Studies the man behind the mask instead of the bat-nipples and gloss.

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2005)

"Batman" is all about a man who battles his enemies and inner demons. It's about fear, acceptance, morality and reality: Batman is not a superhero, contrary to popular belief. He doesn't have extraordinary powers. He's human, physically and emotionally. That is why Batman has always appealed to me, and I imagine many others feel the same way.
I don't read comics, so I can't be one of the many angry fans who claim Tim Burton's 1989 adaptation was poor; but as a film, it didn't really focus on the psychological aspects of the story, so I can see their point. Michael Keaton was an unconvincing Bruce Wayne  he wasn't believable as a suave playboy or a ruthless billionaire. Jack Nicholson was fun as the Joker, the sets were gloriously dark and Gothic, but at its heart the film was as cold as its exterior. There was nothing of actual substance  seen today the film is just an entertaining comic book-movie with good visual design that could have been better.
The sequels came and went, none of them living up to the original, and the casket was sealed in 1998 with "Batman and Robin"  considered by many to be one of the all-time worst films in existence. (And I agree.) The problem, I think, is that all these films ignored what is explored so proficiently in "Batman Begins: the fragmented mind of a billionaire who grew up under the constant shadow of his family's legacy, and never wanted to accept his reality; a man who learns to hate crime (and more specifically criminals) after his parents are murdered before his eyes by a lowly street thug.
Bruce Wayne is a fascist at heart  but has enough moral fiber to resist devolving into an executioner. "That is the only thing that separates us from them," Bruce says in "Batman Begins." And that's something that the film latches on to  amongst other topics  and what makes it not only the best of the "Batman" movies, but also a great film by any standard.
I admire the technical skill of this production. The fight scenes are fast and blurred  I usually hate this, but it works well in "Batman Begins," because we're meant to fear the unknown. Sounds are used to great effect. Cinematic ally, Batman becomes a movie monster on occasion  the scene where a group of smugglers are picked off one-by-one in the darkness, with scattering sounds overhead and screams and gunshots piercing the silence, brings to mind Ridley Scott's "Alien." In another segment, Batman questions Crane while he is on drugs, which results in some truly terrifying images that will shock children who are familiar with Batman as a flawless hero.
I also like the fact that Christopher Nolan  who admittedly does not prefer using modern special effects  bases his film around the characters so much indeed that he uses very little CGI. Apart from a few action sequences and swarms of bats, most of "Batman Begins" is real, and that really impressed me. (I do not like modern effects, either.) I could tell the city was real, I could tell the Batmobile was real, and I could tell Batman was real. Remember the segment in "Batman and Robin" where they surf 30,000 feet above ground on pieces of an exploding rocket ship and look like cartoon characters? There's none of that crap here.
Bale is perfect as Batman, and the best yet, because he fits every aspect of the character; he is believable as a smug, ruthless playboy. We can see him as a troubled young man haunted by his past and an unbearable sense of guilt. And in the suit, he looks confident without being comfortable  he's still learning how to adapt. We can imagine how far he will progress in the sequels when, at the end of "Begins," he has finally become the Batman we all know.
The movie is grim like Burton's but more realistic, and not as glossy and perfect; the suit is imperfect, Batman's technology and secrets are exposed, the Batmobile is ugly and efficient, and the bat cave was originally part of the underground railroad and doesn't have any gadgets or special super-duper display cases for the suits. (I never did understand the point of encasing the Bat Suit in a special shiny glass container when no one was supposed to even see it except Bruce and Alfred.) "Batman Begins" is to Burton's "Batman" what Burton's "Batman" was to the Adam West version. It's darker. It's surprising. It's better. This is the best "action" film of the summer  one that doesn't favor CGI over characters or huge overblown action sequences instead of humble moments of dialogue. Sure, there's action. There's a cool fight sequence aboard a train. But because the characters are given depth, we actually care about them, which is something George Lucas could learn from.
In an era when bigger is better, and audiences are used to Batman making his appearance on-screen in mere minutes of each film, "Begins" does something completely unexpected (and risky). It actually takes its time. Bruce Wayne doesn't don his famous suit and cape for the first hour of the film  and when he finally does, the costume isn't fantasized. It's imperfect, awkward and ugly. And best of all, there are no bat-nipples this time. All considered, is it really so surprising that "Batman Begins" has only made a disappointing $71 million in its first week? Audiences are not used to blockbusters of such depth and beauty.
Note: I had to trim my plot summary in this review because IMDb has a 1,000 word limit. Go to my website if you want to read my full review.