Batman Begins

Batman Begins

2005

Action (Comic Book)

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 140 minutes

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Rutger Hauer, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Outline

This is the story of Bruce Wayne becoming Batman and how he tries to save the city of Gotham from destruction.

Review

The Batman movie character was not on his last breath he was flat lining. He was flat lining harder then Kiefer Sutherland in 1990. Director Joel Schumacher killed the Batman character and the franchise with a batman suit that included nipples and an evil Dr. Freeze saying things like “You’re not sending me to the cooler.”(Admittedly I love classic Arnold lines). Along comes director Christopher Nolan with a defibrillator and gives this film a jolt and a huge second chance at life. Batman Begins is the story of billionaire Bruce Wayne as he struggles with the untimely death of his parents. It follows his life from a young kid to adulthood. It also shows how he becomes Batman and how he battles to save the city of Gotham from crime and corruption.

Now I am a fan of the first Batman movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as the title character. That movie worked in all its campiness and bursts of vibrant colors. This film takes a darker path filled with despair and greys and blacks. Polar opposite in the finished product but both worked in their own fashion. What I liked about this film was it didn’t spend a whole lot of time focusing on Bruce Wayne’s youth and original story. This will save most people from watching back story that has already been done before. This film works not only as an action film but plays out almost as a drama as we watch Bruce Wayne deal with his inner demons. The film takes the viewer through a journey of self doubt and self worth. Bruce Wayne will always be the most favored of the comic book characters for he is the most relatable. He is a man, albeit a very rich man, with flaws and imperfections like us and this film shows his weaknesses quite well. You will be caught up in this story of how Batman comes to be. You will find out where all his signature gadgets come from, you will find out where he learned his fighting technique from, you will find out where his rage against the crime world comes from, and lastly you will find out how his love can defend a city not worthy of this hero. He will win you over by beating his enemies into submission one by one and he does it solo which makes it even more impressive.

The cast of this movie is amazing. Bruce Wayne is played by Christian Bale and he is a good Batman. He has the body, the fighting technique, the passion, and it all shows in his performance. His voice is much maligned by critics and their disdain is justifiable. His deep and raspy voice detracts from his performance and ruins some of his allure. It doesn’t ruin the character though and that’s all that matters. Bruce Wayne’s butler and friend Alfred is played by Michael Caine. His coworker Lucius Fox is played by Morgan Freeman. His fighting mentor Ducard is played by Liam Neeson. His police contact Jim Gordon is played by Gary Oldman. If that isn’t enough, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe, Rutger Hauer, and Cillian Murphy all have various roles as well. This supporting cast brings such a fantastic veteran acting element to this story that this movie couldn’t fail. They all allow Bale to work his magic as Batman and bring out the best in this movie. The only person that detracted from the film was Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend Rachel Dawes played by Katie Holmes. Her performance as an honest lawyer just caught a bad nerve with me. She is unbelievable and unconvincing and was an odd choice for a film that was cast so brilliantly in almost every area.

As the film takes you along it is quite clear this movie knows what its audience wants. It gives you a character in Batman that takes brutal punishment and keeps on fighting. There is something about this underdog superhero that everyone should love. He fights crime bosses, hired hit men, trained assassins, and even a man out of childhood nightmares and nothing seems to get to him. The costumes are amazing and highly detailed. The city of Gotham is a perfect picture of corruption and crime. Batman’s new vehicle is high-tech and blows through the city like a tank. His fighting style is abrupt and high impact leaving a very satisfied feeling with the viewer as he beats his enemies using his brains and brawn. The only negative really is the camera work is over edited leaving some sequences choppy and visually weak. As the film makes its way to its end I couldn’t help but smile as Batman is back and he is kicking ass as the caped crusader and that is a good thing.

Director Chris Nolan (Memento, Following) is about to be praised by me. He took a broken franchise and coaxed it back to life. He took a brooding Bruce Wayne and left an indelible mark on the comic book movie industry. His casting was almost perfect and his darker take on this franchise is exactly what was needed. He over edited but that can be looked over with cool fight scenes and revamped technology.

I give this movie a recommendation especially to comic book lovers and action lovers.

T Factor + If you are a fan of Batman comics then this could score higher on the rating scale.

T Factor – If you do not like Christian Bale as an actor then this could score lower on the rating scale.

If you liked this film reel recommendations: The Avengers, X-Men First Class.