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By CityBatman Begins
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Batman Begins****1/2 out of 5
2005-07-07
Article Written by: Todd Darby
After the painful and embarrassing last couple of Batman movies (Arnold as Mr.Freeze, anyone?), most movie and comic book fans would cringe at the mere mention of another film about the dark knight. Now mention that said Batman film would star American Psycho's Christian Bale, one of the most talented and underrated acotrs working today AND be directed by Christopher Nolan, the mind behind the brilliant and backwards Memento and the haunting remake of Insomina with Al Pacino and our bat ears might perk up in curiosity. Batman Begins goes way beyond just saving face for the Batman franchise and excedes all expectations for a comic book movie. It is a triumph, perfectly mixing superhero action, dark humor, and a compelling character study. As the name implies, Batman Begins tells the story of how billionaire Bruce Wayne became the pointy eared crime fighter defending Gotham City from a series of costumed villians.
We start off in a faraway unnamed Asian country where a bearded, haggard looking Bruce Wayne is in some strange prision camp, having flashbacks of his rich childhood before being taken in by Liam Neeson and a bunch of ninjas. This first section of the film is just a bit frustrating and confusing but the payoff of what it reveals later on in the film makes it a worthy investment. Although, at first you might be wondering if Nolan is doing the same backwards storytelling he did in Memento. After returning to Gotham, many people thinking he was dead, Bruce Wayne makes a pledge to "clean up the city". Alfred, his ever faithful butler, played here by the one and only Michael Caine is more involved and willing to assist in Wayne's Batman transformation then previously hinted at before in most of the comic and the other films. The also one and only Morgan Freeman plays a scientist regulated to the basement of Wayne Enterprises. The presents of such great and distinguished actors not only bring some level of grace and authority to the film but their characters help answer several questions in the Batman mythology. In fact, this film is blessed with an amazing cast. Besides Bale, Neeson, Caine and Freeman, Tom Wilkinson (Eternal Sunshine, In the Bedroom) is a ruthless crime boss and Gary Oldham (actually NOT the villian in this one) is the one good cop in town, a future commissioner Gordon. Katie Holmes is a district attorney and Bruce Wayne's love interest and although she was probably miscast and a bit too young for the role, she does a good job and hold her own.
The fictional city of Gotham is a character itself. It is a dark, futuristic urban nightmare much in the vain of Blade Runner. The set design and art direction are fantastic. It is so refreshing to see a big budget film not solely rely on computerized effects.
For a comic book action flick, this is a very well written film. There is an extremely intriguing plot concerning an evil psychologist/scarecrow mask wearing, nightmare creator wickedly portrayed by a marvelous Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) drugging Gotham using the city's water supply and driving them mad. And somehow none of this seems too outrageous and so far out that you are not completely sucked in.
The humor, often supplied by Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, is well balanced with the intense action and darker dramatic elements. Taking ques from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies, Batman Begins thrives to be more than just a 1 dimensional comic strip and it succeeds. It is an involving and highly entertaining. By the end credits you will be ready for a sequel, which by the looks of it, won't be too far away.
