In Duke's Batman:Begins, the disagreement between Henri Ducard and Bruce Wayne stems more from differences in ideology—essentially, irreconcilable ideological conflicts, especially regarding their views on the fallen city of Gotham.
Henri Ducard inherits the League of Shadows' long-standing doctrine: evil must be eradicated, and order rebuilt on its ashes.
But Bruce Wayne believes Gotham is still worth saving. Even though he becomes the embodiment of fear, he is not an enforcer, nor does he represent any person or force with the authority to execute criminals at will.
Thus, Batman establishes a core principle—no killing.
This principle reins in the power Bruce Wayne gains from anger and fear, restricting the violence buried deep within him. At the same time, it acts as a shackle.
Everything has two sides.
So, a billionaire playboy by day, and the embodiment of fear and justice by night, seeks justice from those responsible for Gotham's destruction among them Henri Ducard and the League of Shadows.
Norman Shiller and Brad Miller, like the other moviegoers, watched the big screen intently. In their minds, Batman:Begins might fall short of Duke's most epic work, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but within the Batman franchise, it is unquestionably the most outstanding.
Not just because of the plot setup, but also because of the various props shown throughout the film.
Unlike the four Batman films from the 1990s, the tools Bruce Wayne uses are not overly exaggerated or sci-fi they are closer to real-world technology, even the Batmobile. What's showcased is more wildness and raw power.
Watching the Batmobile rampage across the screen on roads or rooftops alike as if it were on flat ground, coupled with its muscle-bound design, prompted many audience members to shout, "Cool!"
"This is the Batmobile that suits Bruce Wayne."
Even the older Brad Miller couldn't help but sigh with admiration.
Norman Shiller agreed, saying, "I really wish I had a car like that—that's a Batmobile!"
From pre-release publicity, Norman Miller knew that the Batmobile would be released after the film premiered, but the base price of over a hundred thousand dollars was far beyond his means.
"Why did Duke choose this Batmobile design?"
Irene Lauder frowned slightly, murmuring to herself. Sitting next to her, Scarlett Johansson, an industry insider, explained in a low voice, "The film's action style is all about wild power. The Batmobile obviously has to match Bruce Wayne's aesthetic."
"That makes sense," Irene Lauder nodded.
If Bruce Wayne fought the way he does in the film, yet drove a sleek sports car, wouldn't that be jarringly off?
In Chicago's Classic Theater, Batman: Begins had reached its final showdown, while over in Los Angeles, Kingdom of Heaven, due to the time difference, had only just begun its premiere screening.
Krishi, a fan of epic films since watching The Lord of the Rings, was among the audience at the Kingdom of Heaven premiere.
He once led protests against Duke's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, but the trilogy's strength and brilliance eventually turned him into a fan. However, deep down, he still preferred epics. Even after watching post-Ring flops like King Arthur and Alexander the Great, he still held high hopes for Kingdom of Heaven.
So, he chose not to attend the Chicago premiere of Batman: Begins, and instead went to the Kingdom of Heaven premiere in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the film wasn't much better than those notorious flops. Not even a quarter in, Krishi was yawning repeatedly.
If it were just him, it could be chalked up to personal taste, but from what Krishi could see, most of the audience wasn't fully engaged. Some were eating popcorn, others drinking soda, stretching, whispering, and a few even seemed to have fallen asleep.
As the film progressed, Krishi felt increasingly bored.
Many scenes clearly attempted to imitate The Lord of the Rings trilogy which was expected, since most epic war films post-Rings tried to follow its example but Kingdom of Heaven's imitation was far from successful. Most critically, the war scenes, which are the heart of this genre, felt grand but terribly chaotic.
Perhaps real battlefields are chaotic, but for Krishi and most viewers, watching chaotic war scenes in a film isn't entertaining at all. Where's the cinematic pleasure in that?
Then came the issue of casting. Orlando Bloom was made famous by Duke as Legolas, but without Duke behind the camera, his flaws became obvious.
