Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 4.0
The pros and cons of "Batman," reloaded.
The most entertaining and conventional movie of the "Batman" series, Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" seeks to create a launching pad for new slew of Caped Crusader films, and this origin story, while choppy and imperfect, sets the buffet table. Here's report card of the movie's strengths and weaknesses, something to differentiate this review from others:STRENGTHS:THE APPROACH - No Marc Chagall nightmare worlds. No zany gay chic. Nolan ("Insomnia" and "Memento") and screenwriter David S. Goyer bring realism - considering it worked so well in "Spider-Man" series - back into the fold. Gotham is a slightly futuristic, burned-out New York. But we can still recognize it; the movie's most glorious shot is of Batman high atop Wayne Tower, looking down upon a candyland of city lights. No special f/x - just a gorgeous shot of a man above his city. "Batman Begins" has an amount of restraint to it.THE SCREENPLAY: Short on one-liners and ominous phrases, long character development and serious talk. Even the Burton "Batman" movies had a lot invested in being funny; Goyer and Nolan are content to use the natural humor of Christian Bale and trust audience to pay attention, not wait to be entertained.CHRISTIAN BALE: Here's the edgy "Batman" they've been looking for. Bale's played enough villain roles - "American Psycho," "Shaft" - to approach the anti-hero a swirl of swagger, anger, conviction and droll humor. Physically, Bale surpasses Keaton, Kilmer and Clooney. As an actor, he's less mysterious than Keaton - and a little less believable a billionaire tycoon, too - and his "tough" voice - well, it sounds a little forced. Still - right guy. Fine pick.ORIGIN STORY: Wayne is investigating the nature of evil in a Chinese prison when his mentor, Ducard (Liam Neeson), rescues and invites him to a training facility in the Himalayas. Ducard teaches him the dark arts, and extracts the story of Bruce's childhood. There are nice touches about bats, the death of his parents, Bruce's planned revenge against his their murderer. Ducard invites Bruce into the League of Shadows, led by Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). The League wants to go a little farther than Bruce is willing to. Bruce declines their offer in violent fashion, returns to Gotham, and, with butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and Wayne Enterprises scientist Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman. The "origin" material is always a little slow - and the cross-cutting between training and Bruce's childhood is a bit annoying, but "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" both survived these growing pains for excellent sequels.MICHAEL CAINE AND MORGAN FREEMAN: Old pros. Instant credibility.GARY OLDMAN AS SGT. GORDON: Finally, a Gordon who's not a caricature or a punchline. Oldman plays him simply as a decent, honest cop, one of the few left in Gotham, and Batman's first partner. The role isn't overplayed, but Gordon does more than just proclaim and stand around - he's shoehorned nicely into the climax.VILLAINS: Not unforgettable. Just not stupid. It makes sense that the first criminal worth fighting is simply mob boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul is a thinking man's villain, and The League of Shadows are pretty faceless but not cartoonish. Cillian Murphy is funny/creepy as Dr. Johnathan Crane/The Scarecrow, but he doesn't have much to do. "Batman Begins" is focused more on the Bat than it is his tormentors, as it should be, because these villains likely won't roll around again.MUSICAL SCORE: By Howard Shore and James Newton Howard. Never intrudes, usually enhances. During the "money shot" scene - that one atop Gotham - it's quiet and grand.LEAGUE OF SHADOWS INITIATION: Mysterious and unpredictable, Nolan shot and edited this sequence more for the idea being enclosed by 30 deadly assassins than clarity. Suspenseful.WEAKNESSESKATIE HOLMES: Her Rachel Dawes, childhood friend of Bruce Wayne and gritty Gotham prosecutor, is a grim one, a stick in the mud who talks at length about doing justice without accomplishing much. In this day and age, is a lawyer really a symbol of virtue? Holmes isn't in the movie much, the romance is downplayed, but her character wears a rather unfortunate silk blouse in the movie's second-to-last scene.CONTINUITY: At times "Batman Begins" strikes me as cobbled together in parts. The beginning is especially jagged, though necessarily so. The plot is a little too jammed, though: Rutger Hauer has no purpose as the de facto head of Wayne Enterprises - unless he figures into the sequel. Rachel's boss disappears without much fanfare. Falcone, the mob boss, goes off the map halfway through the picture.BATMOBILE CHASE: The vehicle itself - cross a Hummer and the design of a B-2 Stealth Bomber - is interesting. The chase through Gotham, more than ten minutes long, is blah.ACTION SCENE AT THE DOCKS: Again. Blah.CLIMACTIC ACTION SCENE: On an elevated train at night. Not nearly as effective as a similiar scene in "Spider-Man." Anti-climactic and, since it's in the dark of night, not exactly thrilling.VILLAINOUS PLOT TO DESTROY GOTHAM: It's a blatant steal from the original "Batman!" Chemicals combining with other chemicals. Deadly gases. A poisoned populace.Overall, "Batman Begins" takes on a bigger assignment than its predecessors and passes, well. The franchise is built to last with a grounding in semi-reality and four excellent actors - Bale, Oldman, Caine and Freeman - to carry it for a couple more films. Nolan, should he continue, will get a bigger budget to play with a splashy villain and maybe a more interesting female lead than Holmes, who is pretty and upstanding but a bit of a bore.