Chapter 539: Leaving Early

In Duke's Batman Begins, the conflict between Henri Ducard and Bruce Wayne stemmed primarily from differing ideals, or rather, from an ideological divide. Ideological disputes were often irreconcilable, especially when dealing with the fallen city of Gotham.

Henri Ducard upheld the longstanding doctrine of the Shadow Warrior Alliance, believing that evil must be eradicated and order rebuilt upon that foundation.

But Bruce Wayne believed Gotham City could still be saved. Though he had become a symbol of fear, he was not a law enforcer, nor would he represent any individual or faction to arbitrarily dispose of criminals.

This established Batman's fundamental principle—no killing.

This rule restrained the power Bruce Wayne derived from anger and fear, restricting the violent tendencies hidden deep inside him. Yet, it could equally become a shackle.

Everything had two sides.

Thus, a billionaire playboy by day became the embodiment of fear and justice by night, seeking retribution against the culprits destroying the city one by one. This included Henri Ducard and the Shadow Warrior Alliance, who wanted to destroy the sin-filled city of Gotham entirely.

Like the rest of the audience in the theater, Norman Hiller and Brad Miller stared intently at the big screen. In their minds, Batman Begins still fell short of Duke's absolute pinnacle, Return of the King, but it was undeniably the finest installment in the Batman Series to date.

This wasn't just due to the plot, but also the various props used in the film.

Unlike the four Batman films from the nineties, the gadgets Bruce Wayne used lacked exaggerated sci-fi elements and leaned closer to realistic technology. Even the Batmobile primarily showcased raw, untamed power.

Watching the Batmobile rampage across the screen, traversing both highways and rooftops as if they were flat ground, combined with its muscular design, drew many murmurs of "Cool" throughout the theater.

"Now that's a Batmobile fit for Bruce Wayne."

Even the older Brad Miller voiced this sentiment.

Norman Hiller agreed.

"I really wish I had a car like that," he said. "That's a real Batmobile!"

From the pre-release promotional material, Norman Miller knew the Batmobile would go on sale after the film hit theaters, but the starting price of over a hundred thousand dollars was far beyond his means.

"Why did Duke choose this design for the Batmobile?"

Aerin Lauder frowned, murmuring the question to herself.

Beside her, industry insider Scarlett Johansson whispered an explanation, "The film's action leans heavily into raw power. The Batmobile had to match Bruce Wayne's stylistic design."

"It really does." Aerin Lauder nodded.

If they had paired Bruce Wayne's brutal combat style in this film with a sleek sports car design for the Batmobile, it would have felt incredibly jarring.

In Chicago's classic theater, Batman Begins had already reached its final climactic battle. Meanwhile, far away in Los Angeles, the premiere screening of Kingdom of Heaven had only just begun due to the time difference.

Chrissy, who had become a die-hard fan of epic films after watching The Lord of the Rings, sat in the premiere theater for Kingdom of Heaven.

He had once led protests against Duke's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. However, the sheer power and brilliance of the three films had converted him into a fan of the director. Still, deep down, his true love lay with epics. Even after suffering through a string of terrible epic films like King Arthur and Alexander the Great following The Lord of the Rings, he still held high hopes for Kingdom of Heaven.

Thus, rather than choosing the distant Chicago premiere of Batman Begins, he attended the Los Angeles premiere of Kingdom of Heaven.

Unfortunately, this film was barely any better than widely acknowledged trash like King Arthur and Alexander the Great. Less than a quarter of the way through, Chrissy was already yawning repeatedly.

If it were just him, it might have boiled down to personal taste, but everywhere Chrissy looked, the vast majority of the audience had tuned out of the movie. Some were eating popcorn or drinking cola; others were stretching or whispering to each other. A few had even closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

As the screening continued, Chrissy found the film increasingly dull.

Traces of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy were visible in many places. This was understandable—after Duke's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, almost every epic war film had imitated him. But Kingdom of Heaven's imitation was far from successful. The battle scenes, the most crucial element of this genre, looked grand but exceptionally chaotic.

Perhaps real battlefields truly were chaotic and disorderly, but the majority of the audience, Chrissy included, didn't want to see a chaotic and disorderly war on screen. Where was the viewing pleasure in that?

