batman begins. nicely begun.

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2005)

Now, it's hard to review a movie like this (a big budget, comic book fair) without comparing it to a yet another franchise, Spider-Man. First off, I should add I absolutely loved Spider-Man 2 and can ramble on and on about bigger ideas and how it works in different levels, etc., but I won't since this is a Batman Begins review. Second off, I enjoyed Batman Begins. As hinted in the title, the whole film is about how Batman came to be who he is. Much like Spider-Man, a tragedy struck within the family of the main character, which ultimately contributed to the character becoming a hero. One of the nice things about characters that go through such things is that it helps us to delve more into the psychology of the character (irrelevant to whether the character has powers or not), and luckily, we get to see that more clearly in this film than the previous ones.
The tough thing about making a movie about a character that hides in the dark most of the time is the balance that must be made between the mythical aspect of the character (where mystery makes the character more interesting--eg. Boba Fett) vs. their more human, relatable aspects. Can Darth Vader still command that presence if we know his history as a bratty kid who whines a lot? (This is where I will say Episode III did a fine job of making that transition) Thankfully, the writers did a fine job of fleshing out this Bruce Wayne character (without making him too silly--the fact that he's running around dressed as a bat) and every motivation seem to be answered for in a logical, understandable manner. Christian Bale does an admirable job as a younger, tougher, and more thoughtful Batman. Katie Holmes, despite the fact her looking rather young to be a D.A., brings a good complimentary balance to the Bale character. It also doesn't hurt to have the supporting cast of well-knowns as Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson in the picture as well. Liam Neeson also gets to play a nice meaty role similar to a (Jedi?) master to Bruce Wayne's apprentice, with much cooler lines.
I probably would not have appreciated this movie as much if it didn't go beyond into deeper thoughts. Questions like, what is the difference between social justice and personal revenge? (Similarly, what I got from Spider-Man was that it wasn't really about how cool it is to have super-powers, but the idea of using any special gift responsibly) Even Bruce Wayne's motivations are questioned--are his actions based on his vengeance for his parents or is it for justice, beyond himself? That's what I like about these superhero stories--when it's not so much about all the cool stuff they do, but when we see how/why they do the things they do (and maybe, inspire us). It is cool that Bruce Wayne's character goes through various changes (most well-developed characters do) and we understand him better. The director Christopher Nolan (who directed one of my favorite movies, Memento) displays his craft to the hilt, with every scene sparkling with beauty and atmosphere and a good amount of grittiness. Here's a guy I'd like to see more work coming out from (even his less-hyped work Insomnia with Al Pacino was quite different from a regular type of thriller, along with a non-crowd pleaser type of ending). A vast improvement from the previous 2 films (the ones not directed by Tim Burton), this is a solid film that has many things going for it. A good beginning, indeed.