In Krishi's view, Orlando Bloom is better suited to playing male eye-candy characters like Legolas. Taking the lead in this film felt like a miscast. Had the role gone to an actor with more masculinity, someone who could really embody a true hero, then Kingdom of Heaven might have qualified as an epic—instead of just being The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Even among other performances that were far from brilliant, he was like a waning moon surrounded by a sea of stars.
Let's not even mention anything else—just from the casting choices alone, one could clearly see the gap between Ridley Scott and Duke.
This was truly a painful viewing experience.
Krishi confirmed that without hesitation. The best way to end such pain, without a doubt, was to walk away.
Though the screening wasn't over yet, and even though it had taken great effort to get a ticket to the premiere, Krisch decided he couldn't bear it any longer. A boring movie like this wasn't worth the suffering.
"Excuse me…"
He hunched over and stood up. "Can you let me through?"
The man gave Krishi a puzzled glance and suddenly asked, "You're leaving?"
Upon hearing that, Krisch gave a slight nod. That man didn't move aside; instead, he also stood up.
"I'm leaving too," he said.
Just as his words fell, a few others nearby also stood up one after another, following in Krishi's footsteps as they made their way down the aisle toward the exit. Clearly, they too had no interest in continuing the film.
Entering the corridor leading to the exit, lit faintly by the glow of the screen, Krishi realized it wasn't just them. In the general audience seating further back, quite a few people were also trickling out, some even ahead of them. In fact, certain rows toward the rear were already completely empty—it was obvious some had left long ago.
Shaking his head, even though he wasn't a professional, Krishi could vaguely guess that this so-called epic war film titled Kingdom of Heaven would likely fare no better than King Arthur or Alexander.
What's more…
As he walked out of the theater, he couldn't help but glance eastward. Far off in Chicago, Duke's film was premiering. That 20th Century Fox and Ridley Scott had the audacity to pit such a film against Batman Begins the odds of winning were astronomically low.
Although the Batman series had also produced its share of terrible films, in the eyes of loyal fans like Krishi who loved Duke's style, Batman Begins could never possibly be worse than what he had just watched.
After falling in love with Duke as a director through The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Krishi had gone back and watched all of his films. Even the worst-reviewed one, Critical Emergency, was several times more exciting than Kingdom of Heaven.
He withdrew his gaze from the east. Several more people exited the theater beside him, and fragments of their conversations inevitably reached Krishi's ears.
"What a load of garbage."
"If it weren't for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, maybe this movie could be called an epic…"
"Thank god I got so bored I fell asleep less than ten minutes in."
"Orlando Bloom's performance after leaving Duke is honestly hard to watch."
More and more people were leaving the theater. In just a few minutes of standing there, Krishi saw over twenty people file out one after another. For the premiere of a so-called epic blockbuster with a budget of over a hundred million dollars, this was simply unimaginable.
Inside the theater, Ridley Scott's face was ashen. Even though he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, people around him had told him what was happening with the general audience in the back rows. For a renowned director, this was almost a personal insult.
Dozens, maybe even hundreds of people walking out during the premiere what an embarrassing spectacle.
He had originally hoped to use this epic masterpiece to compete with the top-tier directors of the industry, but before the competition had truly begun, it seemed he was already about to lose.
Was he willing to accept that? Of course not.
Ridley Scott couldn't help but turn to glance at the 20th Century Fox executives seated nearby. If not for them, how could Kingdom of Heaven have turned out like this into a film that was nearly unrecognizable from the one he had envisioned?
But he knew that no amount of frustration could change things. How could a mere director possibly go against the entire Hollywood system?
In all of Hollywood, directors who had final cut on every single one of their films could be counted on one hand. Duke Rosenberg was undeniably one of them.
In the end, he had to admit—he and Duke were not on the same level at all, whether in status, filmography, or box office results.
.....
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