Batman Begins

I saw the new Batman movie last night. I loved it. It might have edged out Superman as my favorite comic book movie. It tells Batman's origin story through details that I think filmmakers have been reluctant to show us before. For whatever reason, comic book films have often sacrificed story and character for special effects, glitzy costumes, and big name actors. Often there are too many heroes and villains to effectively tell any of their stories. Batman Begins does not fall into these traps.

Bruce Wayne's journey to becoming the Bat is logical and filled with good supporting detail. The creative team was not afraid to spend real screen time on good flashbacks. The flashbacks both tell the story and give us insight into Bruce's current state of mind. Excellent.

I also loved that Batman's abilities made sense. For me, superhero movies have never been about fight scenes or gadgets, but about people who have extraordinary abilities or resources and what decisions they make. It's about how those abilities and resources effect them and those they love -- or complete strangers. How do they keep or lose their humanity under extreme circumstances? These are questions that Batman Begins dealt with in an intelligent fashion. I am definitely looking forward to more.

I'm wondering though - in the comics is there anyone other than Alfred and Robin who know Batman's true identity? Is it strange that a character finds out? Also - I love that we also get to see the origins of Commissioner Gordon! (Gary Oldman is a genius...)

On another note - here is a look at Cameron Crowe's new film, Elizabethtown. He put this together for the internet crowd. Check it out. I'm not sure what I think. He doesn't really tell us plot in these clips, just bits of atmosphere. I'm intrigued.

Also, here is the trailer for Rent. I am really looking forward to this one. I spent a lot of the time remodeling my house last year listening to the Broadway soundtrack. Wow. Powerful stuff.