Batman Begins is quite simply the greatest comic book movie ever made

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2005)

Batman Begins is quite simply the greatest comic book movie ever made, and one of the greatest films ever made. With the trilogy now completed, it's appropriate and easy to look back and realize the full brilliance of the film. The introduction of Ra's Al Ghul and The League of Shadows as the villains allowed the final chapter to feature Bane in a plot that came full circle. To know Bruce, Alfred, and Gordon at the beginning of their careers allowed us to appreciate Bruce transforming into Batman, Alfred's growing father figure role, and Gordon's climb to commissioner.
The plot is complex. When Bruce witnesses his parents' death, he travels to Asia to learn about the criminal underworld. Along the way he meets Ducard and The League of Shadows who train him in the ways of ninja. Bruce escapes The League after learning of their plans to destroy Gotham. He returns to Gotham and takes on the alter ego of Batman to fight crime and return Gotham from the cesspool of criminals that rule the city.
The hero origin story has been seriously overplayed over the past 10 years. They're a dime a dozen and follow the same arc. What makes Batman more compelling than the others is that he's just a human that actively acquires his powers. He wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider, or shipped off from Krypton, or born as the God of Thunder. He's a tortured soul who finds relief in this alter ego he creates. The story of Batman isn't about Bruce Wayne, it's about Batman.
Batman Begins does the best job of showcasing the central character whereas TDK focused heavily on The Joker and TDKR on Bane and Lieutenant Blake. Christopher Nolan's touch is on every element of every frame. There's a scene after Bruce returns to Gotham where he has to act like he's having fun running around town in his sports car with European Supermodels. Leaving a party at a hotel, he runs into his oldest friend, Rachel Dawes. He tries to convince her that what she sees isn't him, but it's all for naught as the women in the background yell "We have some more hotels for you to buy." Nolan decides to drown out the sound, choreographed perfectly with the visuals as the sharp focus is on Bruce's tortured face, with the car and women heavily blurred in the background. It's one of the greatest shots ever captured.
Director of Photography Wally Pfister deserves much of the accolades. He frames Gotham in an almost sepia hue without the Instagram cheesiness. It works to showcase this the poverty and depression of the city yet give it a very comic book feel. This may be a realistic version of Batman, but it is still Batman. Much has been made of the action sequences being the largest weakness of the film. I agree that the hand- to-hand combat scenes are disappointingly weak. They're shot too close and edited too choppy. The rest of the action, mainly the Batmobile chase sequence, is skillfully handled. The fear in Bruce's voice channels to the audience as Rachel fades further and further from reality after being blasted with Scarecrow's fear toxin.
For the aforementioned chase, Nolan relied on no visual effects, even as the Batmobile flew across rooftops and through narrow underground roads. Nolan found a sort of empty playground in Chicago's upper and lower Wacker Drive that allowed for the chase to come to life as realistically as possible.
Much of the realism is thanks to the incredible cast. There's no over the top scene stealing actors here. There is terrifying amounts of talent. Christian Bale is the perfect choice to play the dark, brooding Batman and emotionally detached playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne. One of my favorite actors, Michael Caine, plays his butler/confidant/father figure, Alfred. Caine is so detailed that he gives Alfred just a slightly different tinge of his cockney British accent so as to be more appropriate for a butler. The cast is filled out with pitiful lesser actors like God, a.k.a. Morgan Freeman, perennial bad ass Liam Neeson, accent chameleon Gary Oldman, and ol' blue eyes Cillian Murphy.
Aside from the action scenes the biggest complaint has been the casting of Katie Holmes. After seeing TDK, I'm sure a lot of people wanted Mrs. Holmes back. The truth is that much of her negative press was centered around the Tom Cruise Scientology scandal. The character of Rachel Dawes was one of the weaker points of the first two films. Holmes isn't to blame. If anything she held her own against some of the greatest names in the industry.
Begins plays much like a great gangster film with all the right hints of comic book fantasy. Even if TDK and TDKR were never made, Batman Begins exists fully in its own skin. There is the Joker cliffhanger at the end, but you don't feel like the rest of the movie was setting you up just for the cliffhanger like every other big blockbuster these days. It's these subtle differences and detailed touches that make each frame of this movie such an absolute wonder to behold.
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