Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 4.0
Very Daring... it succeeds in most areas
Doubtless, Nolan has reinvigorated the Batman franchise. Warner Brothers gambled on this production and was hugely successful. Who knows if Nolan will continue to direct but doubtless Caine, Freeman, and Bale will continue to play their roles. They've been given very good scripts, very good characters, and guaranteed box office. That is the hat-trick that all actors crave. Batman Begins should have a very significant effect on the genre itself. Where comic book movies have begun to falter very badly--we were given a very good example of such faltering movies in The Fantastic Four playing this very summer--Nolan has shown us how a such a movie can be successful. Certainly, future movies in this sub-genre will be encouraged to explore similar "dark and adult themes" in their scripts. What will be interesting to see is if Hollywood can tear itself away from the setting of the comic book world and begin to explore new concepts in speculative settings that don't have agendas, scripts, and characters ready-made. Could Batman Begins have been successful under a different title and a different name? We think so. In fact, the thought of a movie where a troubled man begins to take justice in to his own hands with the implicit cooperation of elements within the justice department would have a profound resonance in this day and age of terrorism. Or, it could follow in the footsteps of M. Night Shyamalan's excellent movie Unbreakable where the thought of becoming a comic book hero in real terms has real consequences and real misgivings. Truly, watched together, Unbreakable and Batman Begins share similar elements and differ only in that one invokes a heritage and one inherits a bequest. Will Nolan show Hollywood the path to reinvigorating movie production in general? We can only pray it is so...WHO SHOULD SEEThe box office take for this movie was wildly successful. Certainly, enthusiasts of Spider Man, prior Batman films, Superman, and all the host of other comic book movies will be astonished at the scope and daring of this movie as compared to others. Fans of Burton's first Batman film who felt rather lost and abandoned in the subsequent three films will find the return to roots and adult plotting refreshing. Movie audiences that relish psychological conflict as much as they relish physical conflict will find a great deal within this movie that will excite their craving for suspense.WHO SHOULD PASSThis is a movie that requires a deal of immersion and patriotism towards the genre itself. People who approach these more speculative elements with a great deal of suspicion tinged with a bit of contempt will not enjoy this film. A suspension of some disbelief is required despite Nolan's efforts at creating realistic spectacle. This is precisely true because the characters are symbolic and the themes are familiar archetypes... for subtle shadings of grey, the viewer will have to seek elsewhere. Gotham City is, after all, not a real place and that will irritate some viewers. Equally, people looking finally for something different in this genre of comic book movies will be disappointed; it is different in craft but it is still very emphatically a comic book movie. It is a comic book movie done exceptionally well but still a comic book movie. People seeing this film only because they are fans of Katie Holmes will probably be disappointed with her performance. Younger children will probably not enjoy this film, be terrified of some elements of it, and not understand a great deal. Parents should take the 13 in the PG-13 rating very, very seriously. Take young kids to see Spider Man 2 and The Fantastic Four.READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM