You're telling me that if saying TP (2004) is better than Bateman Begins is a pretty out there statement is your opinion. I hear people say Batman Returns, Catwoman, Fantasic Four movies, Spidey 3, Transformers,etc. is better than Superman Returns. I heard some people say the Punisher (2004) was better than Spidey 2. Whats your point opinions are opinions. I didn't say "drool on Nolans BLANK" .I said" drool on their blank," as in the fans. Read carefully next time instead of speed reading through it. The reason critics loved BB because it finally told his origins or what I like to say was took the MYSTERY away from Batman, and focused on Batman and less on the villains. As long as it didn't have nipples and buttshots and neon lights it was fine with them. I'll say it again the reason why people cut BB some slack because Joel did't make it. By the way SR got good reviews a lot of the FANBOYS moan and whine about that movie what's your point. Mike Clark from USA today gave BB **1/2 while he gave TP (2004) ***. This is the guy who Spidey #1 ***1/2 and Spidey 2 and The Incredibles ****. Also Peter Travers from the Rolling Stones gave Hellboy, The Punisher, Superman Returns, and Bateman Begins ***. What is your FREAKIN point? I just laugh at some of the critics who say "they finally got it right," like Ebert and Roeper do. When Roeper reviewed X3 he says"fans who read the X-men files." These guys think they get comics when really they're pretending they do as evidence is above. The only critic that I read that reads comics and really GOT BB was Marnohla(Sp?) Dargis from the NY times eventhough I don't agree with her opinion on it because she loved it.
Your friends were laughing at TP(2004) at the theater huh. So they were laughing at how Franks entire family got killed and Frank got beat up afterwards, Saint killed his wife by throwing her off a bridge and on to train tracks so she could get ran over by a train, when Saint killed his best friend by stabbing him to death with a knife because he thought he was having an affair with his wife,and Dave got his piercings pulled out by Saint's gang. Your friends are very immature. Now if they were laughing at the scenes that were suppose to be funny then they aren't. I think the real question is did you make that up because for all I know you could've imagined that you had friends I mean your user name is "Keyser Soze" hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I think you did make them up. You probably don't even have any friends so you imagine them instead.
In the comics the Punisher was inspired by westerns and the Death Wish movies so if you are complaining about how the punisher has a line up with Saint and the scene at the bank. The comics were inspired by that. The punisher did not cower off in his hiding place. He was unconcious . Joan, Dave and Bumbo were hiding him from the mob just like the comics did. So the punisher in the comics must be a ***** too then huh. BTW, after being stabbed, getting your head slammed with the refridgerator 3 -5 times, choked repeatedly, throwned through a wall, knocked through someone else's apartment door, and falling through a flight of stairs. I wouldn't blame Frank from passing out from that. Most people would be dead from that or knocked out from the first punch the Russian gave him. At least Frank still beat the Russian instead of letting Bumbo sit on the Russian untill he died of no oxygen. No offense to the comics. Bales the ***** in BB. He got flamed by a dork who wears a potatosack bag on his face and a calls himself scarecrow when he sure as heck doesn't look are even act scary IMO. A taser in the mouth by a pathetic excuse of an assisant DA could take him out only for Gordon to tell Baleman and the audience that scarecrow was on the loose. Realism my BUTT. Bale let Ra's Al Ducard die instead of bringing him in. I guess he was scared that Ra's would tell the police and prisoners that Wayne was Batman and didn't want to risk it. He didn't achieve nothing that night. Lucius Q made the antidotes. Alfred had to get Rachel home asumming that she'll wake up in time to give one of the antidotes to Gordon so he could drive the tumbler and destroy the tracks on the Monorail so it could destroy the train that has the stupid MiCROWAVE EMITTER. BTW how did Alfred know where Rachel lived. He even had a key to her house or apartment apparently. When her purse was not with her when Batman "SAVED"her. He also saved Baleman from being cooked. The prisoners in Arkham escaped. Bales's house was destroyed. The monorail and narrows was destroyed. Scarecrow escaped. Ra's al Ducard was left for dead again by bateman. Somehow he's allowed to have his own signal. He did not EARN it because he was not a hero,IMO. It's too early for him to have it anyways. Should've waited until Gordon was Commish. A lot of people konw his identity Ras al Ducard and the LOS, Rachel Dawson, and Lucius Q. That guy is not Batman but Baleman and Bateman. Another scene Bale act like a scared little boy was the scene where the zombies A.K.A. Chicagothamites who were hallucinating over the fear gas were grabbing him. Bale was screaming and grabbed his bat gun shot it on the train which broke the laws of physics that whole scene after. He should've pushed them all off him like the animated series did in a similar episode and then grab the grappling hook and escaped.
