Gotham by the lake

I went to see Batman Begins yesterday. It was a good film, definitely worth the nine dollars.

¶ They gave me some ridiculous fifty cent student discount; it was hardly worth the trouble of getting the ID out of the wallet.

Much of the film was shot in Chicago, and many of the buildings were instantly recognizable, especially the faux-Gothic Tribune tower and Wrigley buildings, and the one across the River with the pretty rotunda on top.

But the most shocking thing happened as soon as I left the theater. The movie transformed changed the way I looked at downtown Chicago. What had been a beautiful, picturesque, even friendly place had turned into a dark, foreboding dystopia. Too many of the sights were familiar and were now filtered through the gritty lens of the film. I expected a mugger to leap out of the shadows by the Gleacher Center, followed by a flying man in a bat costume.

Quite a strong effect for a summer action flick...