The Batman Movie Made the Right Way

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2008)

"Who is Batman?" Riddler asked in "Batman Forever." It is a question the writers of the first four Batman movies never attempted to answer. "Batman Begins," a film completely separate from the previous four, centers itself around answering those questions: What motivates him? How does he feel about his choice of how to live his life? Why did he make it? How does he regard the people he protects? What about the people he fights? Are they even people to him? Most importantly, "How did he become Batman?" Tim Burton's and Joel Schumacher's versions of Bruce Wayne were blurry silhouettes. The same applied to the villains. For the first time, Wayne is now a genuine character, as are his friends, enemies and strangers. Among all that Christopher Nolan's movie does right, that aspect is the most crucial.
Few movies have an acting lineup like Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe and Morgan Freeman. Very good to great performances are normal for this group, except perhaps Holmes who was a huge name at the time. The foundations of good action are a strong story and characters who make us care about the outcome. Most of the above names have strong eye for good scripts and are also capable of making average writing appear better. The writing here is greater than average, and the whole cast gives performances worthy of their names.
Speaking of names, it is one of the most important facets of Wayne's story, as his father Thomas (Linus Roache) was the most respected man in Gotham City. His life changes when he sees his parents murdered. Bruce (Christian Bale) refuses to forgive the culprit. "Your father would be ashamed of you!" declares his childhood friend Rachel (Kate Holmes) when she realizes the extent of Bruce's hatred. By the end of the movie, the word ashamed has been replaced with proud.
Christopher Nolan reportedly told his crew that "Batman Begins" would be filmed like Blade Runner. In fact, it is Tim Burton's movies that bear a closer resemblance. This film, in contrast, has many more scenes shot in daylight, the natural colors are allowed to show, and its villains are not bizarre looking pillars of hatred. Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne was reclusive and gloomy; he stumbled over his words and exhibited little personality. Batman was viewed as a burden and curse. Here, Wayne's transformation to Batman sheds the curse. He is articulate and lively, possessing people skills missing from Keaton's version. He has anger, but he is not an angry man. Instead, it comes from his passion for justice.
Wayne travels the world trying to understand criminals, but ends up in prison himself. Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and the League of Shadows rescue him and train him at their monastery. He next returns to Gotham to use his training to defeat the pervasive crime and corruption. His first target is Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), not only the most powerful criminal, but the most powerful man in the city.
Aside from showing the shaping of Wayne's character, the movie invests time into the literal creation of Batman. It does so by introducing the new character of Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman, who along with James Cromwell is one of my two favorite actors). Details such as how he built the Batcave, acquired the Batmobile, and created the Batsuit are not merely glossed over. We see Alfred's (Michael Caine) active involvement in the process. This act of the story is never boring and not a moment is wasted.
Aside from Falcone, the main villain is Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy). Wilkinson flawlessly captures Falcone's belief in his unconquerable power and malice towards all who disagree with him. Equally successful is Murphy. His Crane is a soft-spoken yet dangerous and manipulative individual. Alfred is not as passive and grandfatherly as before. He is younger and more dynamic this time, but his love and concern for Wayne and his family is as real as ever. Holmes makes Rachel a strong-willed woman, and gives a more effective performance than she ever did in "Dawson's Creek." Surprise, this writer has seen a few episodes of that show.
All of this provides the context for the action, which unfortunately is the only area where Nolan comes close to fumbling the ball. It is varied and creative in its concepts and settings. I think the stunts are great. I use the words "I think" because Nolan makes it impossible to see much of what is going on. He often zooms the camera in very far, at times moving it too quickly for the eyes to focus. He accompanies this with many, many quick cuts. The result is a choppy, incomplete perception. There are times when the shot is far enough away and pauses long enough to see what is going on, and it looks entertaining and skillful. Aside from the Batmobile chase, those moments are too sparse.
Even so, the movie succeeds on all levels, including the action. All of the small successes mix into a solid product in every area. I really enjoy how the movie shows the maturation of the Wayne's beliefs and attitudes. "Batman Begins" sticks to its message. Well conceived and created in all ways, this is the Batman movie I have waited for my whole life. Thank you, Christopher Nolan, thank you.