Final Execution And Resurrection

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2005)

Fear gets mentioned quite a few times in Batman Begins. In fact, it gets mentioned about a hundred times. 'I seek the means to fight injustice. To turn fear on those who prey on the fearful.' 'Now you must journey inwards, to what you really fear.' 'There is nothing to fear but fear itself.' And then the whole of Gotham City gets The Fear and tries to rip itself apart. It's almost as if the filmmakers are trying to say something. Is it a comment on paranoia in the Bush era? Or is it an insight into how ordinary people are running scared from real and imagined criminality? Or then again, is it just a bunch of cool stuff in a big Hollywood blockbuster? It's probably a combination of all three, although, as you'd expect, the cool stuff takes precedence
Along with fear, another word that gets mentioned with Batman Begins is: dark. Now, for me, that's good, as I like dark, but I have to say that I'm getting fed up with filmmakers and marketers churning the word 'dark' out with every blockbuster that is released. Its become a real cliché. Apparently Die Another Day was going to be 'dark'  it wasn't. Then Spider-Man 2 was going to be 'dark'  it was teeny little bit, but not much, although admittedly it was a very enjoyable film. Then there was Revenge of the Sith, which wasn't dark and which was terrible. And Hulk was going to be dark and Daredevil was going to be dark and X2 was going to be dark. But none of them were really. At least, not what I class as dark. But to me its just become a lazy way of marketing a film. It's an easy way of trying to fool people into thinking that the film has depth when it has none.
However, I do have to say that Batman Begins really is dark (although whether its got real depth is up for debate). In some ways it's almost like a horror film. Batman sneaks up on the criminals like movie monsters do their victims and then proceeds to beat the crap out of them. It's cool stuff. Very enjoyable. And the fear toxin is superbly realised. I especially liked the visualisation of Batman. Again, very cool. Although I do have to say that if I'd seen it as a kid, I might well have encountered an accident at that precise moment in the film. It's a million miles away from the nipples and butt cracks of Joel Schumacher's Batman.
But although the film is dark, it's also the most emotional Batman story on film. I mean, I love the Tim Burton versions of the character, but they were purely exercises in style (but what style!). Here though is the first time that people like me, who can't be bothered to read comic books, really get an insight into Batman and Bruce Wayne. I especially loved the way that the back-story was filmed. The robbery is particularly harrowing. And I also liked how Alfred's role was built up. Before, in the Burton films, you sensed affection, but in Begins a real connection is made. So much so that I couldn't help but lose a little bit of my composure when Alfred says that he'd never give up on Bruce. And that leads me to something else that I liked. I liked the way that the film reveals that Bruce Wayne is as much of a character as Batman, if not more so. In the other films it's hinted at, but here is the first time that it's explored.
Another way that Batman Begins trumps its predecessors is with Batman himself. Christian Bale is fantastic. He's vulnerable and edgy as Bruce Wayne and absolutely fearsome as Batman. I have to say that I really dug the way that his Batman literally screams at the villains. That was unexpected but very welcome. And the villains were superb too, especially Cillian Murphy. His performance is like a block of ice  cold eyes, cold smile and cold attitude. It's nice to see some Batman villainy totally devoid of camp. Oh, and the soon-to-be Mrs Cruise is pretty good too. I mean, I may not have bought her as an assistant DA (the fact that she looks about 16 doesn't help) but emotionally she was fine. And perhaps it's just me, but it was nice to see a female role that didn't require some token female "ass kicking". After all, hasn't the prerequisite totty with big breasts and skinny arms that can kick butt become the new annoying female archetype in blockbusters? They've taken the place of screamers like Kim Basinger's Vicki Vale.
But while I'm enthusiastic about Batman Begins, it's not without fault. The training sequence is sub-Matrix. The League of Shadows is like The Priory of Sion. The music is totally forgettable. Morgan Freeman is really just Q. The editing of the fight sequences is too over the top. And the final act is a bit of a disappointment.
I also have to say that I was a little bit disappointed with Gotham City itself. Perhaps I love Tim Burton's Gotham too much, but in his films it really seemed like a character in itself. It was a work of beauty. It was a work of art. I loved it. But then Joel Schumacher had to turn it into Las Vegas on steroids So in response Christopher Nolan turns Gotham into something more realistic, which works superbly for the type of Batman that he's making. But still, even though I prefer Nolan's Batman, I prefer Burton's Gotham.