The Beginning of Greatness

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2005)

Up until now, the Batman series has attempted to translate the campiness of the pulp comic to the big screen. Although these films succeeded in enveloping us in the dark world of Gotham (with the exception of the abominable 'Batman and Robin'), we were always aware that what we were watching was fantasy. 'Batman Begins' manages to removes this awareness while at the same time preserving the relentless gloom of its predecessors. Gone are the days of chuckling at the Caped Crusader's adversaries for their exaggerated malice. We are now given villains that are genuinely wicked and devoid of humor. They are no longer caricatures that perpetrate evil for its own sake. Rather, they are motivated by an agenda that, while condemnable, is selfless and not entirely unjustifiable. This is not to say that the plot itself is realistic. As Roger Ebert pointed out, there is no possible way that it could be. But its characters ARE real and interact with their world in a very human way. If this is the shape of Batman to come, we have much to look forward to.