A Darker Caped Crusader Caught in the Imbalance of Nolan's Treatment

Rating: 6/10 (12 December 2005)

As much as I wanted to love the newest incarnation of Batman, especially under the direction of the sharply talented Christopher Nolan, there is a gnawing imbalance to the film that makes the overall experience less than enthralling to me. In what looks obviously like the start of a new franchise, the 2005 movie spends an inordinate amount of time on the myth creation, and the first hour feels so solemn and methodical that the more interesting second hour or so in Gotham City feels rushed and telegraphed with arcane explanations of panic-inducing hallucinogens.
The problematic pacing makes the 141-minute running time seem interminable when it needs to sprint. The movie then ends almost too quickly for the dense plot that Nolan and co-writer David S. Goyer present in sometimes frustratingly cryptic strokes. Although they provide moments of deadpan humor reminiscent of "The Terminator" films, what is missing is the satirical sense and ironic nihilism that Tim Burton brought to the 1989 and 1992 Batman films. At the same time, Nolan imbues a true focused sense of dramatic purpose and atmosphere to his treatment that easily eclipses the subsequent Joel Schumacher movies.
Fortunately, Christian Bale is ideally cast in the title role primarily because he is an actor who emits a searing presence by not divulging too much about his interior life. That is exactly the quality needed to portray a loner driven by the horrific murder of his parents to penetrate the criminal mind and then ironically become a reluctant, clandestine hero. Under his cowl, he takes on Clint Eastwood's raspy vocal inflections to add to his mystique, and he brings a sinewy intelligence and quiet reserve to the conflicted millionaire Bruce Wayne. The combination works.
With a virtual Who's Who of A-listers, the supporting cast is almost too overwhelming to utilize their individual talents effectively. In a rather dastardly variation on his Jedi Master in "Star Wars - Episode 1: The Phantom Menace", Liam Neeson plays Henri Ducard, another intimidating mentor who this time, acts as an operative for a ninja vigilante group trained somewhere in the Himalayas. Neeson exhibits a palpable sense of malice in the role, though his character's return late in the film has a foreboding sense of predictable inevitability about it.
Gary Oldman, who usually specializes in screen villains, does an about-face and with genuine goodwill, plays put-upon Lt. Jim Gordon, who will become Gotham City's police commissioner someday. In his usual impeccable form, Morgan Freeman portrays Lucius Fox, the brilliant staff scientist at Wayne Enterprises who invents Batman's wardrobe and gadgetry. As Wayne's manservant Alfred, Michael Caine seems to be enjoying the humorous asides and unyielding British sense of duty in his relatively constrained role. As if he walked right off the comic-level "Dick Tracy" set, Tom Wilkinson chews a lot of scenery as the Jersey-accented crime boss Carmine Falcone.
The normally charismatic Ken Watanabe, however, is wasted in a small role as Ra's Al Ghul, the meditative head of the ninja group spouting all sorts of incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo. Cillian Murphy turns in the film's most chilling performance as the creepy psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane, evoking the perfect portions of fear and loathing in a character that makes my skin crawl. Last and truly least, Katie Holmes fails to rise to the caliber of her cast mates as her perpetually girlish manner belies the driving conviction of an assistant D.A. struggling with her lifelong attraction to Wayne.
The film is not as visually resplendent as previous Batmans, though the old-meets-new vision of Gotham City is compelling thanks to Nathan Crowley's impressive set designs. Also thrilling are the scary visual effects conjured up for the hallucinogens. Not as effective is Nolan's liberal use of close-ups and quick edits, especially in the numerous fight scenes sometimes impinging on the clarity of the action presented. I just wish Nolan and Goyer were not intent on overstuffing the screenplay with so many plot threads as it became a challenge to keep everything straight by the end.