Batman Begins - Ray's Review

Batman Begins
2005
141 mins

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by David Goyer and Christopher Nolan

Starring:
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
Michael Caine as Alfred
Liam Neeson as Ducard
Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow
Ken Watanabe as Ra's Al Ghul
Morgan Freenman as Lucius Fox

More info available at IMDb - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/

The Optimist:
Well where to begin? I mean really, how long have I - as a Batman fan - been waiting for this? A decent Batman film where low and behold, Batman is actually the central focus? Tim Burton's 1989 version whet my appetite and gave me a tease of what could potentially be something awesome. But alas it took the film community 5 films and 16 years to finally nail it. But hey, at least it is finally here.

I enjoyed the first 3 Batman films. I thought Michael Keaton had his moments and I enjoyed the circus freak-show that was Batman Begins. I even enjoyed aspects of the neon Batman Forever. Batman and Robin requires no more bashing does it? But all along, after each film finished I shouted at the screen "Why the hell aren't these films about Batman?". Who is he and why is he doing what he does? Well that has finally been explored satisfactorily in the classy Batman Begins.

I love American Psycho and always said Christian Bale would be the ultimate Batman. When I heard he'd actually got the part I was overjoyed. I was fairly excited that a 'cult' type director would be behind it (but had concerns over how he would handle the action) and I was stoked that an experienced and passionate comic writer/fan would pen the script. The result: A nearly perfect Batman origin film.

There are very few scenes that do not have either Bruce Wayne or Batman on screen. He is almost exclusively the focus, which is appropriate in a film called Batman wouldn't you say? You've probably seen the film by now but here's the plot in a nutshell for the few of you who haven't. Bruce Wayne's parents were shot dead in front of him when he was a child. He is unable to exact his revenge so he goes to Asia and spends time in a brutal prison to explore the nature of evil. A mysterious man called Ducard (Liam Neeson) frees him and then trains him in the art of ninjitsu. There are some great scenes during this training and I applaud the filmmakers for having the balls to devote so much time to developing Bruce Wayne's background and holding out in breaking out the bat-suit. It gives you a fantastic sense of anticipation (assuming you are the patient type) and once he finally returns to Gotham City to kick butt, you will chomping at the bit to finally see Batman. But first you will have to wait even longer! Yep, it goes the route of Spiderman and has Bruce Wayne wearing a temporary outfit on his first night 'out on the town'.

OK but is it good? In short - hell yeah! Christain Bale totally rocks as Bruce Wayne/Batman - he has the acting skills and the physicality to convince you he is actually capable of doing what he does. Michael Caine is cast perfectly as his dependable Butler/father figure and utilises what little screen time he has brilliantly. The baddies are more believable then past efforts (but still relatively ridiculous, but after all this is based on a comic) and don't steal precious screen time away from Bruce/Batman. However the baddies do have a silly "let's destroy Gotham city" scheme that I guess was necessary but still grated a little with me (I'll let the cynic get to that in a moment).

The film looks great and Gotham City is far more based in reality then previous interpretations. In fact the whole film has a grounded feeling that makes you care and feel for characters more then you ever could in the comic book land of Burton and Schumacher.

Writing wise I much preferred it to other popular comic films. It doesn't prattle on with tedious speeches about responsibilities of a hero like Spiderman and it doesn't bore you with self-important monologues like some X-Men characters did. Considering how much is packed into this origin film I think Goyer did a commendable job in balancing all it's components.

Worth noting is that for the first time ever Batman is actually scary! This has been so totally ignored in previous films that it hadn't even occurred to me Batman had this potential, but now it seems obvious. Why else would you dress like a freaky animal that has long had connections with darkness and fear? Batman manipulates and confuses his enemies until they are terrified and then he strikes when he has the upper hand. He is conscious of the power of symbols, he knows how frightening his visage is. Speaking of his outfit, this is the first film to explain the in and outs of where he gets his suit and toys, how they are constructed and what their uses are (pretty much Morgan Freeman's entire purpose in the film).

Many reviews have pointed out that Katie Holmes character seems trivial and could have been replaced by Harvey Dent as a build up to him becoming Two-Face in a later film. Personally I didn't mind her presence and I'm not sure that having yet another central male character would have made it any better. She was Bruce Wayne's conscience - simple and necessary.

Another thing worthy of note is that for once it is believable that people can't recognise Bruce Wayne when he is in his Batman suit. Somehow they managed to make him look extremely different. Perhaps it is Bale's almost genetically engineered handsomeness that helps pull this off?

It's difficult to stop writing about the good points as there are many, but at the end of the day, this is the first fulfilling Batman film and I recommend it highly for those who felt disappointed by previous efforts and for those who enjoy blockbusters which require a little more 'brain participation' then usual.

The Cynic:
Christopher Nolan did a bang-up job of everything except the action. And in a film that is essentially classified as an action film this is a pretty big problem. If he paid the level of attention to the action scenes that he did to character development we would have the perfect Batman film - but alas he goes the route of so many filmmakers these days, which is to shoot everything well except the action scenes. For some reason they film these up close and constantly shake the camera around, the result being that you can not follow the action at all and are therefore unengaged in these crucial moments. I can understand him not wanting to show too much of Batman as it may subtract from his enigmatic presence. Also I can understand him not wanting to clearly show Batman throwing big kicks and punches -Nolan may have feared he would make him look silly- but it's no excuse for the terribly shot action scenes we have here. Don't get me wrong, I would have hated nothing more then ridiculous Matrix type fight scenes and John Woo slow-motion, but there is a mid-ground I think he could've found. A little more clarity to the proceedings is all I ask. Treat the action with as much respect as you would any other scene. He does better with the non hand to hand action but still, action is clearly not his forte. I hope this is improved in the inevitable sequels.

I also disliked the baddies scheme to kill everyone in Gotham City. I really hoped Goyer would find a way to avoid the whole 'bad guy's have a diabolical plan involving a stupid and unbelievable device that can kill lots of people for some dumb and badly motivated reason'. I hated the machine that Magneto had at the end of X-Men and I hated Doc Ock's machine in Spiderman 2 and am incredulous that these guys went down this route too. There must be better sinister motivations out there for bad guys to have... right?

Many reviewers have critisised Bale's use of an alternate voice for Batman. I have no problem with it. In an interview Bale spoke about how he felt that Bruce Wayne is a different man when he's in the suit, that he's more of an animal, more primal. I can think of other reasons for Bruce Wayne to speak differently in the Bat suit too, such as keeping his real identity a secret and also to simply sound menacing. Good enough for me.

My only other main gripe is the humour. It works in a few places (particularly coming from Michael Caine) but otherwise - in the context of an extremely dark film - it seems forced. But in the grand scheme of things this is a very minor complaint.

Tim Burton and Schumacher took the over-the-top comic book route, Nolan does the opposite and ground's Batman Begins in a fairly convincing reality. In doing so he loses some of the spectacle attached to a film about a superhero and the cold tone may ruin it for some people. I feel somewhere between these two styles (comic and reality) would be the perfect Batman film for me. But I have a feeling the tone of the sequel will probably be lighter and with the origin story out of the way we can expect a lot more action.

Overall I recommend Batman Begins highly and I look forward to viewing it in the comfort of my own home and seeing if the action is any more comprehendible on a smaller screen.