Batman Begins Review

 

      Batman has quite a cinematic journey. People tend to think that Michael Keaton was the first actor to portray the caped crusader. In actuality, Adam West was the first when he starred in Batman: The Movie. The film acted as a feature length extension of the Batman series that was airing in the sixties. There wouldn’t be another Batman film for twenty-three years. Tim Burton and Warner Bros. released Batman in 1989. This adaptation portrayed the dark knight as a gritty hero. Most people had a notion of the great detective as a campy superhero, when in reality, his comics were dark and gritty.

       Burton’s film was a massive success and was part of a loaded ‘89 summer blockbuster which included hits such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Dead Poets Society to name a few. The financial achievement of the adaptation prompted an animated series to be created. The sequel Batman Returns was the start of the slow downturn of Batman films. While it was well received with critics, it made less than the first one. The film was littered with Burton’s macabre motif that may have contributed to the low box office.

       Since the series was a money maker at Warner, the executives decided to give Joel Schumacher a shot to direct the next sequel. Batman Forever was quite literally the exact opposite of the former two. For instance, Gotham City was now more colorful, and the villains were way over the top. The overall feel and tone of the sequel is inconsistent of what had come before. The film contained aspects that made it more family friendly and harkened back to the Adam West series.

       Eventually, the success of the series can only go so far. Batman and Robin is considered one of the worst comic book movies of all time. The failure of the film was not entirely the director’s fault. Behind the scenes, the executives wanted Schumacher to make the sequel more “toyetic”. Meaning that the studio wanted to make toys to sell to kids. Hilariously, the villain Poison Ivy says this exact quote which only projects the studio’s want by saying, “I’m a lover, not a fighter. That’s why every Poison Ivy action figure comes complete with him!” The film was a disaster and an unintentional parody of the series. It promptly killed the franchise.

      There would be years until the next Batman will make its way back into theaters. Warner tapped director Christopher Nolan to direct a new Batman film. He started making a name for himself with the mind-bending film Memento. Batman Begins managed to save the brand’s image and reinvent the hero. There will be SPOILERS in the review.

1.      Story

            Since it has Begins in the title, the film is a reinterpretation of the Batman origins. The film starts with a nonlinear approach by switching from Bruce’s youth to him getting training with a group called the “League of Shadows”. What is interesting is that this is the first time we see Batman get an origin story. For Batman in ’89, we get flashbacks of Bruce’s parents death but never a concise look of just how the inspiration came from.

            When Wayne makes it back to Gotham, I feel that it is more interesting. We see just how Bruce is different from the affluent side of the city. As well as using his company to equip himself to be the caped crusader. Even throw in a shell company to at least be realistic with the film’s approach. We have the usual villain pop up. Although, I feel that it was too convenient that Scarecrow is in cahoots with Ra’s Al Ghul. 

2.      Grounded Realism.

            To put it in perspective, this was literally the opposite of Fox’s X-Men series and Sony’s Spider-Man series. It really utilized the grounded realism so perfectly. The gear and tech make this Batman so realistic. When Bruce was training with the league. I felt that most of what the members used, prompted Bruce to emulate the same weapons that the league was using. Like I mentioned earlier, the way Bruce gets most of the suit was a bit ingenious. Since, I would hardly believe that he would create the batsuit from raw materials. Just the fact that the Wayne Company would have the suit gathering dust made sense for Bruce to snoop around.

            Now, the batmobile is a tank of a car. I feel that it tried to be different from what came before, but amplifying to eleven. Hell, it’s called the Tumbler. The other interpretation of the car looked streamlined up until the Schumacher films where the batmobile looked phallic.

3.      What I liked

            The movie is probably one of my favorites in terms of comic book movies in the 2000s. It must’ve been a massive hurdle to reinvent an iconic character. Christian Bale is my favorite to portray the playboy and the Batman. While he’s not living in an ostentatious lifestyle, I really like how he’s humble and attempts to regain his company from corporate hacks. The supporting actors do a really great job. Michael Cane and Morgan Freeman own the roles as Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox. Gary Oldman does a good Jim Gordon, finally looks like his character from the comics. For the villains side, Liam Neeson is a pretty good formidable villain. He has depth and reasons as to why he wants to wipe out Gotham City.

            Speaking of, the overall feel of Gotham City feels right. I really like the brownish color scheme that captures the vibe of the city, even in the section of the city called The Narrows. That place feels like it was built on a set because of just how tight the buildings and the ground look. Speaking of, parts of the movie was made with miniatures. In the final fight scene, the train derailing was all practical.

            Batman is an intimidating character. The moment where he stops the drug peddlers in the port is probably the best scene in the film. The level of tension and anxiety when Batman knocks out the lights and snatches the goons work to create the level of fear and anxiety. The voice works. I didn’t have a problem with it despite the jokes that popped up later in time.

4.      The Bad

            One of the biggest missed opportunities was with Scarecrow. He could’ve been a real threat to the dark knight. He only got a few minutes of screen time. The way he gets defeated is such a travesty. Rachel Dawes played by Katie Holmes tases Scarecrow. A promising villain, wasted. Like I mentioned earlier, I felt that it was too convenient that he is working with Ra’s Al Ghul to subvert Gotham. Speaking of which.

            Throughout the film, Liam Neeson plays the character “Ducard”. We see who we are led to believe as Ra’s Al Ghul played by Ken Watanabe. When the temple for the League of Shadows goes up in flames, Ra’s died. Then in Bruce’s party scene, we see that Neeson plays the actual Ra’s Al Ghul. Including another decoy that has the iconic moustache. I felt that it got irritating since the need of decoys.

            The overall use of fear in the dialogue gets a bit mind-numbing. Compounding that the villain Scarecrow’s bit involves fear toxins which he sprays.

5.      Overall

            With all my complaints out of the way. This is probably one of the most unexpected and unique takes on a beloved comic book icon. I felt bad for myself since I watched The Dark Knight first before delving into this one. Overall, this is one of the best origin stories I have ever seen and easily in one of my favorite Christopher Nolan film    

Batman Begins gets a four out of five.