Critter's Cave

If nothing else, Batman Begins does one thing right: It makes one forget that the last four movies were ever made. This movie is meant to “reset” the Batman motion picture franchise, and does so admirably.

While the story line in no way resembles that of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One story, it is clear that director Christopher Nolan(Memento) and screenwriter David S. Goyer (Blade) were heavily influenced by it. The brown and bronze tones that dominated the Miller story are seen here in Wally Pfister’s cinematography, and several characters – including corrupt police detective Flass and mob boss Carmine Falcone – are present. One of the things that Miller was able to get across in his landmark graphic novel was that Gotham was a real city, but a diseased city that is rotting from the inside out. This is not the towering, Art Deco-Impressionistic Gotham of Tim Burton’s movies – this is a decaying Gotham, still recovering from a devastating depression. This is a Gotham with corrupt government officials, a crime-riddled, victimized lower class, and an upper class not willing to do anything about either so as not to risk their wealthy lifestyle. This is a Gotham that needs a symbol like Batman to spur the city into action to save itself.
Symbols and their meaning are a theme that run through the film, but this is really a film about fear. From Bruce Wayne’s childhood trauma-induced fear of bats to the aforementioned upper class’ fear of losing their lifestyle, this is a film about recognizing the source of and overcoming one’s fears, and about using fear as a weapon against others.
The film opens with Bruce(Christian Bale) in a (presumably) Tibetan prison, where he is recruited by Ducard (Liam Neeson) to become a member of the Legion of Shadows, a group led by Ra’s Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe), dedicated to righting justice where necessary, by whatever means. Through a series of flashbacks intercut with his Shadow training we learn about his parents’ violent murder and how he started on the course that eventually brought him to the Legion.
Bruce learns that his moral code will not allow him to become a member of the Legion, so he breaks with them and returns to Gotham where, with the help of lifelong butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and Wayne Enterprises employee Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), he forges his Batman identity.
The fear theme is continued in Gotham, and is embodied by the Scarecrow – psychologist Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy). Using his fear gas to induce hallucinogenic psychoses in his patients, he has a plane to take control of Gotham by dumping the chemical components of his gas into the Gotham water system, then vaporizing the water so the entire city descends into madness and chaos.
To help him thwart the Scarecrow’s plan, Batman enlists the aid of one of the few good cops in Gotham, Det. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and an assistant DA Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes – I know – Dawes – Dawson’s Creek – they didn’t need to hit us over the head with it did they? ), conveniently one of Bruce’s childhood friends. They manage to take the Scarecrow out, only to discover the danger isn’t over. Anyone very familiar with the comic books will figure out the twist early on, but those only familiar with the movies will be somewhat surprised.
I really enjoyed this movie. Christian Bale brings a believability to BOTH sides of the role that the previous actors really did not. I couldn’t really see Michael Keaton as a convincing playboy millionaire, and I couldn’t see Val Kilmer or George Clooney donning tights (and a massive codpiece…). Bale, on the other hand, plays a Bruce Wayne that can do the brainless megarich leisure-seeking playboy act while at the same time is always watching, thinking, planning. The birthday party scene is a brilliant example of this duality. He is equally believable as the Dark Knight, out for justice and dispensing it as he sees fit. I think it works in large part because Christian Bale doesn’t have too many roles that people would recognize – he doesn’t bring a lot of baggage with him. He has been working in Hollywood since he was a child, but most fans might only know him from Reign of Fire, American Psycho, and Empire of the Sun, if at all. This gives him a level of anonymity that the general public needs in a project like this. They took this guy that a lot of people don’t know, then gave him a supporting cast consisting of some of the best actors around – the same formula that worked for Superman: The Movie.
This movie goes right up there with Superman: The Movie and Spider-man 2 as one of the greatest comic-book movies of all time. 5 out of 5 stars – no question.
Now, if only Joss Whedon can nail Wonder Woman (sigh…no pun intended – get your minds out of the gutter!).