The Dark Knight's Triumphant Return

Rating: 9/10 (19 August 2006)

Over his near seventy-year existence, Batman has undergone numerous changes. In terms of his filmic career, most viewers are familiar with the 80s and 90s films. While they started out promisingly under Tim Burton's direction, they quickly turned silly with Joel Schumacher at the helm, resembling the campy Adam West TV serial rather then the darker version of The Batman.
Fortunately, 'Batman Begins' manages to restore The Batman's gritty reputation. Director Christopher Nolan wipes the slate clean, rebuilding the legend from the ground up, and it works. The film focuses on Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) lost years, which he spent at a Tibetan prison, looking to study the criminal mind. Bruce is still guilty over his parents death, and is hell-bent on vengeance. It's here he meets Ducard (Liam Neeson), who coaxes Bruce to join to League of Shadows, led by Ra's Al Ghul. The League are seeking to destroy Gotham City, which they believe has slumped beyond repair, and want Bruce to join. He refuses, narrowly avoids being killed by the League, and goes back to Gotham, where he reunites with loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and childhood friend Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), before forging the persona he creates to save Gotham, The Batman, with the help of Wayne Manor's answer to Q, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). Standing in his way is Arkham Asylum psychiatrist Johnathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), who, as the Scarecrow, uses fear toxins to strike at the heart of his enemies, as well as mob boss Carmine Falcone(Tom Wilkinson), who runs organised crime in Gotham.
The fantastic thing about 'Batman Begins' is that it's incredibly thorough. Comic books aren't known for having iron-cast logic, but this movie takes the time to justify every aspect of Batman's origin; including his motivations, his reason for choosing the bat as a symbol, the functionality of his costume, and the choice of the Batmobile. In fact, it's so thorough that it takes an hour for Batman to appear in costume, when the action beings and is maintained towards the end..
The film is bolstered by a wonderful cast, including Bale, Freeman, Caine, Holmes, Wilkinson, and Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon). While 'Batman Begins' is pretty dark, there are some moments of levity, especially between Bruce and Alfred, and Bruce and Fox. Overall,'Batman Begins' is one of the best superhero movies around, mainly because it's so comprehensive, and stays true to the character's original ideals.