Batman Begins in IMAX!

On Sunday evening my long-time friend Iconochasm took me to see Batman Begins at the bfi London IMAX Cinema on the South Bank. First time I had seen a feature film in this format, and it certainly boasted impressive visual and sound quality - still there was a big difference between Batman Begins which wasn't originally shot in IMAX and the made-for-IMAX trailers that preceeded the movie.

Enough about the venue, what about the movie? Well, the first half of the film is a non-linear narrative (as one might expect from Christopher "Memento" Nolan) detailing how and why the young Bruce Wayne decided to try to exorcise his childhood demons by becoming the costumed vigilante, Batman. I think I prefered this part of the film, despite the criminal misuse of Ken Watanabe but I suppose explaining why he was misused would turn out to be a spoiler so I'll shut up. The second part of the film deals with Batman's first adventure, trying to stop a fear-inducing compound being sprayed into the air of Gotham City, with the aim of making the city tear itself apart, and is somewhat more a typical summer Hollywood movie. Certainly I liked the realisation of the "new" grungy, realistic Gotham, rather than the Gothic excesses of the previous films, and I also enjoyed the sheer star power that was brought to bear on the movie: Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, even good old Rutger Hauer! Christian Bale also convinces as Bruce Wayne and Batman, making for a particularly intimidating and vengeful Dark Knight.

Sin City, Batman Begins... shaping up to be a good summer at the cinema! Next up, Kung Fu Hustle!