At last, a Batman film about Batman!

Rating: 10/10 (8 July 2005)

Tim Burton's Batman films were needed at the time, they did help erase the image the 1960s series had left, but he didn't have a clue how to handle the character. Sure, he had the right atmosphere, the right sets, the right costumes, and above all, the right music with Danny Elfman's Bernard Hermannen-inspired score, but Batman remained a tortured, lonely, and uncharismatic figure. Michael Keaton was physically miscast since he couldn't pull off the annoying arrogant playboy type in Bruce Wayne, neither had the necessary physical presence to handle Batman. It sure didn't help that the villains were given more screen-time and had way more charisma. Joel Schumacer took over the series and brought it back to the 1960s camp the Burton film were trying to erase, and while he was more comfortable with the Batman character than the previous director, he didn't have a clue how to handle the atmosphere.
Well, enough with all of this, after Schumacer ruined the series completely, a re-start seemed like the smartest thing to do since none of the previous films really captured the true spirit of the character at all. And here comes Christopher Nolan, director or Memento and the Insomnia remake, to do the Batman movie fans had been waiting for a long time. Screenwriter/director David S. Goyer was in charge of the script, borrowing elements from Miller's Year One, he crafted the quintessential Batman script, avoiding all of the mistakes Sam Hamm and Akira Goldsman committed in the past.
Christian Bale takes over the role played by nearly eight actors in the past, the film opens with a runaway Bruce Wayne starting his ninja training with Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) and his leader Ras Al Ghul (Ken Wantannabe) in the Hymalaias. As this happens, we flashback to twenty years ago, when eight-year old Bruce lost his parents to a thug (not the Joker like the first film) and swore his revenge against criminality. Bruce doesn't become Batman automatically, he nearly considers killing the murderer of his parents later on.
It's moments like Bruce throwing his gun at the sea that make Batman Begins different from nearly every previous big screen Batman representation. We finally have a film about Batman and not the villains. Not that there are no strong villains in this entry at all. Once Bruce's training is over (as he disagrees over Ras' brutal crime fighting tactics, enforcing the rule in the comics that he doesn't kill) he returns to Gotham City, which has been taken over by ruthless mob boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and his main thug Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) a criminal psychiatrist who is later revealed to be the classic villain The Scarecrow. Murphy doesn't have as much screen time as Jack Nicholson or Danny DeVito, but for once we have a Batman villain that is actually menacing, a villain that doesn't dance to Prince records and doesn't wear puffy shoes and colorful costumes. His specialty of infecting his victims with fear-inducing gas gives room for some pretty nifty hallucination sequences.
Gotham City is not the studio-bound 1940s noir look by Tim Burton, neither the psychotic neon-bathed wonderland from the Joel Schumacer entries. Instead, this is a realistic city, filled with slums (the Narrows) and to an extent inspired by Ridley Scott's futuristic rain-soaked metropolis in Blade Runner, a film Nolan showed to his crew before shooting began.
Many people have criticized the action sequences for their fast editing techniques and the fact that we never see Batman, but that was pretty much the point. Batman is supposed to be a dark figure, we are not supposed to get a good look at him during the confrontations. That is not to say the film's action sequences don't deliver. While it takes its time to build up characters and situations before the rumbling begins, the bat-mobile chase puts the loud theater speakers to the test. The final action set-piece taking place inside a speeding train is better than it sounds, we finally have a good climax in a Batman film for once rather than the Dark Knight destroying the villain's lair.
In terms of acting, few films out there have a cast this good. Christian Bale is by far the definitive live-action Batman ever shown on screen, he perfectly handles the character's split personality from the snobby playboy to the Dark Knight, even the voice changes, not to mention he looks great in the costume. Morgan Freeman and Michael Cane both play good mentors to Bruce, and even knowing Cane doesn't look like the part as much as Michael Gough, he has great chemistry with Bale and we finally see their relationship sparkle. Even actors with small parts like Rutger Hauer, who plays Bruce Wayne's main enemy at Wayne Enterprises, shine. Unfortunately, Katie Holmes is the only weak link here. Script-writer Goyer took a big liberty of creating this new character who means a lot to Bruce (she was his childhood friend) especially for the movie, and while she is more interesting than the previous romantic interests in this franchise (except for Catwoman obviously) she doesn't look very comfortable in the scenes where toughness is required. And last but not least is Gary Oldman's note-by-note perfect role as Lt. Gordon, a hard-working honest cop who, like Batman, fights against corruption. For once we get to see the Batman/Gordon relationship that was never explored in the 1989/1997 film series, maybe afraid it would turn as campy as in the 1960s TV show with the Bat-phone.
Few summer blockbusters work as much as Batman Begins. Never so much fun and energy was felt in a theater since the release of Kill Bill: Volume 1 in 2003. Chris Nolan has not only resurrected a dead franchise from oblivion, but done a film few super-heroes could have the honor of having. The summer of 2005 doesn't get any better than this.