I don't have to ask myself that because I really am not happy with both sequels coming out I think you know why on TDK but Punisher is going to be a vague sequel and Jane's not back the same for Hensleigh.
You know, based on your reliance on creating nicknames for films you don't like, and your hair-trigger temper when it comes to defensiveness of your negativity, I'm almost inclined to say that you're Mr. Parker, the notorious organics-hater of the "Spider-Man" boards. However, I liked Mr. Parker, and felt he was actually respectful and civil if people treated him the same way. That, along with your ongoing struggle with the English language, would suggest to me that you are a new incarnation of Mr. Parker's more immature lackey, bakerboy.
As for what in "The Punisher" made my friends laugh (and yes, I have friends - oooooooh, if he likes "Batman Begins" then he must be a loser with no friends, good one
) it wasn't so much the plot points you mentioned - most of which involve John Travolta, Mulholland Drive's Laura Harring, and the underrated Will Patton, the only three to emerge from the film with any credibility - as it was the cornball dialogue, the amateurish lingering slow-mo camera shots, or - the real hoot - the bit where the big explosion in the car park reveals A BIG SKULL! Despite the dark subject matter, it was like Hensleigh couldn't resist making the film like a cartoonish superhero movie.
I think "The Punisher" is a property ripe with potential for a great movie, but it hasn't had one yet because neither movie had the balls to really get into the mind of Frank Castle, and his moral ambiguity. The 2004 version was too occupied making a "comic book movie", than a good one. Another reason why lonzoe reminds me of Mr. Parker and bakerboy. The actual quality of the film and the performances is irrelevant to him, all that matters is that the film tries as much as possible to translate the comics word-for-word and be exactly like them. That seems to be his only measuring stick for "success", much as was the case with Parker and bakerboy.
But this is about "Batman Begins", not "The Punisher". You gave a pretty comprehensive insight into some of the US reviews for the film, so I'll try and create a similar picture for here in the UK. Empire magazine gave "Begins" ***** on its cinematic release, saying:
"Significantly grittier than previous Bat-beginnings, this finds new things to do with, and say about, a character who's been around since 1938. In a year when the franchise watchword is "dark", this delivers the full noir with a side order of dementia."
Meanwhile, Total Film, also with a ***** review, said:
"Funny, exhilarating and moving, its a blockbuster whose brains and brawn are matched by a thumping great heart. The Bat is back with a vengeance. Batman Begins may even be the greatest superhero movie ever made. Thought Spider-Man was the modern pinnacle? Think again."
More recently, Total Film ranked "Batman Begins" at number 5 on its list of the greatest movies of the past 10 years. Not just comic book movies, mind. Films of any genre. And Total Film also put together a nationwide survey of filmgoers to establish what they thought were the top 100 films of all time. "Batman Begins" ranked at 25.
Sight and Sound don't give films star ratings, their review was positive, with them saying:
"That Nolan can compress and elide so much detail while maintaining our interest testifies to both his assurance as a film-maker and our pre-existing awareness of the Batman myth. Indeed, so well known are Batman's many incarnations - even to non-devotees of the comic (this reviewer included) - that the film plays with expectations: for instance, Gotham City, more commonly imagined as a noirish hell hole, is first seen at day, a spruce monorail dissecting clean skyscrapers that stand proudly in the sunlight."
Hotdog - which up to recently completed the "Big Four" of the UK's film review publications, also gave the film *****, but the magazine (and its website) has since been discontinued, so I don't have any quotes at hand. I posted these quotes to show that reviews aren't all about "Well at least its not Schumacher" (though he is mentioned in all the reviews, I'll admit) but the dark and gritty tone, the emotional resonance, and the very intimacy with the real world that a lot of you seem to hate so much that truly impressed the critics.
