I mean, it's got everything.
It manages to pin down almost all of the quintessential aspects of the character and property in the span of 3 minutes.
- The pacing is just incredible. Not only does it do a good job at tickling you with the buildup, it firmly sets the tone of this iteration of Batman with it. It's practically a low-key horror scene all up until brawl, yet showcases the what Batman is now capable of with some calculated nuance as it builds to its climax. This especially stands out considering the state of mainstream superhero movies around this time which would really just rely on mindlessly busting some goons/saving a rando citizen and be done with it.
- Now as for that brawl, plenty of you will probably get pissy at it for the editing + Nolan's history of weird action in general, but I think it works brilliantly for this scene considering the context of this movie. Remember, Bruce has been trained to be a force of nature/more than just a man to the uninitiated. The disorientating nature works purposefully, not incidentally -- which is especially evident given the audio approach they went with it as well.
And combined with the first point, it's another dynamic way of translating the character's iconic traits on-screen in a grounded fashion AND summarizing what Bruce has learned so far in the movie alone.
- And on that note, all of it is done so in such a disciplined manner. It doesn't go over the top with that bleakness, which I think gets easily forgotten when trying to make something successfully feel gritty/"grounded" (I mean, just look at Snyder's approach to the character). In fact, you can practically apply this for almost the entire trilogy, but BB's effort is especially impressive considering how much whacky stuff is going on that needs to be balanced out.
- "I'm Batman." And that fucking music that accompanies it. That's how you land your inspirational, cinematic hero moment.
And then my personal guilty pleasure moment out of the entire damn thing.
I know it's a throwback to an earlier moment in the movie, but this shit-eating smile of a line is the perfect example of how you can still have stupid camp in this approach to superhero movies and get away with it when done right.
I still haven't seen any other cbm hero debut scene on film that's comparable since then. No, that doesn't mean they all automatically suck nor does it invalidate the approaches of some movies to establish their superheroes. But it just feels like it's been forever that I've seen a superhero movie establish a single hero's iconography and capabilities in such a well-paced and though-out manner for the medium that isn't immediately a VFX barrage to the senses.
It manages to pin down almost all of the quintessential aspects of the character and property in the span of 3 minutes.
- The pacing is just incredible. Not only does it do a good job at tickling you with the buildup, it firmly sets the tone of this iteration of Batman with it. It's practically a low-key horror scene all up until brawl, yet showcases the what Batman is now capable of with some calculated nuance as it builds to its climax. This especially stands out considering the state of mainstream superhero movies around this time which would really just rely on mindlessly busting some goons/saving a rando citizen and be done with it.
- Now as for that brawl, plenty of you will probably get pissy at it for the editing + Nolan's history of weird action in general, but I think it works brilliantly for this scene considering the context of this movie. Remember, Bruce has been trained to be a force of nature/more than just a man to the uninitiated. The disorientating nature works purposefully, not incidentally -- which is especially evident given the audio approach they went with it as well.
And combined with the first point, it's another dynamic way of translating the character's iconic traits on-screen in a grounded fashion AND summarizing what Bruce has learned so far in the movie alone.
- And on that note, all of it is done so in such a disciplined manner. It doesn't go over the top with that bleakness, which I think gets easily forgotten when trying to make something successfully feel gritty/"grounded" (I mean, just look at Snyder's approach to the character). In fact, you can practically apply this for almost the entire trilogy, but BB's effort is especially impressive considering how much whacky stuff is going on that needs to be balanced out.
- "I'm Batman." And that fucking music that accompanies it. That's how you land your inspirational, cinematic hero moment.
And then my personal guilty pleasure moment out of the entire damn thing.
I know it's a throwback to an earlier moment in the movie, but this shit-eating smile of a line is the perfect example of how you can still have stupid camp in this approach to superhero movies and get away with it when done right.
I still haven't seen any other cbm hero debut scene on film that's comparable since then. No, that doesn't mean they all automatically suck nor does it invalidate the approaches of some movies to establish their superheroes. But it just feels like it's been forever that I've seen a superhero movie establish a single hero's iconography and capabilities in such a well-paced and though-out manner for the medium that isn't immediately a VFX barrage to the senses.
