Two steps forward, one step back...

Rating: 7/10 (27 July 2005)

I was, perhaps, expecting too much from this film. Almost all of the reviews I'd seen, many from highly respected sources, had been favourable and certainly many of my friends had been positively surprised. Indeed, on the whole I too was pleasantly surprised.
The film certainly hits the ground running, plunging us into an icy atmosphere - a brutal, brooding mood I found instantly involving. There is too, in these early scenes at least, a likable art house / grunge aesthetic and like the best modern European cinema, we feel we have the time to ruminate on the landscape, the essence of the characters and the atmosphere itself without the film stalling. Here the early scenes move at an agreeable pace; they create an immediate sense of intrigue and excitement and the shady characters are sketched out quickly and dynamically. This is thanks in part to the restrained bitterness of Bale's 'Bruce Wayne' and the steely gravitas Liam Neeson lends his scenes as 'Ducard'.
Many have commented on how vast an improvement 'Batman Begins' is on previous Batman films but in Tim Burton's defence the first of the Batman films in particular was also blessed with intelligent dialogue and a brutal, visceral dynamism. However, 'Batman Begins's action scenes seem to take grittiness to the next level - in this very plausible world, punches have real crunch and they really hurt too.
For all the stylistic and atmospheric differences between Burton and Nolan's worlds (and these have certainly been overplayed), it is the content and themes of their stories which really separate them. For all the exuberance of Tim Burton's production design, the costumes and sets, his films still relied on a unrelenting good / evil dichotomy and a tried and tested action-film 'chain of events'. Yes, the hyper-real Gothic aesthetic was new and exciting and yes, the characters and performances captured that comic book sense of theatricality, but did we learn anything new? Was Burton really pushing creative boundaries?
The reason I'm a fraction disappointed with 'Batman Begins' is that unlike Burton's 'style over substance' efforts, this film could have been so much more. The early scenes are imbued with a genuinely exciting sense of mysticism and possibility and we are exposed to many interesting ideas both philosophical and ethical. These ideas are explored abstractly and often non-directly, the plot driving things forward keenly. Nolan explores the nature of (and the emotive power of) guilt, revenge, justice and identity. Bruce Wayne must ask himself some important questions and to throw such intelligent themes and ideas into the mix was a brave and welcome decision. It is, to my mind, far more interesting to learn of the human history behind a hero than to merely witness the (beautifully shot) product of his heroics over and over again.
Sadly however, Nolan's film does not quite live up to this early promise. Admittedly, the director is extremely restricted in terms of where his human interest story can lead - after all, we all know that sooner or later this guy's going to dress up in a black cape and suit. Whilst Nolan's Gotham City is a more plausible, rich environment than previous incarnations, it still feels derivative and uninspired. But worst of all is the tired way in which the main thread of the second half of the film fizzles out. Again, the sterling cast do their best and the film does remain involving and surprisingly classy throughout, but to have a last gasp chase and explosion belittles an otherwise mature and sophisticated film that puts so much good groundwork in early on.
I couldn't help feeling that although I enjoyed it, and although it was refreshingly adult and macabre, the film does bail out and lose commitment towards the end leaving it in a slightly uncertain mess. 'Batman Begins', whilst extremely enjoyable, doesn't quite live up to its early promise.