Time to begin again

Rating: 7/10 (19 June 2005)

The previous incarnation of the Batman franchise crashed and burned upon release. I was self-hating enough to catch the truly abysmal Batman and Robin on the big screen in Summer 1997. My expectations were low, but I was still gobsmacked at how bad the movie was. So bad, in fact, that Warner let the franchise cool for 8 years before rebooting. It was a long time for a cash cow to lie dormant, but Batman and Robin really was THAT bad.
Christopher Nolan brings the character out of the gaudy, cartoonish world of Joel Schumacher and into reality for the story of Batman's origin. I'm quite sick of every single comic-book hero getting an origin story instead of just throwing us in at the deep end. The 1989 Batman didn't bother with origins and was able to further the plot without it. Despite the 140 minute run-time the plot of Batman Begins is side-tracked and 'last minute' when compared to the rest. Everything builds up to the last act but there's no consistent hook. Nolan also does himself favors, as well as shooting himself in the foot, by the naturalization of the character. The gorgeous anamorphic Panavision photography looks absolutely stunning, but I do miss the oppressive, German expressionist vision Gotham from the Tim Burton movies.
The wide cast of actors all do well with their roles, despite getting relatively little screen time between them, though I never felt close to any of them. As with all Nolan films they're all so serious and straight it's hard to see a real human being behind them. I only ever see them as a plot function and never anyone I can identify with or recognize. The film is just too slick and confident. There are no rough edges, which I think would have made it much grittier.
It's a good film, and light years ahead of Schumacher's embarrassment, but it's not as brilliant as the sycophants proclaim it to be.