A Batman to Believe In

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2005)

It can't be easy to be the director of the fifth film in a franchise - especially when the franchise nearly died through gluttony and lack of common sense with Batman & Robin. But Christopher Nolan has obviously thought hard about the opportunity this film presents him - take the sensibilities of his earlier films, the isolation of a man in a system or situation beyond his control, and tell a story which reflects the triumph of human will at the price of humanity itself. I am pleased to say that this movie succeeds,and gives us the definitive Batman film.
The title tells us that this is an origin story, and thats what we get, but it is the origin of Bruce Wayne, and this is where this film really deserves praise. This is not your nice , four colour world of superheroes transferred to the screen, this is a story, about how a man loses everything - his family, his belief in justice - and how he finds his redemption in taking individual action.
So we have Christian Bale breathing life into a man lost. In Ducard, Liam Neeson makes up for his past character choices, I feel - this is a revelation. Katie Holmes is appropriately cast as the caring conscience of Bruce Wayne, trying to make the system work, and Cillian Murphy is excellent as a seemingly calm, but scarily twisted Scarecrow.Michael Caine is a joy as Alfred, a true star shining in every scene he steals.
The film builds a world where past Batman movies gave us just a city. Gotham itself now truly looks like a twisted New York. This works well in letting you believe that this could actually be a real situation.
The way Bruce creates the Batman is handled well. Throughout the film, we are reminded that this is a choice he has made, and are invited to see the reasons why. This means a lot of talking, but this just reinforces the feeling that this is an important decision that is being taken, not just a quick dark thrill.
The fight scenes are quick and shot in close-up, so that Batman appears almost a force of nature. This does make it hard to see whats going on at times, and sometimes you do find yourself wanting the camera to pull back a bit. This is my only problem. Everything else, I have to say, was very, very good.
The definitive Batman film? Yes - true to its source material, creating a hero that is not that far removed from ourselves, in a world gone bad, without the operatics, recognising the importance of theatrics. This will be the one they will remember as the good one.