A Dark and Serious Sounding and Looking Take on the Legend

Rating: 7/10 (1 July 2005)

"Batman Begins" is a mostly effective, serious retelling of what is now a legend as a dark, post 9/11 rumination on fear, vengeance and justice. This Batman's approach could be a third way between the Jedi and the Sith as a catharsis for angst.
While the opening scenes in the Mysterious Orient that probably appeal more to comic book readers at first seem exaggeratedly confusing, director/co-writer Christopher Nolan integrates them with pregnant flashbacks and superb production design, particularly through the recurring visual motif of bats.
The attention to visual and aural detail is marvelous, including the triggering, Faust story opera that young Wayne attends (Arrigo Boito's "Mefistofele") with additional references later on to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil".
Visually, this Gotham integrates the grit and spookiness of different types of special effects from "Sleepy Hollow," "28 Days Later. . .," and "Escape from New York" to create a complete environment. The sardonic script even gives some thought to the future of cities, from the senior Wayne's philanthropic focus on building a mass transit system to "Bruce" paralleling Abraham's debate with God as to whether Sodom and Gomorrah are worth saving, and evidently Gotham can put together a minyan.
Christian Bale is a key factor in grounding the film in psychological realism, as he makes "Bruce Wayne"'s step-by-step, guilt-ridden choices build up believably. He is also charming as he creates the alter-ego of a carefree playboy. We only get too few glimpses of just how much he bulked up and worked out after "The Machinist," but his personal trainer deserves his line in the credits.
Also keeping a foot in realism are the sword fights that eschew the popular tricks from Asian films for more refreshingly old-fashioned swashbuckling, though the final fight, with a twist on ideological enemies I hadn't anticipated, went on a bit too long even if the points it makes are intellectual.
The casting choices are both an added strength and distracting weakness, particularly the selections of mostly actors from the British Isles. Third time's the charm for Liam Neeson as a sword-wielding mentor compared to his not quite credible takes on that role in "Phantom Menace" and "Kingdom of Heaven," maybe because here his character ends up more complex.
Michael Caine is simply great as a play on the British military officer's assistant definition of batman with an added, warm, father figure element.
Cillian Murphy is devious without camping up his evil psychiatrist. When he lets loose with one cackle it's a charmer and he uses those beautiful baby blues to creepy effect.
But that wonderful actor Tom Wilkinson is not only miscast as a gangster, it's a bit pathetic that the fictional Gotham's underground is run by cliché imitation "The Sopranos," regardless of fealty to the old comics. Gary Oldham seemed wasted as a ground-down by corruption cop.
As to the Americans, Morgan Freeman gets to twinkle a bit more ironically as a mentor than in "Unleashed." Katie Holmes has no chemistry with Bale but at least she seems earnest. From other parts of the world, Ken Watanabe and Rutger Hauer are underused.
I did get lost on some plot points about the key weapon, but it's cool looking without understanding its parameters and it's enough that it has to do with light and dark.
The music is mediocre.