"Why do we fall down...? So that we can pick ourselves back up again."

Rating: 10/10 (26 October 2008)

Batman has been at the heart of three of the four comic book movie revolutions. In the 1960's, the original movie began the era of campy comic book movies. That era ended with the Michael Keaton Batman film which for the first time took the subject matter seriously and propelled comic book movies into a new phase. Successive projects marred the franchise and comic book movies effectively "fell down" until 1998 when Blade propelled comic book movies back on the right track. Finally, in 2005 Batman Begins became the greatest comic book movie of all time and created a new type of comic book movie that could only be described as epic in scope. The sheer scope of its plot, the depth of its plot, and the mythic nature of its presentation all give this film a majesty unparalleled by comic book movies before and to up to this date.
Why is this movie so great? David Goyer as always turns in a fantastic script. This is a man who understands logic when it comes to plot and he doesn't introduce an element unless he plans on using it later in the movie. There is always payoff in a Goyer script. Christopher Nolan as director is a man who understands structure. This is a movie about rising action and beginnings. Batman's origins are interspersed between the beginning of his modern career and the traumatic events that shaped him in the past. This leads into the scenes in Gotham and his early outings as Batman. Goyer and Nolan also give us a twist and play on our assumptions that movie creators do not care about the source material and will alter important elements to fit their vision. I can't say more without violating the "no spoilers" rule. Let it just be said that there is a revelation about Liam Neeson's character that is such a twist that plays on our assumptions and our lack of faith in comic book movies of other franchises that puts things back on track and makes a lot of sense.
Goyer and Nolan also show that they "understand" Batman. Basically Batman is the real guy and Bruce Wayne is just a persona that he puts on to take care of the minutiae of life. They also take us through all of the elements that we recognize about Batman and laying out logically why they exist and how they fit together. Why is Gordon the policeman that Bruce trusts? Why does Bruce trust Lucius Fox to run the business with such little input from himself? I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the music. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's score is just the right kind of music for this type of music. Its operatic and grand to give it the right kind of mytho-epic feel that this movie evokes. It can also be loud and quick giving us the kind of percussive beats that are necessary for the action packed sequences that rocket throughout the movie.
No commentary would be complete without bringing up the cast. Christian Bale is perfect as Bruce and Batman, able to tread the line between the greedy playboy and the tough as nails superhero. Liam Neeson is brilliant as Ducard and his early scenes with Bruce have a nice mentor/student element to them and you can tell that these two men respect each other even though they have chosen different sides of the moral spectrum. Cillian Murphy is great as the deadpan control-freak psychiatrist, Dr Jonathan Crane. All of these stellar performances with great direction and writing lead to a delightful synergy that culminates in one of the great cinematic masterpieces of that era. I gush because it's true.
The DVD comes with tons of great extras about the making of this film from the sets to the martial arts. It's a great set and I can't recommend it enough.
Batman begins shows that even when the movie industry falls it can pick itself back up again. Watch the movie. It'll probably be another decade before we see another comic book movie of this quality.