and ends with brilliant results

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2006)

"Batman" was created by Bob Kane in 1939 and in the sixties, a wacky version with gaudy colors was shot. The Batman saga was revived by Tim Burton and it started under auspicious skies with the two following novel chapters: "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns" (1992). With the arrival of Joel Schumacher, the series plumbed. "Batman Forever" (1995) and "Batman and Robin" (1997) were real downers which tarnished Batman's reputation. Due to this, Gotham City's most well-known inhabitant took refuge in his den and waited for things to evolute. In the meantime, he was upstaged by other superheroes like "Spiderman". Was there a future for Kane's son? Rather than pouncing on the elaboration of a new adventure (at one point, one even talked about the possibility of a story called "Batman vs Superman"), why not plumping for a streak which has been seizing the Hollywood firm for several years? Just look at the titles of the following works: "the Exorcist: the Beginning" (2004" or recently "the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Beginning" (2006). These titles give this inkling: to go back to the sources and roots and unearth what made Batman a myth. Like many moviegoers on this site, when I learned that Christopher Nolan was the heir of this work, I felt that the project was in good hands. I'm not a fan of his "Memento" (2000) but I recognize that he's a canonical filmmaker and this was largely conducive to Batman's rehabilitation.
The storyline is apparently slick on the surface, but in depth it conceals several directions. More than half of the storytelling is based on Bruce Wayne's psychological turmoil, His trip in the world to forget the traumatizing death of his parents under his eyes. His apprenticeship and learning to gain trust and knowledge and to try to overcome his demons and to put a term to his weaknesses. As Liam Neeson puts it: "you are afraid of your own strength". But eventually, the young man will have recourse to his own fears to fight fear! To admire the hero, you'll have to be very patient for one can't see him before almost the half of the film. The second half which sees the young cape crusader going back to Gotham City to make justice triumph and creating some of his gadgets which cemented his popularity like the "Batmobile" is more devoted to action sequences. These thrilling moments keep a very reserved feeling to insist that Batman is a flesh and blood protagonist. It is more embellished by a restricted use of special effects. But Nolan and his scenarist didn't put aside rigor and construction. The development of the story is fantastic as one could wish with twists, turns to keep the audience interested. Apparently the scarecrow wants to command Gotham City but the biggest villain isn't necessarily the one you can think of.
Even "Batman Begins" is a typical Hollywood product, it is earmarked of Nolan's touch. The filmmaker deftly introduces flashbacks at the right time and sometimes flashbacks inside flashbacks! And Nolan once said that he liked to oppose the subjectivity of a character to the objectivity of the world. This declaration could make sense in one of the thrusts developed in the film: many inhabitants in Gotham City may think that justice is lost but Bruce Wayne/Batman is back and here to stay to convince them that it's not dead. The setting helps to capture this and Nolan's own ominous vision of the city: a Gotham City shrouded with a gritty urban realism and in which bribery and violence easily propagate due to the power of the underworld. This assumed perspective breaks out in the apocalyptic end of the film which in a certain extent harks back to George Romero's cult film "the Night of the Living Dead" (1968) with the population wandering in a hazy, artificial fog in the throes of fear and madness. Thanks to Nolan's stringent brio, these different levels in the scenario and in the directorial style are combined to amount to a meshed, well-rounded poise shot without alacrity. An overlong movie (2h 20 minutes) but the length eludes the viewer.
For this resurrection of Batman, Nolan gathered a stellar cast. Every actor slips into his or her role in an unselfconscious way. Christian Bale can preen himself on having got the role of his life and he has never been so much better than here. Michael Caine brings a mix of complicity and mischievousness to the butler Alfred and I have a preference for Cilian Murphy whose cynicism and deadly charm have positively devastating effects.
For Nolan, the transition from a "film d'auteur" to a Hollywood blockbuster wasn't knotty at all and even if the whole seems easy, it's very bracing. So thank you Mr. Nolan for having re gilded Batman's credibility. The follow-up is currently under way. Let's hope it will showcase the same high standard of quality.