"Why did the batman franchise fall? so it can learn to pick it's self up"

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2017)

In 'Batman Begins', Christopher Nolan's suburb introduction to the caped crusader, fear drives the story. Fear must be conquered but fear is also used to conquer. Bruce Wayne must stare his fear straight in the eye to truly become the symbol of justice he intends to be. The film uses the thematic nature of fear to drive the story and the character of Bruce Wayne, it makes the film a satisfying whole.
'Batman Begins' is a brilliant opening film to this reboot of one of pop cultures most popular characters. It is brilliant because it defines how and why Bruce Wayne becomes the man he becomes and the symbol of justice in which he chooses to fight fear. In the opening act two major things happen, one when Bruce Wayne is a child falling into a well on the grounds of Wayne Manor. He is trapped in a dark, lonely place, confronted by hundreds of bats. The other event is the murder of his parents, in front of his own eyes. This was a result of Wayne's fear resulting in him asking to leave a play the family were attending. Fear, guilt and later anger consume Bruce in regards to his parents death, part of him wants to avenge their deaths but another part knows that there is a greater responsibility, one that he must oblige to. This is spurred by his fathers own efforts to clean up the streets of Gotham, in his own way.
The opening act so adeptly introduces us to the character of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and what drives him, it also introduces us to 'The League of Shadows' , Ra's al Ghul and Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson). The scenes between Neeson and Bale are fantastic in setting up Wayne's strengths and weaknesses. Ducard refers to compassion being a weakness that enemies will not share but Wayne insists that is what sets him apart. Of course if he did not have that compassion he would be a villain.
In the second act we are introduced to the character of Batman. Batman is Wayne's way of using a symbol of fear against his enemies. It is this element of fear mixed with the compassion that mark Wayne as an interesting character. To do this he must create a mask, to do this Wayne needs his own company - particularly the applied sciences department and Lucius Fox - to gain the resources he needs, including weapons, Armour and heavy duty vehicles! The film is essentially a number of larger and smaller introductions and both the introductions to Wayne and Batman are exceptional because the thematic elements as to Wayne's motivations are always at the forefront of the story.
The second act also introduces us to the major plot of the film that lies beneath the true intentions of the film - and to be honest fully tie back into those intentions. We are introduced to Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), the first of Batman's allies, the only honest cop in Gotham. We are introduced to the criminal component of Gotham with crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy). We are also introduced to Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), the childhood friend that Wayne still cares about. The plot largely has to do with the misplacing of a devise that can vaporise water. Scarecrow is working for someone who wants to use that machine to cripple Gotham, by running drugs through the water system thus allowing the toxins of the drug to be inhaled by the poor citizens of Gotham. I fully expected the film to be weaker once this plot was introduced but the man behind this diabolical plan happens to tie in with Wayne's beginnings on the path to becoming Batman thus the film ultimately comes full circle by the end.
There are so many elements that I love about this film. Not just the thematic elements but the design elements, the Tumbler acts as the armoured tank version of the batmobile. It is robust, bulky and angular. It is a perfect machine for this new Batman, one that is based more on reality than previous incarnations but when that has a darker and more dangerous appeal. I love some of the images from the toxins that Scarecrow uses with his mask - or the images we see when the toxin has been released, such as Batman looking like the devil or the surreal image of Scarecrow riding a fire breathing horse.
Christian Bale is the perfect choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman. To be honest it doesn't take much to play a decent Batman, as long as you are physically cut out for the role but in Wayne, Bale is able to play the role as a conflicted, angry man who uses fear to drive him. He is also really good at being the philanthropist arsehole, the other mask Wayne sometimes uses to turn attentions away from any suspicious activities he may be up to. Mostly all of the cast are great in their roles, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Liam Neeson especially, but Holmes is absolutely miscast as Dawes and rightly replaced in The Dark Knight.
Overall though, this is a brilliant introduction to an iconic character or characters. Nolan proves he was up to the task of taking on such a hot property and being able to deal with a big budget production, in fact this is only the beginning of what he could achieve. A cracking film all round.