The Dark Knight Detective Is Back! And Thank God (and Christoper Nolan) For It!

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2005)

Batman Begins is the starting point for a new filmic franchise featuring the venerable and venerated Caped Crusader, and it is, most likely, and in this humble reviewer's opinion, the best depiction of Batman and his mythos ever put to celluloid.
Director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer flesh out the origin and pathos of Bruce Wayne and his rise to the self-styled guardian of the grim and gritty metropolis of Gotham City. Finally, the audience is given a glimpse of Bruce's world travels and training in the fighting arts. We see when, how, and why Bruce Wayne chose to don the cape and cowl of the World's Greatest Detective.
Batman Begins is a realistic, firmly-planted-on-the-ground depiction of the early career of Batman and his alter ego's recapture of the financial empire established by his murdered parents. It is a subtle, almost low-key film, with the obligatory fighting and explosions, but more of a character study why a man would chose to fight crime dressed as a bat.
Christian Bale is Batman, just like Christopher Reeve was Superman and Tobey Maguire is Spider-Man. He embodies the triune role of the real Bruce Wayne, a tortured soul yearning for justice, the public Bruce Wayne, a foppish, slurred playboy, and the Batman, a frightening force of nature vowed to rid his city of evil and injustice. Bale brings all of those aspects to life, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Of the supporting cast, the true highlights are Michael Caine as the stalwart, fatherly Alfred the butler, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences Head turned steward of the family company, and the best of all, Gary Oldman as Police Sgt. James Gordon, Batman's staunchest, albeit originally reluctant, ally in his war on crime. Oldman looks and sounds just like all comics' fans' idea of what Gordon should look and sound like. Gordon is also given something to do this time in a Batman film, and in the end, helps to literally save the day. The creation of the unlikely partnership between the Dark Knight and Jim Gordon is a linchpin of this film, and is a moving and integral part to the movie.
The villains are not over-the-top neon-colored weirdos. They are realistic people played by Cillian Murphy as the corrupt psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane and Liam Neeson as the duplicitous Ducard/Ra's al Ghul. Murphy is very good as the slimy and creepy Crane/Scarecrow, and Neeson is as great as ever as the true "Demon's Head." The true villainous standout is Tom Wilkinson's turn as mobster Carmine Falcone, the last of Gotham's "normal" bad guys before the city becomes plagued by Batman's unique and grotesque rogue's gallery.
There are few things to complain about in Batman Begins. If I had one complaint it would be that we didn't see enough farther shots of Batman fighting hand-to-hand, making the action quick and hard to follow. As for Katie Holmes' Rachel Dawes, I think she did a good job with what she had, and you can't really fault her for that.
The last scene of Batman Begins sets up not just a sequel but a true film series. Batman, summoned by the now Lt. Gordon and his Bat-Signal, and Gordon firmly establish their alliance, and we see that the "theatricality" of the Batman's modus operandi has inadvertently brought forth a new crop of criminals, one who Gordon reveals leaves as a calling card, a Joker.
As Batman gets to work, Gordon tells him, "I never said thank you." Batman's reply, "And you'll never have to."
And that, my friends, pretty much says it all. Batman Begins is one the best comic book/superhero adaptations ever created, and those of you that have shied away, still smarting from the not-so-great Bat-films from '92 to '97, do not fear. Batman Begins is so much better and so much more.
Highest Recommendation!