Uncommonly intelligent

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2005)

While I had a feeling this would be at worst a worthwhile way to kill an evening, I was quite impressed with BATMAN BEGINS.
I have to say that Warner Brothers actually seems to have a pretty good bead on the Batman character; Tim Burton's versions were at least interesting and fun, and WB has gone on to produce two unusually-good animated series over the past several years (let's just pretend the Joel Schumacher versions didn't even happen though, okay?).
Still, after the campy 60s TV show and four uneven movies, you'd think this character had been pretty much done to death. Surprise, surprise to find that Batman can be resurrected as the thinking man's superhero.
Even before seeing the glowing reviews, I was drawn to BATMAN BEGINS for two reasons: Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale. Nolan's MOMENTO remains one of the most clever movies of the past several years with its "regressive" storyline. And Bale has crafted a really nifty, "under-the-radar" kind of career with films like American PSYCHO and THE MACHINIST (a side note: I was intrigued with how much the actor cast as young Bruce Wayne in the opening scenes resembled Bale in EMPIRE OF THE SUN).
There are grand themes here, and the reference to opera early on is not accidental. Fear, strength, justice, revenge, they're all here in a grand story told with surprising plausibility. We get to find out that Batman has no superpowers per se, just outstanding martial arts training and some very expensive technology. That a figure who wants to "save" the world can be just as damaging as one who wants to control it. There are even several veiled references (and one direct one) to Karl Jung's theory of archetypes and their impact on the human psyche. BATMAN BEGINS manages to transcend its own genre and becomes a contemplation of just what the superhero represents.
Not that it's completely without flaws, unfortunately. Nolan builds great suspense, and I liked his visuals. But in some of the fight scenes I found myself wishing that John Woo had poked in on the set to consult. Katie Holmes wasn't terribly compelling, and while she wasn't horribly bad, either, she doesn't provide as strong a presence as, say, Kirsten Dunst has in the Spiderman movies. And casting Michael Caine as Alfred was just distracting; any time he appeared on screen I found myself thinking "wow, Bruce Wayne is so rich he can hire Michael FREAKIN Caine as his butler!" The supporting cast is pretty good, though. Nice to see Gary Oldman cast as a good guy for once ("Detective" Gordon? Are we likely to see a few promotions over the next few movies?). Morgan Freeman is, well, Morgan Freeman, and that's fine with me. Rutgar Hauer seems to be channeling Bill Clinton AND Donald Trump in his role as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Tom Wilkinson is one of Hollywood's great unsung talents.
I wouldn't even call BATMAN BEGINS "flawed", just a little weak in a few spots. Completely forgivable. Bring on the sequel.