Could have been so much more

Rating: 6/10 (3 September 2005)

I can't say i'm a huge fan of the Batman franchise. Since i have basically no interest in comic books i'm usually also quite free from expectations based on comics. I do enjoy a good comic book adaption though so i don't mind watching a movie like Batman Begins. Seeing as how the actors and director were both talented i must admit my hopes were rather high. Unfortunately this movie is ultimately a disappointment.
I love movies based on comic books. Which might sound strange considering i don't like comic books themselves. And maybe it's strange, but still there is something about the over-the-top playfulness that should always be an element in comic-book adaptations that appeals to me. Christopher Nolan who directed Batman Begins has not done anything like it before, but then again neither had Bryan Singer before he made X-men, and just look how well that turned out. It's my firm belief that a truly talented director can make almost any kind of movie. And has Nolan succeeded? Well, both yes and no i would say.
The first part of this movie was very much to my liking. The background of how Batman came to be Batman, as well as the background to where he gets all his lovely toys and his neat cave. Christian Bale is a good actor and the supporting cast is also excellent so there is no problem with the fact that there is not much action in the first half. Rather the problems start when the action starts... The action scenes are dark, messy and not very well done at all. Effects-laden and with a lot of kicking and punching without us seeing very much of what's going on. Maybe a testament to Nolan not being used to action-films? In the end there is just too much lacking from this film for it to be truly successful. The script feels like it's been re-written somewhere in the middle. Perhaps the studio thought people wouldn't see a Batman-movie without constant action-scenes? In the end it feels like two movies in one, and the first part is by far the best. The actors are superb and most of them do an excellent job. Bale is great as Batman (the best Batman so far alongside Michael Keaton), Michael Cane is enjoyable as his butler and Liam Neeson offer as solid a performance as ever. So what's missing? Well apart from the story more or less disappearing in all the explosions in the end i really miss the super-villain in this movie. There is just not enough madness to go around.
To make a long story short this is not a failure as such. Rather it's more the feeling that it could have been so much more that bugs me. A promising start is dragged down by inefficient action-scenes and i feel this movie deserved better. It's a 6/10 for the effort.