Bruce Almighty

Rating: Null/10 (20 April 2007)

"Batman Begins" (2005) directed by Christopher Nolan, takes us to the origins of Bruce Almighty aka Dark Night aka Batman. I have to admit that I have not seen any Batman's movies; so it made sense to explore the beginning of the legend, to find out how the billionaire Bruce Wayne ended up as a masked crusader who fought restlessly against the sinister forces that prey on the innocent and threaten to destroy Gotham City.
Never been able to forget the murder of his parents before his eyes for which he felt guilty and responsible, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) traveled the world fighting injustice with small-time criminals until one day mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) finds him and offers him the training with a mysterious and powerful League of Shadows, the organization presided over by Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). The League of Shadows is dedicated to restoring "balance" to a world in which "criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding." Part of Ra's Al Ghul and Ducard plan was the total destruction of Gotham City. Bruce refuses to participate in it and returns to Gotham City where under the mask of Batman, he fights the corrupted city officials, the powerful mafia boss (Tom Wilkinson in yet another memorable performance), and the villainous Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy, the show stealing performance from a young actor).
By the end of the movie, we will know why Bruce chose Batman as his alter ago, we will see the original bat-mobile and will meet his friends and allies for the first time that include his trusted butler who has been always more than butler but a family member, Alfred (Michael Cane), the head of the science department in his corporation, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman plays a combination of God and Q) who can or have already invented anything, and honest police officer, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman is very believable in his rare good-guy role. He also has the best quote in the movie. When watching bat mobile in action, he exclaims, "I've got to get me one of these!"
Directed by a very talented master of dark and atmospheric films with deep and interesting characters, Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" is gripping and emotional adventure which is equally interesting for the viewers of all ages and backgrounds.