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Dan Owen reviews
- Cert:
- Running time: 141 minutes
- Year: 2005
- Released: 16th June 2005
- Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Panavision)
- Sound: DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, SDDS
Director:
- Christopher Nolan
(The Exec, Insomnia, Memento)
Producers:
- Larry J. Franco, Benjamin Melniker, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Cheryl A. Tkach & Michael E. Uslan
Screenplay:
- Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer
(based on characters created by Bob Kane)
Cinematographer:
- Wally Pfister
Music:
- James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer
Cast:
- Bruce Wayne/Batman: Christian Bale
Ducard: Liam Neeson
Alfred: Michael Caine
Lieutenant Jim Gordon: Gary Oldman
Lucius Fox: Morgan Freeman
Rachel Dawes: Katie Holmes
Dr Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow: Cillian Murphy
Carmine Falcone: Tom Wilkinson
Earle: Rutger Hauer
Ra’s Al Ghul: Ken Watanabe
Tim Burton jump-started the comic-book movie with 1989’s Batman.
Burton’s gothic realism segued into purer fantasy in 1992’s Batman Returns, untilJoel Schumacher offered his neon permeated re-imagining with 1995’s BatmanForever, before destroying the franchise with Batman & Robin in 1997.
Now, eight years later, British director Christopher Nolan unleashes a moredynamic and realistic take on the Caped Crusader with Batman Begins; thefirst movie to explain the origins of the titular hero. This is less aprequel and more a rethink of the Batman mythology. David S. Goyer’sscreenplay – focused by Nolan, but relatively unchanged – finds Bruce Wayneas a tormented billionaire (with a phobia of bats) who commits himself toavenging the death of his parents at the hands of a thug.
Years later, Wayneabandons his rich lifestyle to get inside the psyche of criminals bybecoming one himself before meeting the enigmatic Ducard (Liam Neeson) inthe Far East. Ducard is a member of The League Of Shadows, led by mysticRa’s Al Ghul, who train Wayne to conquer his fears.
As you’ve no doubt guessed, Wayne’s torturous training and eventual returnto Gotham City leads to him embracing his fears and inverting them on theunderworld to become Batman a winged avenger of crime who uncovers anefarious plot between crime boss Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and Arkham Asylumpsychiatrist Dr Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy).
Batman Begins offers an art-house experience similar to Ang Lee’s Hulk,blessed with a cast of veteran character actors (Rutger Hauer), AcadamyAward Winners (Morgan Freeman), movie stars (Liam Neeson), film legends(Michael Caine), and up-and-coming young talent (Christian Bale). The castis simply phenomenal, with each actor involved because the movie, unlike itsrecent predecessors, treats the material with respect. At heart, allcomic-book movies are fundamentally silly, yet Batman Begins goes to greatlengths to make sure its premise seem plausible. The result is a movie thatexpertly moves between hardboiled crime flick and action-packedsuperheroism.
Christian Bale embodies Bruce Wayne and Batman like no other actor beforehim. As Wayne, he’s sophisticated and debonair, yet uses this public imageto hide deep turmoil and fears. As Batman, his inner chaos finds a voice and he becomes the most threatening incarnation of Batman ever seen. Onesequence where Batman interrogates a criminal by suspending him upsidedown from the side of a tall building – is a genuinely frightening momentthat single-handedly explains why every villain should be on their toes.Bale nails the sinister aspect of Batman completely even making MichaelKeaton’s broody incarnation seem monotone and limp by comparison.
Michael Caine, as loyal butler Alfred, is the most surprising addition tothe cast, but creates a more human creation than Michael Gough managedthroughout his ’90s tenure. Similar gravitas also comes from Morgan Freemanas Lucius Fox purveyor of Wayne Enterprises Applied Sciences division, andconsequently the master-at-arms for Batman’s weaponry.
Katie Holmes performs well as the increasingly clichéd gutsy female, whileCillian Murphy brings a glassy asexual quality to Dr Crane/Scarecrow.Tellingly, in all previous Batman movies, Murphy’s character would have beenthe main antagonist, yet Batman Begins is littered with more humancriminals that take centre stage. Liam Neeson is wonderful as focused mentorDucard, Tom Wilkinson impresses as slimy mobster Falcone, while Gary Oldmanis great value as idealistic cop Lieutenant Gordon.
The impressive cast goes some way to making the movie a success, but theresolutely interesting plot is also a major factor here. The origin ofBatman has been given an overhaul by David Goyer, and consequently makes farmore sense out of the far-fetched notion of a crime-fighting billionaire ina bat-suit. In Act I, the story weaves flashbacks to Bruce Wayne’s childhoodand his later training in the East with great deftness immediately givingthe film a more layered narrative and, therefore, a more adult structurelate than the A-B storytelling of Spider-Man, for example.
The special-effects are very impressive, and not reliant on CGI. There aresome great visuals throughout, given depth by Wally Pfister’s excellentcinematography. The new-style Batmobile effectively an armoured tank isa brave rethink for such an iconic vehicle, and the sound design as it roarsits way through the city, demolishing rooftops and crashing into policecars, is simply fabulous. Sequences where Batman glides across the sky arewell executed, as are the abundant amount of CGI bats. One minor gripe isthat the hallucinogenic affects of Dr Crane’s fear toxin rarely provokesmuch terror because of the film’s certificate rating – although a sequencewith Batman transformed into a black-faced demon is quite chilling.
Musically, Batman Begins is not particularly memorable, and it’s a shame atheme tune (akin to Danny Elfman’s triumphant tune in Burton’s movies)couldn’t be utilized. The movie actually uses two high-profile composers, soit’s a shame neither of them could concoct a new audio signature for Batman.Strangely, it actually seems be a trend in recent comic-book movies to losesuch themes as X-Men, Spider-Man and Hulk have all been musicallyunidentifiable. Let’s hope 2006’s Superman Returns keeps John Williams’iconic theme…
Overall, Christopher Nolan’s reinvention of Batman after the apparent deathtoll of Batman & Robin is a huge success. With help from David Goyer,himself clearly influenced by Frank Miller’s graphic novel The Dark KnightReturns, the movie manages to combine realism with fantasy in a mannerattempted in Hulk, but perfected here.
It is a cause for celebration that all of the principal actors have signed athree-picture deal, as the prospect of Batman’s more theatrical villains(The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin) being grounded in the reality ofBatman Begins is a delicious one worth savouring…
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.