If you're a fan of Batman, you'll love it, if you're not a fan, you'll become one after watching this film...

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2018)

Four decades after the TV series, two after the first film, Batman wasn't exactly a beginner, so the title might sound a bit presumptuous in the context of 2005 if only because everyone thought the saga actually ended with that dreadful "Batman & Robin". But that was underestimating Christopher Nolan, he didn't just revive a cinematically dead saga but proved beyond a (dark) shadow of a doubt that it hadn't even begun.

But it needed to come so late and I knew I was right to watch the previous movies before Nolan's take, because it's only in that order that you realize how underexploited the potential of the DC icon was, as far as characterization goes. Indeed, it's not just in the way Nolan takes us to the origins of Batman (Christian Bale), to Bruce Wayne's childhood, his trauma with bats, the death of his parents and his initiation by Ducard (Liam Neeson), it's how it plays later in the 'revealing' scene.

Take the first Batman, a classic, no doubt about it: it starts with criminals who don't fool us about their status as baits for the heroic entrance. Keaton popping up and saying: "I'm Batman" probably had some members of the audience clapping and cheering but it doesn't hold up now, you know it's just the kind of trailer-filler scenes with no other pretension than introducing the hero. What happens is that, villains you don't care about are stopped by Batman who can take care of himself, so it's not that we don't but we can't root for him.

But boy, when the "I'm Batman" moment happens halfway through that film, after all that journey where he kept looking for himself, asking whether he's seeking revenge or justice, after all the wandering and wondering, all the tasks and duels and pains and stitches, all the brainstorming with Alfred (Michael Caine) about the right identity and with engineer Fox (Morgan Freeman) for the costumes and the "gadgets", when he finally comes up fully-dressed... we know it's not just a superhero in a fancy costume, what we've got is an achievement... and I was cheering inside. And not not just because of the hero. We saw Tom Wilkinson laying his cards in front of a mildly impressed Bruce Wayne, which makes the villain's come-uppance twice more enjoyable.

That scene alone is the reason why Nolan was right to make "Batman Begins". When it started, I was like "what the hell...?" I kept waiting for the Batman tropes, Gotham City, the logo, the Batmobile, Alfred... but then I realized that Superman had started the same way and when we could finally see the nerdy Kent opening his shirt with the "S" logo, we were finally rewarded for our patience. Nolan trusts our patience as well and is generous enough to make a few allusions to the Batman we know, like with the infamous parent's murder scene. And once again, even that scene is played at the right time, after many glimpses on Bruce's relationship with his father and his own fear, and see how it all comes full circle with that defining murder. I think it just comes down to one thing: give everything a meaning.

Why Batman? Why the bats? Why a black uniform? Why never killing anyone? Everything has an answer, a meaning, an origin. I love how Nolan tries to give some realism to Batman's origins, not to make the film realistic but plausible in the realm of superheroes movies... so real that Batman shouldn't even be considered a superhero. This is not just a good film, but a good story. Good in the classical sense, with the coming-of-age, the hero triumphing over his initial demons, then gaining enough strength to give a meaning to that first triumphant step and good in the writing.

For instance, notice how the word 'vigilante' is mentioned twice, by Ducard and later by the commissioner, Nolan was aware about the kind of labels that go with a character like Batman, and he doesn't deny them as much as he gives them a new weight, it's like "Yes, but there's more to it...". A vigilante always has style and an attitude that betrays an unconscious desire to 'show off' a little but in reality, Batman is perhaps the ultimate vigilante because he goes from a totally selfish desire to get his revenge to protecting a town that is corrupted to the core and all the style and the attitude are only meant to scare his opponents, to hide in the night, as a matter of fact, again, everything can be explained.

And this is nothing compared to the way the word "fear" is repeated, serving the film's motto that we're all meant to fall, but it's all about picking ourselves up. From another director, it could sound corny but not with Nolan, and certainly not with Caine playing a great Alfred. And this comes from someone who likes the other Alfred, too. The cast is another highlight of the film, honorable mention to Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy and even Katie Holmes who was shockingly nominated for a Razzie, granted she wasn't Oscar worthy but that was a low blow, even by Razzies' standards. Speaking of the Oscars, the film was so full of great visual effects and action sequences that I was surprised it only gathered one nomination for Cinematography, but quite a deserved one, the shots on Gotham City were breath-taking.

You know I've never been fan of DC or Marvel Comics, but I always loved the Disney Duck stories with Scrooge McDuck and Donald... and what Nolan did reminded me of Keno Don Rosa's "Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck", he took an iconic character and provided a level of depth and a dimension that went beyond the format of the comic-book canon. I guess if there ever was a "Batman" hall of fame, Nolan would be in the Top 5 not far from the creators or Adam West.