(Some people are just not cut out to be shallow, vapid billionaires without a sense of purpose… Unlike me...)
CAST: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy.
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
WARNING: SPOILERS and brooding billionaires ahead...
In order to understand my feelings about BATMAN BEGINS, you need to understand my feelings about all the other BATMAN movies that preceded it. I thought BATMAN (1989) was okay, but highly overrated. In fact, I recall someone from PREMIERE magazine calling it “the biggest case of mass hypnosis since Reagan ran for reelection.” Ha-ha. Wish I’d come up with that one. Anyhow, it’s sequel, BATMAN RETURNS, on the other hand was severely underrated. Darker than the original, edgy, and ahead of its time, it also sported one of the most interesting female characters ever in Catwoman, as wonderfully essayed by the lovely Michelle Pfeiffer. Then, we started to slide into day-glo technicolor territory with BATMAN FOREVER, which was fun but unremarkable. Then we started to slide into “will someone call this guy a cab already?” territory with BATMAN AND ROBIN, which was less fun and even less remarkable than its predecessor. By this fourth outing, the series was looking dangerously close to a Mardi Gras celebration gone very, very wrong - filled with strange partygoers you wish would just hail a cab and go home already.
So - the reboot that is BATMAN BEGINS came along, and not a second too soon. This film takes the series back to its roots - and then some. Treating the story with refreshing seriousness, director Christopher Nolan actually sells the idea that an emotionally-damaged billionaire would devote his time - and riches to… dressing up like a bat and fighting evil. It helps when you have a stellar cast that treats the material with a straight-face and no tongue-in-cheek. Another bonus is the script by David Goyer which feels like a pulse-pounding thriller. Approaching the source material this way gives it something that none of the earlier BATMAN films (with the possible exception of BATMAN RETURNS) ever had: suspense.
We trace the evolution of Bruce Wayne from his innocent days as the heir to the Wayne fortune. We watch as he witnesses the murder of his parents at the hands of a hoodlum, and see how that scars him. We watch him as a young man fresh from college as he tries to take justice in his own hands. We see the disappointment that childhood pal Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) feels for him when she realizes how close he came to being a vigilante. Needless to say, Brucie has demons. No, that’s not accurate enough - his demons have demons. Naturally, he does what anyone fighting insidious inner voices should do - get away from it all and go on vacation. Only in this case, he goes to Tibet for seven years or something and finds himself turning into (1) a thief, then (2) a fugitive, then (3) a student at mountaintop convent. How’s that for an itinerary? Bet you’ll never bitch out your tour guide again for cutting out beach day.
At this secluded retreat, Bruce finds himself under the tutelage of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) a dour and sage dude quite skilled in Martial Arts. Bruce learns at lot from Ducard, and proves to be the model student. Ducard is part of the League of Shadows, as is a mysterious person names Ras-Al-Gul (Ken Watanabe) and wants Bruce to join as well. Problem is that one has to be ruthless-with-a-capital-R in order to be part of the LoS posse. It’s this last lesson that Bruce can’t quite master, and he fails his final test when he is ordered to kill a criminal. This leads to an all-out battle that leads to the monastery getting trashed - and Ducards' ass whupped by his favorite student. Ooops.
Certain that he can find another stinkin’ mentor and seriously jonesing for a Big Mac, Bruce returns to Gotham where, in short order, he does the following: (1) become Batman; (2) piss of Rachel, now an ADA, with his playboy theatrics, and (3) really piss off the city’s criminal underworld by beating the crap out of it. His tangles with the darker side of Gotham also ensnare Chief James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Rachel, who has been trying to indict several of the city’s crime lords - only to watch them get off on an insanity loophole indorsed by Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy). Soon, she comes to suspect the not-so-good Doctor is up to dirty tricks of his own. While she pursues this line of investigation, Batman and Chief Gordon bear down on the crime bosses, learning that a Big Fish is due to arrive in Gotham very soon. A Big Fish named….. Ras Al Gul. Except, when he arrives, Ras Al Gul turns out to be none other than Bruce’s old mentor, Henri Ducard - ready to kick some billionaire ass over the colossal wedgie he got on that mountain-top.
This all leads to a climax wherein Dr. Crane and Ras Al Gul try to drive the inhabitants of Gotham with a nerve gas that brings their worst nightmares to life. Never fear, though, because Brucie didn’t become Batman just to give vent to a flying-rodent fetish. He actually wants to fight crime and injustice - and fight it he does. Rachel pitches in, too, when she fries Dr. Crane’s face with a tazer in a scene that is both scary and hilarious at the same time. Finally, Ducard and Batman face off on a runaway train carrying gallons and gallon of the nerve gas. Guess who lives? As the movie ended with Bruce and Rachel facing an uncertain future, all I could think of was, “good thing I didn’t sniff any of that nerve gas, otherwise I’d be surrounded by a million digested hamburgers seeking revenge.”
BUT, SERIOUSLY: BATMAN BEGINS brings gravity, intelligence, and class to the Batman Mythos. Everything about this film is just right. Christian Bale finds all the levels of strength, uncertainty, and humanity in Bruce - and makes his decision to become Batman understandable. Liam Neeson is a nicely-layered villain whose motivations you can understand, even if you can’t quite condone his actions. Michael Caine does a warm, droll turn as Alfred. Some quarters have knocked Katie Holmes’ presence, but I think she’s fine. She sells her no-bullshit character very easily. The only minus isn’t really her fault: she and Bale just don’t have much romantic chemistry. It’s more brother-and-sister. Gary Oldman, Ken Watanabe, and Cillian Murphy are all terrific in their supporting turns.
Christopher Nolan’s assured direction of David Goyer and co.’s script is also commendable. You can feel when a director has a connection with the material, as opposed to going through the motions, and there is a definite kinetic link between Nolan and BATMAN BEGINS. Finally, it would be remiss of me to not mention Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s phenomenal score. In fact, I think the music is this film’s secret weapon. It complements an already-strong product, and in certain sections, lifts it up into the dizzying heights of great cinema.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…. I present: THE DARK KNIGHT. Coming up next…..
