Mindless Juices

Batman Begins... let me just say, "wow." This was a particularly well-done movie. A one that we all needed. Christopher Nolan (writer & director) went back to what movies are all about. A great story with great actors and some special effects. Please note, SOME special effects. I was so happy to go to an action movie that was NOT about the special effects. While Matrix and Crouching Tiger... were impressive in their own right and moved the FX world forward tremendously, the techniques seemed to be all over every movie these days. They were cool when they were novel, but we get it now and they don't make a movie good. So, Batman Begins puts up the short backstory that we all know, but with just a few key scenes to establish Bruce's bat "obsession" and setup a few scenes later on. Then, we're all in to the story we really care about. How does a billionaire orphan become the Dark Knight? Since Batman doesn't have any powers, everything needed to be explained and it all was. So happy. So, I can only think of a few times that CG was used: bats, the Scarecrow's effects, and the bat signal. I only know they were CG because they would have to be. Other than that, if CG was used, it was sparingly and artistically well done. My favorite scene was definitely all Michael Caine's delivery. The Wayne mansion is on fire. Bruce is trapped beneath a smoldering cross-beam. Alfred returns from an errand (trying to not spoil anything), finds Bruce slowly regaining conciousness, but still trapped. He attempts to lift the beam and Bruce tries to help. Alfred says, "Sir, whatever is the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?"