Movie Review #29: Batman Begins

First off, let me say that I got through half of Batman Forever and could not even bring myself to re-watching Batman & Robin. So I am skipping ahead to the new Batman Begins (2005) movie starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Liam Neison as Henri Ducard, Katie Holmes as Rachel Daws, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Ken Wantanabe as Ra’s al Ghul, and Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon. This film was directed by Christopher Nolan, whose work also includes one of my favourite movies Memento.

The movie opens in the middle of the story. Twenty-something Bruce Wayne is searching for the training he needs to complete his transformation into defender of justice. He finds what he is looking for in the company of Ra’s al Ghul (whose name they mispronounce all throughout the entire movie) and is trained by his assistant Henri Ducard. He returns to Gotham City with a new lease on life and takes out the Scarecrow who is using a fear toxin to turn the residents of Gotham into paranoid lunatics.

The bulk of the story is told through flashbacks in a true Memento fashion. It constantly jumps to different points in Bruce’s life only letting the viewer see what is necessary for the story to progress. The trend with comicbooks and current comic book based movies is to focus on the character, emotion and moral dilemma instead of the superhero action. This worked for Spider-Man, X-Men and Hulk and it also works with Batman Begins. Bruce is the focus, in fact, Batman doesn’t even appear until two-thirds into the movie! This gives the Bat more credibility. We now know who he is and why he does what he does and what he went through to get there. In past movies there was the death of his parents and then - poof - he’s Batman. Now, we understand the years it took to realize his vision.

No flashy coloured lights, no stupid one-liners, no stupid bat-costumes, no bat-nipples. This movie was grounded to reality (for the most part). Nolan makes you believe that Gotham City and the Batman could exist. Subtle details like off-camera paparazzi snapping photos of the billionaire added to the realism this movie needed to break free of the previous Batman travesties. Only complaint - Nolan’s fast editing made every fight scene difficult to see who was who and what was happening.

The Scarecrow was the perfect choice for Batman’s first villain. A second tier villain such as Scarecrow was a worthy opponent for a novice crimefighter instead of pitting him against heavy-hitters like Joker or Two-Face.

Overall, the movie was excellent and will fuel the franchise for decades if they keep the mood and feel as it is in this movie.

Here’s to a sequel!
Toast!