Meme du jour, from an insightful early
review of
Batman Begins, by Scott Foundas of
LA Weekly:
It may be that in making Batman Begins, Nolan has created history’s first neo-realist superhero movie.Great concept, and we agree. This novel film's success (it's the summer entry most likely to eclipse the final
Star Wars installment at the box office) will kick off the next phase of '
Superhero Cinema'. Future comic book adaptators will, for the first time, have the option of treating their subjects as 'serious' projects. It will no longer be de rigeur for superhero auteurs to wink regularly at the camera so their films can be accepted. Eventually, critics may even be able to review such films without using the word "Wham!".
This replicates the evolutionary pattern of science fiction movies, once defined by one-dimensional, pulpy 'serial' treatments (
Buck Rogers,
Flash Gordon) and drive-in, popcorn flicks (
The Blob,
Godzilla,
The Amazing Colossal Man). The success of films such as
Fantastic Planet,
2001 and others broke ground that allowed increasingly 'darker' and 'realer' films like
Blade Runner to be considered alongside 'lighter' fare such as
Star Wars. (
Star Wars had its origins in lighter entertainments, although its gestalt changed as the series went along. At its outset, George Lucas considered the
Star Wars 'episodes' updated remakes of the
Rogers and
Gordon serial genre.)
Both early sci-fi and 'superhero' movies dealt with early technical limitations of filmmaking by either going camp (a route taken by both the sci-fi serials and the superheroes) or noir (a route taken almost exclusively by sci-fi, in films such as
The Man with the X-Ray Eyes). Sci-fi took advantage of new filmamking technologies to expand its range long before superhero flicks because the benefits for the genre offered by more 'believable' aliens and spaceships were self-evident. It was not as obvious how technology could change the story arc of superhero treatments, or improve bottom-line box office acceptance, until the recent breakthroughs by Spiderman and Xmen.
It's been pretty well documented that the recent failures of Batman films, along with the lucrative potential of the character, persuaded Warner to risk a different direction for the franchise. This, along with the trend toward more-serious 'graphic novel' comics, led directly to the 'neo-realism' breakthrough. Nolan and Goyer used CGI and other new technologies to make possible new stunts and to enhance real sets and props, rather than to replace them. This resulted in a breakdown of the CGI 'Third Wall' that had replaced much of the Adam West-style winking designed to facilitate suspension of disbelief. For the first time, Superhero Cinema is not asking the audience to suspend its belief. Instead, Nolan is demanding it.
It's a gamble, and Nolan knows it. The cast, writer and crew are charged up to continue the anticipated trilogy, but Nolan is reserved. He has
told interviewers he would wait to see how the film does before considering another
Batman project. The director understands that his film requires a type of acceptance unlike anything demanded by previous comic book films. He also knows moviegoers expecting a
Spiderman or
X-Men may be taken aback by what
Begins actually delivers. (This is a real consideration for parents expecting a film suitable for
children - which Batman may or may not be, depending on the child.) Nolan is concerned about the film finding its audience - his usual art house crowd may not follow him to comic book land, while fanboys will have to content themselves without some of the standard comic book trappings (even the fact that the movie could not
abide a Danny Elfman score has been deemed sufficient grounds for grumbling in some quarters.) Already, we've seen a
number of
critics struggling to deal with the gap between their expectations for a film of this genre, and what the movie actually delivers.
Warner's hope is that Batman, as a cultural icon, has the power to bring people into the theater and take the film
on its merits.
Our view is that the public, in the end, is not only capable of accepting but actually craves breakthrough fare. So long as they deliver the goods, films such as
Minority Report,
Fight Club,
The Matrix and
Batman Begins will find their way to broad and passionate acceptance.
Dark Horizons does a fine job exploring the themes mentioned in this post. Another perceptive review appears at
Smart Popcorn.
{UPDATE: Nolan may well have been right in his concerns that audiences would not know what to make of this new film. The
Wednesday opening turnout was lighter than expected, and Warner was frantically polling audience members to gauge reaction. The first weekend's numbers will tell the story, as word-of-mouth spreads from Wednesday's attendees. Hard-core Batfans (who overwhelmingly like the film) are spreading the meme that, if the first weekend tanks, Warner is likely to pull the plug on the projected trilogy. Warner's strategy all along has counted heavily on wooing fanboys to repeat viewings via Howard Dean-type grassroots Internet appeals. We'll know soon if this works.}
{UPDATE 2:
Box Office Mojo reviewed the film after its first weekend of release. While the studio spun the opening numbers in a more positive light (even claiming the numbers were sufficient to greenlight a sequel), BOM took an unblinking look at the difficulty of selling an underplayed superhero movie. With this baggage, and the baggage from the earlier
Batman and Robin (which stalled the franchise nearly a decade ago), the jury is still out on whether the public will really embrace this film. Complicating this analysis is the fact that the movie industry as a whole seems to be in the midst of a cyclical downturn.}
{UPDATE 3: We also liked this unusual review of
how business ethics and corporate identity come into play in
Batman Begins.}
Categories: Batman Begins, Entertainment, Superhero cinema
