sequence melted like butter. Not sure if it's a different editor, or the last guy just learned to differentiate between cuts more - but either way, I couldn't get enough!
So yeah, I really liked this movie. It was outrageous, enthralling, action-packed, and surprisingly believable. Everything I wished Batman Begins would be while I was watching it.
I still think I enjoyed the Avengers more. Or even Spider-man 2 if I'm being honest with myself. But this def. ranks up there - I'm just a Whedon/Marvel fanboy at heart. Will still try and catch a showing of TDKR on Monday. Hopefully it comes anywhere near TDK.
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