Just missed ...

Rating: 6/10 (30 June 2005)

It took some time for this movie to get going. Did I mention that it took some time for this movie to get going? Almost as long as it's taking this comment in fact. I suppose that one could put this slow build-up of tension, character and background down to an exposition which would ultimately pay off later in the franchise but even later in the movie, there are many slack and dull times.
I truly wonder are Christian Bale's choices in movies. The Machinist in which he recently appeared was very stylistic, again a comic book world and Bale's performance was fine but all in all the plot lacked a core essence and the same is unfortunately true here. Although not an avid comic fan, I am sure that this will have been the most realistic and satisfying big-screen incarnation of the Caped Crusader. Certainly elements in the movie captured that unreal reality, mostly those involving the hallucinogenic drug sequences. Bale is fine in the role but the story could have been sharper and tighter.
Support comes from Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy and Katie Holmes. Again, their performances can't be faulted but there was severe under-use of Neeson's and Murphy's characters. They were almost passing shadows, barely at the forefront of things, which is something that I find unusual in a superhero-type movie. Yes, some of the tension of the movie was supposed to be Bruce Wayne's own internal struggle with himself and his morals, compassion and sense of justice. In the end though the right balance for this versus his external enemies is not reached and the movie ends up in an unstable equilibrium in which few can be comfortable. Holmes' character is practically pointless, merely a foil for some ideas, a hint of love interest and a plot device, which is clumsily used in her awkward final scene.
I was looking forward to this movie and really enjoyed parts of it but the sum of those parts does not good a movie make and so in the end Batman Begins just ends up being better than average. Hopefully the inevitable sequel will deal more with issues that are communicated to the audience because in this movie Bruce Wayne was too good at keeping it all to himself and leaving the audience with little to chew on. Disappointing!