Batman Begins...with a bang!

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2012)

The first batman series started by Tim Burton produced two entertaining and dark movies Batman and Batman Returns. Sadly the series went downhill, after the last two movies brought the series to the campy, and laughable TV days, not what Bob Kane the creator of Batman intended.
Batman Begins brought an entirely different look and feel, as opposed to what Tim Burton had done with his two film's. I grew up with Batman and Batman Returns since childhood, and always loved them, but as I got older, I remember feeling boy, I wonder what batman in todays world would be like. Well thanks to Christopher Nolan that became a reality. This is a reboot that actually does what its supposed too, build off a previous version, and do something new, and different.
Batman Begins has many of the same characters but, is completely different than what was done before. This Batman shows us how, and why, Bruce Wayne becomes batman, the hero of Gotham city. The story progression is great, and the cast is about as good as they come. Christian Bale(batman), Gary Oldman(Gordon), Michael Caine(Alfred) and Morgan Freeman(Lucius Fox), a character missed from the previous series. Jim Gordon is much better represented in this movie, than he was in the Tim Burton films, and the early bond formed between him, and batman is really great. These actors absolutely become the characters they play, which is so important for a film like this. If you can't believe in these characters, and their motivations, then the story being told will never work. Luckily this is no issue with this movie, and not only do the actors look great in their roles, so does the world that showcases them.
Christopher Nolan certainly cared about every aspect in the film's style, the production design, from the lighting, costumes, and set design. Tim Burton's Gotham was very unique, and bold for it's time, and became a character itself. Nolan creates a modern city but with characteristics that set it apart from any city that we know of. He does this by adding elements such as the mono rail train, that Thomas Wayne had built, and through miniatures, and large set pieces. These set pieces are what really show the dark, wet, gritty, and dirty streets of Gotham, that sadly becomes less apparent in the later installments.
The Bat mobile, or as Nolan calls it the tumbler, along with the new bat suit, are quite different from how they looked in the earlier batman films. The tumbler is a huge design change, and though not totally accepted by all, is the type of change the Batman series needed. The bat suit in this movie is my favorite, because it makes batman look like a beast, and much more intimidating than anything I've seen before. Everything has a purpose and a function, the graphite cowl, the memory cloth cape, and the Kevlar body suit. This is where the character Fox comes into play, the R&D department guy at Wayne Enterprises is the man who creates these wonderful toys, although what he doesn't know till later, is that Batman will acquire them all.
The film actually has pretty strong antagonists considering that many of them aren't well known to the general public. Ras Al Ghul played by Liam Neeson is great in this movie, and plays the sincere mentor of Bruce, as well as the cold, and unwavering leader of the League of Shadows. When he turns against Bruce, he turns with no hesitation, and Neeson plays both parts equally well. Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow played by Cillian Murphy is the film's creepiest villain in the film, and his first appearance as the scarecrow is pretty intense. Tom Wilkinson plays Carmine Falcone, the mobster who pretty much at this point, runs the criminal underworld, and he is equally cruel.
The action sequences in this film are fast paced, hard hitting, and very impressive. The bat mobile is going about as fast as it looks, thats no trick, and the film uses very little cgi, which makes it all the better, because it's physically there. The ending climax is pretty thrilling, and made even better by the films awesome score, that adds greatly to the character of the film. The theme from Batman 1989 composed by Danny Elfman is classic, and whenever I hear it I think of batman. The theme in this movie is nothing like Elfman's, but it works perfectly for this batman, and in time I think will be nearly as iconic, if not equal. The theme that this movie builds upon throughout the entire film is fear. Bruce Wayne deals with fear in many forms, some of them being the fear of bats, the fear that he caused his parents death, the fear of failing, and thanks to scarecrow's fear gas, will relive that fear with horrible intensity. Batman isn't the only one with fear, his emergence has struck fear into the criminals, and the corrupt, because unlike certain law enforcement officials, he is unwavering from his moral code, and cannot be corrupted.
The only weaker parts of the film is that the resolutions of certain characters aren't made very clear, and the fights though hard hitting, are not very clear, and makes the viewer unsure as to whats really happening. The character of Rachel Dawes, made up for the film, and Bruce's childhood friend, is not super convincing in her role as a tough lawyer, and her chemistry with Bruce isn't quite there. The ending of this film is great, and leaves me wanting more, especially the ultimate tease that the film leaves us with, the possibility of seeing batman's greatest foe the Joker
8.5 to 9 out of 10