Batman Begins :: Simply The Best Comic Book Adaptation … Ever
First, Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City. Now, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Never has there been such a strong back to back showing for movies derived from graphic novels.
Where to begin?
Let’s start where all great works of art should … the story. While the Burton films had a gritty charm, they were still highly stylized and had an almost art-house feel … albiet on a grand scale … in their overall voice and pacing. As for the Schumacher films, well the less said the better. Their only saving grace was Val Kilmer. That said, all four of the modern Batman films shared a live-action comic book sensibility.
With Batman Begins Nolan borrows heavily from Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One graphic novel. The result is hyper-real. For the first time in the genre, you actually feel that such a superhero could exist in the real world. This feel runs through the entire film with the exception of one subtly grand chase scene. As a result, there is little need to “suspend disbelief”. Everything is inherently plausible when one witnesses how tragedy could so shape the will and life of one man.
Speaking of that man, Christian Bale was born to play Batman. An amazingly skillful actor, he inhabits Batman/Bruce Wayne. This is a deep, rich role which was well-mined by Bale, who should recieve Oscar consideration for his performance. I expected Katie Holmes to be annoying eye candy, but was very pleasantly surprised. Her role was well written, well acted and integral to the story. Michael Caine is a perfect Alfred. Gary Oldham is the perfect Commisioner Gordon.
I was also a bit concerned about three classic Batman villians appearing in the film. After the Guhvahnator played Mr. Freeze to Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy, I was concerned about more weak team-ups. I wont play the spolier here, but suffice to say that everything falls together perfectly. Again, kudos to Christopher Nolan’s script and direction.
Costume and set design were superb. Most striking is Gotham City itself. It looked like a real city, perhaps Chicago or New York. While I love the hyper-stylized Gotham of Burton’s films, I believe Nolan’s Gotham much, much more. It is organic and real. Even the surreal, gritty “Shangri-la” seen early in the film feels real. The only thing that seems a bit unreal is the Batmobile. That said, the origin of this piece of Bat-tech is believably explained by Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). The same can be said of the costume (sans Shumacher’s famous latex nipples) and the rest of the arsenal.
Finally, fight coreography is amazing. What makes it so is the simple, nasty realism. There are no Matrix-like effects or Day-Glo bad guys as per Schumacher. Everything is clean and believable while remaining visually “muddy”. This is a good thing. There are no dramatically stylized punches or exchanges. Everything is in close and vicious. You cannot see precisely what is happen, but it feels like you are watching real fights. Yet, all of this is done without gratuitous gore.
Sandy Collora set the bar high with his independent labor of love … Batman: Dead End. Until today, I considered it the finest Batman film ever made. Batman Begins has stolen the crown. Word on the street is Nolan and Bale are signed for at least two more installments. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.
Corey Sosner :: First Round
Jerry Smith sent me a link to First Round a fan film starring and produced by Corey Sosner. The film stars Marvel characters Wolverine and The Punisher. The script and cinematography are pretty solid. For what I suppose is a no/low-budget film, the special effects were surprisingly good. However, performances are uneven. Sosner plays a passable Punisher. Eric von Sydow looks the part of Wolverine, but is a bit too terse and growling. Yeah, Wolvie is on the edge and runs on animal instinct, but the character has evolved to incorporate a wider range than just smoldering rage.
In addition, the fight coreography was weak. The fights looked slow and overly coreographed. I would assume that no one in the production has much martial arts experience and no stage combat experience. Not that I am expert, but at several key points, the actors did not “sell” the violence. This is critical in an action movie with superheroes in play.
Finally, a general note about fan fiction, particularly in the comic book genre. If looking to do a fan film, why would one choose characters that Hollywood has already done and, at least in Wolvie’s case, done well? Sure, there is an established fan base, but that is strictly a business decision, not an artistic one. Eric von Sydow is sure to invite comparison to Hugh Jackman, and that is a battle he won’t win. Sosner’s Punisher is better than Dolph Lundgren’s but, though I have not seen it yet, I am sure Thomas Jane’s Punisher is stronger and deeper.
So far, only one such fan film has looked as good or better than anything Hollywood has produced to date. That film was: Dead End, a Batman film by Sandy Collora. It remains the truest adaptation of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight yet. Early word on Batman Begins is good, but until it’s release Dead End is the best Batman film ever made in my book.
Were I to make a comic fan film, I think I would choose one of the more fringe characters who’ve yet to be touched by Hollywood. I might even choose a few that have been in development hell (Black Panther, Power Man & Iron Fist, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Jonah Hex, Nightwing, etc). This way, one still has the fan base (perhaps even a more eager base) while still being the first on celluloid (or DV) to interpret the characters in live action. Now, that is an opportunity.
Play Time with Jackie and Adam
I just got home from three hours of great play with Jackie and Adam. They very graciously introduced me to the basics of single-hand rapier fighting. As with my experience on Henry V, I am very impressed with how similar the discipline of Stage Combat (SC) is to the discipline of actual martial arts study. While SC is very stylized for dramatic effect and actor safety, it seems to require the same sort of mental acuity and focus as classical martial arts training.
After my rapier lesson, I did my best to introduce Jackie and Adam to some of the fundamentals of Japanese swordsmanship.* Mostly, we focused on basic sword ettiquette (how to hold, carry, exchange blades), simple cutting mechanics/postures, and historic/societal dynamics; all of which I hope may be of use to them if staging a duel, battlefield or “dojo-challenge”.
Everyone enjoyed our “play time”. I hope Jackie and Adam got as much out of the time as I did. At the behest of both of these talented fight coreographers, I took a look at www.safd.org, the website of the Society of American Fight Directors. The following blurb is lifted from their site and outlines what SAFD is all about. I intend to further investigate and perhaps participate in a workshop over the summer.
The Society of American Fight Directors is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting safety and fostering excellence in the art of directing staged combat/theatrical violence.
* Disclaimer: Out of respect for my teachers, I need to be clear that I did not introduce any specific techniques from either Shinto Muso Ryu or Muso Jikki Den Eishin Ryu, nor did I present myself as a qualified teacher of either art.
