A great movie!

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2007)

Batman Begins marks the 5th attempt at bringing the Dark Knight to the big screen. After the last two camp filled monstrosities (part 2 wasn't that great either), I was a bit hesitant about this one. Needless to say, I walked out of the theatre in shock and awe at how well the film was done. As Roger Ebert said, this is the Batman film I never knew I was waiting for.
A young Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents. He then sets out to understand the nature of criminality and the criminal mind. Years later, he is a prisoner in an unnamed Asian country, where he has nightmares about his childhood fear of bats where he meets a man named Ducard who takes him to the doorstep of Ras Al-Ghul. From this point on, Bruce trains to become a "symbol" that fights those who prey on the fearful.
Christopher Nolan and David Goyer's setup was brilliant, since this is undoubtedly the only Batman film that actually does Batman justice. The writers went above and beyond to make sure the story was believable. The inclusion of the Luscious Fox character (played by Morgan Freeman) adds to the believability of the Batman story. Bruce Wayne needs an array of gadgets and automobiles to fight crime, all of which were developed by Wayne's own company. The design for the batsuit is that of a suit that was designed for warfare. This is only fitting since Wayne declares a one man war on crime in Gotham City. Batman as a character was never supposed to offer the escapist, fantasy elements that Spider-Man or Superman offered. Most of the single entity superhero titles out there try and sell themselves on big explosions, heat vision, and big webs. In other words, the others make their money from the cheap thrills that are offered from the very nature of the character. Batman is just a guy sworn to fight crime; a guy who pushed his body and mind to the limits of human capability. They don't call him the world's greatest detective for nothing. From this stand point, Batman is more about the thick, complex plot structure and the deep, complicated, and usually dark take on each and every character (not to say the film doesn't offer any action). This is what makes Batman "the thinking man's" super hero, not to mention knowing that any guy walking the street could be Batman if he was driven enough.
Christian Bale's dark and brooding performance only adds to the gritty realism of the story. Bale truly captures the three sides to the coin; the public Bruce Wayne, the private Bruce Wayne, and the beast that is Batman. Bale's physical appearance just makes his performance that much better. One half is the filthy rich, billionaire playboy. The other half is a man who spends his nights jumping off rooftops and fighting thugs by the dozens. Alfred's relationship with Bruce does add that more humanistic touch to the film, and Michael Cain does a great job of showing how Alfred acted as a real father figure for Bruce as he grew up.
The only real downside is the presence of Katie Holmes. She just doesn't look her part. After Wayne comes back from the years spent traveling the world and fighting crime, Rachel is supposed to be near thirty, yet she still looks fifteen. I personally would have liked an even darker approach to the camera work. The images of Batman standing, hiding, or jumping out of the shadows with fog and lightning ripping through the screen would've been a real treat. But looking back on it, the film was supposed to be real and it is real, that's why it works.
I'm already looking forward to the sequel. Go watch this one, NOW!