Suprsingly Un-Comic Book Movie

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2005)

After many years, the Dark Knight finally gets a descent movie to his name. This film is unlike any comic book movie i have ever seen, which in a way is why it's not as great as it should be. It's just too realistic. The classic Batman comic book feel of the past is gone, and what's left is just too familiar in terms of the way the world of the comic book is presented. I loved the fictitious look of the previous batman films, with looming skyscrapers full of quirky and ancient Greek like architecture, and the exaggerated cinematography that made this fantastical world stand out. Now the various locales like Gotham city and the Bat cave seem like places that you'd see every day, which you would, since Gotham is based on Chicago, and the bat cave is based on a real cave. Because of this, the film might have been about Batman, but it wasn't really a Batman like movie for me.
Having said that however, this was a great film none the less and brings batman into the 21st century, and into the new range of more gritty and tasteful comic book films. Like i said, not like any other comic based movie i've ever seen, as it bases everything in reality, including Bruce Wayne's transition into the legendary vigilante. It tells the story of Bruce's past, his training to be able to combat crime and assert fear into those who prey on the fearful, and why he wants to do all of this in the first place. It even covers the reason for his bat identity, plus the origin of the gadgets, the car and why he needs them. Yep, for 2h:30min, you get a full tutorial into how to become a Batman, providing you have a fear in bats and have a traumatising childhood. This is the most thorough exploration into a comic book character ever, and you'll believe and understand all of it. Just as well, as Batman is the only super hero without super human powers, making the need for a realistic and down to earth tone more urgent. While other super hero films immediately settled into a familiar comic book tone due to the endowment of powers, Batman needs a lot more work to become something just as reasonable in terms of a man dressed up in a bat suit fighting crime, coz otherwise it just seems silly, the mistake the previous films fell subject to. Now we actually have a believable, functional and emotionally viable Batman that is easy to sympathise with and easy not to laugh at.
On top of all that, "Batman Begins" still manages to fit a slew of villains to give Bruce a good warm up. There are three main ones, who all work together in the same dastardly plot and all of which are not given as much exposition as Batman, but are still believable in their actions and motivations. A good place to be in an origin story i think, since there will be plenty of time to juice up these guys in the sequels.
And sequels i hope there will be. Above all else, this film's success is setting up the new batman franchise beautifully, spending this films exclusively explaining how "Batman Begins" essentially, and leaving the rest for later. Sure this film didn't have the familiar batman/comic book feel we expect, nor a single fully developed villain, but it sets up the foundations for all of that to appear in the proceeding films outstandingly, setting up the origins of such a crime ridden Gotham, so many psycho's prepared to take up an occupation in raving crime lord and more importantly, a bat suited vigilante. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Dark Knight is on his way back to the top, and this film knows it.