I'm happy to finally be satisfied by a Batman flick

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2005)

rating: 3 out of 4
Director: Christopher Nolan Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer MPAA Classification: PG-13 (intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements)
Batman has finally caught a break. Through five mediocre films the poor guy's stumbled around without even a superpower on his side. I mean, come on, Batman's just a buff guy in leather. He's one step above an S&M enthusiast. But now, with Batman Begins, ole' bat-ears has found his limelight.
This film chronicles Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) rise to power in the New York copycat city Gotham to become the ever-popular Batman. We're brought through his rise from an East Asian prison to the mountaintop sanctuary, training with Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and Henry Ducard (Liam Neeson). There we're told of Bruce's childhood trauma that fuels his hatred for injustice. We're then spun along to Gotham City, where Bruce is looking to save the corrupt city from the clutches of the brutal mob boss, Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). But when Falcone's brought down on charges of drug smuggling, he pleads for insanity and actually wins. This brings Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) into the picture. His examinations of numerous Falcone thugs have led to successful insanity pleas in Gotham's courtroom. Something smells fishy to Bruce. Or is that Batty? And with Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), assistant to the DA and childhood friend to Bruce, burrowing herself into danger with the Dr. Crane case, Batman's got his hands full.
Much of Batman Begins success must be attributed to the brilliant star studded cast. I couldn't imagine a better actor behind the mask of Batman than Christian Bale. He brings an ideal mix of vengeance and humanity to a character that's hasn't felt quite right until now. Cillian Murphy as usual also does well. His role as Dr Crane/Scarecrow hits on the kind of evil bad guy that would usually be filled by such an actor as Jack Nicholson. And Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe, Katie Holmes and Tom Wilkinson all fill in roles that, although are smaller than these caliber of actors are used to, play them as perfectly as humanly able.
Director Christopher Nolan is most known for, as of right now, his work in Memento. The backwards time mystery masterpiece has been elevated to a kind of cult classic/critics choice. But now, almost undoubtedly, Nolan will be known as the man that made Batman work. The comic book hero has never looked so good. Most impressive is Nolan's work with his film's flawless atmosphere. Batman Begins is steeped to spilling point in atmosphere; with the perpetual nighttime, overtly common rain showers, and creepy dark alleys, this atmosphere is what brings Batman to a different level of Comic Book genre films than, oh say, Spiderman.
Spiderman's world is a geek fanboy's dream. Sunshine spilling from a New York horizon with our nerdy hero staring off from his bedroom window to that of his first love across the street, enamored by the way the sun reflects off her golden blonde hairetc. Batman Begins plays an entirely different tune. This film is spectacularly dark. Gothic (no pun intended, by the way) is really the best way to describe it. We're presented with a man who's trained himself to embrace fear and use it against his enemies. Bruce Wayne is a guy that wants revenge on those that degraded his father's city to the dredges it is today. These grim overtones work to help flesh out what is quite a complex and surprisingly engaging storyline.
There is, however, one very disappointing aspect of Batman Begins that I can't help but mention. In a comic book film we all know the best parts are going to be the action sequences. But here Batman, or rather Christopher Nolan, finally disappoints. The film resorts to cheap and overrated quick cuts that dizzy us into distraction instead of letting us actually witness the action. The fights become nonsensical and frankly boring when we're only allowed to glimpse half-second cuts at a time. This ruins much of what could be a very stimulating aspect of the film.
Luckily, the rest of the film does not disappoint. Surprisingly, the most interesting aspect of Batman Begins is when it slows down to let us follow the story and look further into the world Nolan has so meticulously created. What I found interesting about the film's story is that it made an effort to incorporate more aspects of Gotham City than simply Batman vs. Baddie. We're presented with a tricky system of corrupt judges, cops, and lawyers; where all these are dealt with and strangely dissected using Rachel Dawes' sub-plot and an under-appreciated straight cop named James Gordon (Gary Oldman). We're also offered insight into Wayne Enterprises by way of Fox's (Morgan Freeman) sub-plot as the director of the Applied Sciences division where Bruce finds all his equipment. And lastly, the history and proud lineage of Bruce is played out by Michael Caine's character Alfred. In doing all this, Nolan looks beyond the simple comic book formula and succeeds in immersing us deeper into his Gotham City, making his crime trail storyline affect us more than we originally thought.
I'm happy to finally be satisfied by a Batman flick. It's been a long time coming and with a few straggles aside, Batman's finally got something to look forward to.