Batman begins with a bang

Rating: 6/10 (16 October 2017)

This 140-minute film we have here is the first from writer and director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy and if he wasn't considered a top-notch director before already, then this film lifted him up into the elite where he still is today with everybody talking about Dunkirk. But we talked about that one on another occasion already and now lets take a look at the only film from the trilogy that is missing the "Dark Knight" in the title. The lead actor in this over 10-year-old film is of course Christian Bale still before his Oscar win and it's not about great acting from him here as it is all about the story. But still for example the likes of Neeson and Caine managed awards-worthy performances. It was a pretty good idea to have Wayne's mentor and trainer become his worst enemy at the very end and it also fits really well with Nolan's dark 0% comedy approach to Gotham City, very different from Burton or West or everybody else. It's almost a catastrophe movie, well with what is happening to Gotham it is and the tone fits in well, also with Bruce's emotional state. I personally could have done without the Scarecrow story as he felt rushed in, but he is also not a character to be a main antagonist for an entire film really, at least not with Murphy playing the character or Scarecrow's looks. Tough challenge. Maybe make the mafia boss or Hauer's character more influential instead with the time gained. Or just make it a 110-minute film.
Freeman and Oldman well they were okay I guess, but also as I like them both I expected a bit more. Holmes at least brings in one female character and that's good. But in the center of it all, it is about Wayne making his peace with the past and finding his determination and destiny and like I said the way they used the League of Shadows (Neeson), it was truly interesting in my opinion. People generally consider this film probably the second best from the trilogy after film number 2, but I would say it is my least favorite. That doesn't mean it was weak or anything though. It only means that the other two are better. At the end of this one here, we get a very interesting reference already about a certain clown character turning Batman's life into hell in the sequel. As for this one here, I recommend seeing it in the unlikely case that you still haven't. Only people who really hate superhero films should skip it and it's probably also not an essential watch to appreciate films 2 and 3. I know it is not a superhero film really, but still it is very similar. There are some lengths in the middle part and overlong action sequences, but these style-over-substance parts don't keep it from becoming a quality movie. Go check it out, these almost 2.5 hours certainly fly by.