Forget X-Men and forget Spider-Man, Batman Begins is by far the best comic book superhero movie adaptation to hit the big screen in a long time. The movie not only resurrects the franchise, but also brings it back to some of its more gritty elements and comic roots.
The film, which was directed by Christopher Nolan and written by David Goyer, explores the origins of Batman by examining what brought Bruce Wayne to his crime fighting alter-ego, and showing how Batman began his war on crime in Gotham City.
The movie is departure from the glitz and camp that the franchise had spiraled into during the last film “Batman and Robin,” and is a perfect re-start for future sequels that will surely be made.
Nolan and Goyer made sure that they not only brought a story to the screen that was closer in tone to the comics, but also developed a cast that seemed to bring the characters to life in a way that none of the prior films had achieved.
Christian Bale is great casting for both Bruce Wayne and Batman, and the actor does a good job in making sure both characters seem real and vital to the story. Since the movie spends its first half developing the story of Bruce Wayne, Bale makes sure that the audience can see the drive and determination in his performance. Later, his version of Batman is more than just a man in a suit, and almost actually seems a creature created to strike fear in criminal’s hearts.
Liam Neeson, who plays Henry Ducard, Gary Oldman, who plays detective Jim Gordan, Morgan Freeman, who plays Lucius Fox, and the great Michael Caine, who plays Alfred, all make sure their supporting characters stand out and actually add something to the movie’s plot.
Batman Begins brings all the elements and tones of the comic to the screen
Caine’s performance as Alfred is probably the best to be brought to screen, and the actor allows the audience to see more of a father/son relationship between Wayne and his butler. He also brings out the sense of humor and sarcasm that the character has always had in the comics.
Cillian Murphy is brilliant as The Scarecrow, and proves a guy can be scary even with just a burlap sack over his head. He does a great job in showing a person who is truly evil without going extremely overboard as past actors have in the villain role – such as Jim Carey’s horrible portrayal of The Riddler.
The movie also does a great job of mixing action with the more psychological aspects of the Batman character. The film is a huge examination of fear and how it drives people. Bale shows this through Wayne’s need to overcome his own personal demons through his determination to stop evil, and how he uses his own fears as a driving force for his crusade.
The film’s filming and more realistic version of Gotham is a departure from the dark gothic tones of director Tim Burton’s two early movies, and the neon carnival feel of Joel Schumacher’s horrible Batman films. Nolan’s tone and style make the film seem more realistic, and lets you know from the opening seconds that you are not watching the same old Batman movie.<!--page-->
Murphy proves you don’t have to go overboard to be a villain
The film does have some problems, and suffers a bit toward the end when the action takes over the story. The biggest problem in the movie is the Katie Holmes role - which was not really needed for the overall story, and tends to bog the movie down at times. Although there has been a “love interest” in almost all the Batman movies, it isn’t needed, and this film had enough interesting supporting characters without adding Holmes to the script.
The action towards the end of the film seems to shift into overdrive suddenly with the Tumbler destroying half of Gotham as Batman races to the Batcave. This doesn’t ruin the film, but seems a bit rushed compared to some of the other pacing earlier in the movie. By the riot at the end of the film, you are tired, and waiting on Batman to hurry up and finish off the bad guys so the movie can end.
Nolan does a good job of balancing the action with a strong dialogue and story, but it does seem to get away from him a bit as the movie concludes. At the same time, he does a great job ending the movie and leaves you waiting for a sequel that you are just dying to see – two words: The Joker.
The Two-Disc Deluxe Edition of the DVD comes loaded with a ton of special features that any fan of the movie or the Batman comics will love. It also comes with a 72-page collectible comic from DC with the first Batman story written by Bob Kane and two other tales that helped inspire the movie –The Man Who Falls written by Denny O’Neil and The Long Halloween: Chapter One written by Jeph Loeb.
The DVD’s special features include Batman – The Journey Begins which explores the concepts, design and development of the film. It also features discussion on the casting of Bale as Batman, and what lead Nolan to choose the actor. There is also a look at how the actor transformed into Batman, and what he went through to get into the shape needed for the role.
The special features menu can be difficult to use
The special features also look at the design of The Tumbler, which re-invented the look of the traditional Batmobile, and the development and design of Gotham City, The Batcave and Wayne Manor through miniatures, CGI, and other special effects. This is interesting because they discuss how they used miniatures and production drawings as Nolan and Goyer were working on the script in the director’s garage.
Finally, the special features also explore the overall genesis of the Batman character and how he became a cultural icon. This looks at Batman’s influence on film and also has “confidential files” on different characters that make up Batman’s world both on film and in comics.
While the DVD has a ton of special features that any Batman fan will love, the features are a bit hard to navigate thanks to the menu system – which is set-up to look like a comic book version of the film. This is a cool way to do the special features, but you can miss some of them if you are not looking for every little section of a page. Sometimes you have to highlight a puddle under Batman or a single word in the dialogue to access the feature. This can get a bit frustrating if you really just want to watch the features and not miss anything.
Batman Begins was the movie that not only resurrected the franchise, but also brought the character to a level that meets the tone of the comics that inspired the films. It is a fun rollercoaster of a ride to watch, but also has great dialogue and plot.
I would highly recommend the movie to any fan of the comics or anyone who thought there was no chance that Batman could ever compete with some of the comic movies being made today. The movie captures you in the opening minutes and leaves you wanting more when the credits roll at the end.
Batman Begins is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
danaOct 22nd, 2005 - 01:45:05
I thought Katie Holmes was the worst character in this movie. I didn't really like the movie, it was slow to show Batman, and then exploded into action. This gave me a headache. I was just waiting for the movie to end. Of course, I am not a comic book fan, so I didn't appreciate how closely this followed the comic book themes. I did think Michael Caine did a great job as Alfred. Good review, I agreed with almost everything stated, however, I would have given this movie 2 or 3 stars.
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