Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
The Bat triumphantly Begins again
There's a constant debate, especially when it comes to superhero movies, if a certain screen adaptation of a character is the best depiction possible. The Batman movieverse is no different; with a majority of Michael Keaton supporters, a vocal minority of Val Kilmer supporters, and a two-bedroom condo of George Clooney supporters, the argument rages on. Keaton's reign on the throne of Batdom is about to come to a close with the emergence of Christian Bale in Batman Begins. Director Chris Nolan and his screenwriter David Goyer bring a gravitas to the franchise that never even existed in the darker Burton films. This is a film full of fleshed-out characters and an honest-to-god complex story, and the performers and technical crews have approached this material as if they were expecting major awards. This isn't a film to chew popcorn and enjoy the cool action, but one that takes the Dark Knight serious on his own level and offers insights on his often frightening predicaments.Begins starts as super-rich Bruce Wayne ends his tour o' crime around the world in an Asian prison. Why would a billionaire want to get in the minds of criminals around the world, you ask? Because the murder of his parents left him confused about the nature of crime and justice, and he must know the truth. In prison he meets another justice fighter, Ducard (Liam Neeson), who offers to teach and train Bruce in the ways of fighting crime in an Academy in the mountains with his master Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). Bruce accepts and trains there, until after a falling out with the more reactionary group, he returns to Gotham City to put an end to the crime and corruption that has plagued the city for years. With the help of his family's butler, Alfred (Michael Caine), and the mis-used head of applied science at Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Bruce creates a symbol of justice that will strike fear in the hearts of criminals in a way no man could. He becomes Batman. And that is just the start of the movie. Later, Batman battles corporate greed in the form of the new head of Wayne Enterprises, Mr. Earle (the always wonderful-to-see Rutger Hauer), mafia violence in the form of Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), and a more mysterious presence in Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), aka The Scarecrow. He is assisted in his fight by the few honest officials left in Gotham, District Attorney Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) and a cop who probably has lots of promotions on the horizon, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman).The story of Batman Begins is packed to the brim with themes of fear, vengeance, corruption, and family and each is given a satisfying length to develop. Suffice to say, this is one rich comic book movie that will reward further viewings. It gives the best answer of any of the movies to the question of why Bruce Wayne dresses up like a bat to fight crime, while neatly juxtaposing Bruce's childhood phobia of bats to the real horror of seeing his parents murdered. Fear fills Begins from beginning to end. The fear Ducard teaches Bruce to impose on criminals to the fear the Scarecrow's poison gives to the people under it's influence. Nolan portrays this in great effect as many of the scenes are scarier than any horror film you'll see this year.Nolan's direction is receiving the most scrutiny in the area of the action sequences, which are deemed too choppy and not well-defined. NY Times film critic Manhola Dargis cites that Nolan's action should be like Fred Astaire's filmed dancing which I would agree with in a lot of cases but not with Batman Begins. The action is as it should be for Batman, dark and fast, theatrical but not flamboyant. Nolan's direction maximizes this effect without inducing headaches or motion sickness.In the end, you have to ask yourself what makes the best superhero movie of all time "the best." Is it honesty with it's characters? An honoring of a long and rich legacy? An actual story that just isn't filler for elaborate action scenes? An ambition to be something more than what is the norm of the genre? If so, Batman Begins fits all these bills and starts some bill of its own. This is the sixth Batman movie (counting Mask of the Phantasm and not the Adam West cornfest), and they've just now got it completely right with Begins. I'm sure Batman Continues, but will he ever End?A