Batman Begins

This film is © by Warner Brothers, 2005

Starring:

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes
Michael Cane as Alfred
Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard
Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow

Directed by: Christopher Nolan.

RATING:
Batman Begins takes a detour from the previous series of Batman movies by going back to the beginning. Unlike its recent predecessors which became more and more corny with each installment, this film offers a darker and a much more dramatic presentation of Batman. It does take a detour from the traditional origin story to give the character more substance and have an overall more realistic feel to the story.

There is plenty of action in Batman Begins, and plenty of cliché superhero moments including the saving of the damsel in distress along with the shameless plugging of it's soon to be created sequel. Beyond these shortcomings the film goes on to have great success in presenting Batman as a complex and three-dimensional character. Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne, a man who is haunted by the death of his parents when he was a child, and torn between crossing the fine line between vigilante vengeance and plain justice. There is great hatred deep inside Wayne, and he uses Batman to release this anger in a constructive manner. Nevertheless Batman remains a bit of a dark character and does not completely sell out to be a goody-goody superhero we are accustomed in seeing. Behind this character the whole movie takes on darker overtones, which is really how Batman and Gotham should be presented. Batman is a unique superhero as he does not posses any supernatural powers of any kind. He is immensely wealthy though, and can afford all the gadgets and toys that allow him to fight crime which I guess count as some kind of superpower after all.

Liam Neeson is Henry Ducard who is Bruce Wayne's mentor and at the same time ends up being his arch nemesis. This comes about from a difference of perspective between the two men, one who is bent on complete revenge and destruction and another who tries to see things a bit more complicated than that. Cilliam Murphy plays the Scarecrow, in a different way than the original concept of this character. The Scarecrow here is more of a psychological villain, bent on pure sickness yet ends up being only Ducard's pawn. Gotham is a city who has fallen into decay and corruption, which Ducard feels needs to be completely destroyed. Wayne believes Gotham can be saved, in his own ruthless fashion nonetheless. The struggle that ensues is full of action and special effects, yet since Batman is a regular guy it never stretches the imagination too far.

There is one aspect of this film that bothered me a bit and I felt did not work very well. While I am very fond of Katie Holmes, her character really did not have a place in this film. Holmes plays Rachel Dawes, who is a childhood friend of Wayne, a district attorney who shares Batman's vision, and is loosely presented as Wayne's love interest. I felt her whole character was underdeveloped and sort of forced into the plot, probably by the Studio's executives who felt this film needed to fit into a Hollywood formula. The whole relationship between Rachel and Bruce is weak and really does not go anywhere. Why was this here? I thought the plot was strong enough on its own and did not need this embellishment. Fortunately, not much time is spent on this so it did not detract much from the film.

Overall, Batman Begins works rather well. It is an enjoyable movie that delivers in special effects and action, while still delivering a character and setting that is dark and full of passion. Christian Bale was a good selection for this character and while the acting is not the central focus of this film it is not weak either. The plot moves along well and the story works on most levels. I enjoyed watching this film and if the whole forced love interest aspect had been left out it would have been a more cohesive story. If you enjoy these types of fantasy movies then Batman Begins will for sure deliver. I'm not sure if the sequel will have the same effect but this movie offers enough to sand on its own.