Christopher Nolan: The Man Who Gives Us Batman

Rating: 10/10 (17 June 2005)

I would personally like to thank Christopher Nolan and his team for creating the intricate clockwork of Batman and bringing him and his fears to life. The film winds its way through a series of short flashbacks, telling the story of a man taunted by his fears, confused with emotion and the eternal heartbreak of loss.
The world in which Batman Begins describes truly does reflect the very essence of the inner turmoil faced by Bruce Wayne not only as a man, but as a child. Gone are the merchandise-indulging opportunities, flashy, trashy neons continually flashed with strobe lights and replacing it is a world on the brink of destruction and at a crossroad.
The movie deals with vengeance, revenge and hope. The hope that despite all that is evil and corrupt in this world the inner strength of one person can help save us all (with some help from a few friends and a couple of billion dollars).
Christian Bale not only acts as Bruce Wayne, he owns Bruce Wayne. His description of Batman is deeply powerful and effective. His eyes, and his somewhat pursed lips display power and authority.
Michael Caine's portrayal as Alfred is the mechanism by which the true human side of Bruce Wayne is extracted and the chemistry between the two is touching. Gary Oldman's role as a the street-wise and honest cop torn between doing what is right and turning a blind eye to corruptness to catch the bigger fish, is one that I look forward to being expanded. The relationship between Bale and Oldman will become and integral part of future Batman films.
The rest of the cast simply add to the viewing pleasure of the film notably Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman. Katie Holmes does a nice job working with Gotham's District Attorney, though sometimes it is hard to ignore her youthful persona.
The action sequences are simply sensational, fully showing us a world of Gotham that resembles a mix of inner city Chicago with the feeling of the back streets of hong kong.
The film is Batman as it should be; a journey of self identification and a quest for justice. Dark and often literally quite frightening, Christopher Nolan has given us a Batman that truly adheres to the very principles on which the dark knight is based upon.
-matteo OK