Then there was the cast. Orlando Bloom had been single-handedly propelled to stardom by Duke through his role as Legolas, but separated from the director who made him famous, his own flaws were fully exposed.

In Chrissy's eyes, Orlando Bloom was still better suited for male eye-candy roles like Legolas. Acting as the lead in this film was simply beneath the required standard. If they had cast a more masculine actor who could play a true hero, Kingdom of Heaven might have been considered an epic, rather than a retelling of The Sorrows of Young Werther.

Even amidst the lackluster performances of the other actors, he was a waning moon surrounded by stars.

Setting everything else aside, the casting choices alone highlighted the gap between Ridley Scott and Duke.

This was truly a painful viewing experience.

Chrissy confirmed this without hesitation. The best way to end this pain was undoubtedly to walk away.

Although the screening wasn't over yet, and despite the tremendous effort it took to secure a premiere ticket, Chrissy decided he wouldn't endure it any longer. This boring film didn't have the value to make him endure it.

"Excuse me..." He hunched over and stood up. "Could you let me past?"

The man gave Chrissy a puzzled look and suddenly asked, "Are you leaving?"

Hearing this, Chrissy gave a slight nod. Instead of moving aside, the man stood up just like him.

"I'm leaving too," he said.

Just as the man finished speaking, several other people nearby stood up in succession. Following in Chrissy's footsteps, they made their way down the aisle toward the exit, clearly lacking any interest in continuing to watch.

Entering the corridor leading to the exit, aided by the glow of the silver screen, Chrissy realized they weren't the only ones walking out. From the general seating area, numerous others were filing out one after another. Some of the back rows were already completely empty, meaning people had left even earlier.

Shaking his head, Chrissy figured that even without being an industry professional, he could vaguely guess that this epic war film called Kingdom of Heaven was destined for a fate no better than King Arthur or Alexander the Great.

Not to mention...

As he walked out of the theater, he couldn't help but glance eastward. Far away in Chicago, Duke's film was premiering. Twentieth Century Fox and Ridley Scott had actually pitted this film against Batman Begins; their chances of winning were infinitely low.

Although the Batman Series had seen its share of awful entries, in the hearts of die-hard fans of Duke's films like Chrissy, Batman Begins could never be worse than the Kingdom of Heaven they had just witnessed.

After falling in love with Duke's directing style through The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Chrissy had gone back and watched all his films. Even Daylight, his worst-received work, was several times more exciting than Kingdom of Heaven.

Pulling his gaze back from the east, a few more early-departing audience members walked past him. Their discussions inevitably drifted into Chrissy's ears.

"What kind of garbage was that?"

"If The Lord of the Rings Trilogy didn't exist, maybe this movie could be called an epic..."

"I'm so lucky. I got bored and fell asleep less than ten minutes into the movie."

"Orlando Bloom's performance is just painful to watch away from Duke."

More and more people walked out of the theater. In the few short minutes Chrissy stood there, a full twenty-plus people came out in succession. For the premiere of a major epic blockbuster with a budget exceeding a hundred million dollars, this was truly unimaginable.

Inside the theater, Ridley Scott's face was livid. Even without seeing it with his own eyes, he had heard the people beside him talking about what was happening in the general seating area at the back. For a famous major director, this was nothing short of an insult.

Dozens, perhaps hundreds of audience members leaving the premiere—what a humiliating scene.

He had originally hoped to use this epic masterpiece to properly compete against the very top-tier directors in the industry, but before the competition had even truly begun, he was already going to lose.

Was he resigned to this? Of course not.

Ridley Scott couldn't help but turn his head to look at where the executives of Twentieth Century Fox were seated. If not for them, how could Kingdom of Heaven have ended up in this state? It had become a story completely different from his original vision...

But he knew that being unresigned was useless. How could a mere director stand against the institutional system of the entire Hollywood industry?

In all of Hollywood, the directors who possessed final cut privilege on every single one of their films could be counted on one hand. Duke Rosenberg was undoubtedly one of them.

There was a gap between them after all!

Ridley Scott had to admit this. Whether in status, works, or box office returns, he and Duke Rosenberg simply weren't on the same level as directors.