Batman Begins

Director Christopher Nolan is rebooting the Dark Knight with a ever darker style. It is faux realism. He starts off with the death of Bruces' parents. After not able to kill their killer, Bruce is in a Chinese prison where he meets the mysterious Ra's Al Ghul. It is the anti-Obi-Wan Kenobi. His message is a dark perversion of Justice. When he returns to Gotham, he invents Batman.

There are two things that keep this from an even more impressive start of Nolan's Batman Trilogy. The first is Katie Holmes. She is not up to the task. She is still playing that little girl character from Dawson's Creek. She doesn't have the seriousness or gravitas to play this gutsy lawyer character. It's a big character, and not just another girlfriend.

The second is that Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) isn't a big enough villain. The evil plan has too much of a silly Bond feeling. It is too unrealistic in a Batman movie that is suppose to be realistic. It leaves a bad taste for the climatic ending. Other than those two, this is still a great start to the trilogy. It sets the tone for the final two.

A plunge into the depths creates real fear, as out of darkness swarming beasts cause to appear, later at, the opera, you start to tremble, shake and cower, leads to an exit, where the price is quite severe. Some years later and a journey is begun, from the light into the shadows where you run, as Ra's al Ghul becomes mentor, or is he just, a tormentor, the cycle closes, returning to the forsaken. A new friend is made and doors begin to slide, finding technologies, to halt and stop the tide, tools to fight, the criminals, mobsters without principles, a winged vigilante, in Gotham City, now resides.

I had fearful reservations about this one. I loved Tim Burton's Batman - 12 years old when it came out I was the perfect age for it and I also enjoyed Batman Returns. The franchise went so wrong under Joel Schumacher that I wasn't sure I wanted it resurrected. Not least because Batman was one of the few comics I read and enjoyed as a kid and was always my favourite superhero. I grew up reading the comics, watching reruns of the Adam West TV show and then getting Burton's celluloid vision. I was spoilt for choice as a kid but as an adult now I was concerned revisiting the franchise, especially given Warner's record over the last decade of screwing up summer blockbusters with potential all over the place (dare I bring up the Matrix sequels?)

However, I am pleased to report I could not have been more wrong about how great Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins is. This is better than Burton. Sacrilege, you say?! Well Burton was still cartoony in many elements, he wasn't churning out the bilge of Schumacher but Burton's Batman was still over the top. As a kid this was ideal but Nolan's Batman is real. Everything in this world seems plausible and it is therefore a world that draws you in. Characters' vulnerability is that much more present. Every bruise, every scare, every concern, every emotion seems real.

Part of this is that Nolan has assembled an exemplary cast. Again, this concerned me prior to seeing the film. I wasn't sure a cast of big name legends like Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman and well known names like Liam Neeson and Katie Holmes wouldn't detract and distract from Batman. I was always sure Christian Bale could be the great moody Batman he's been waiting his career to be but the others I wasn't so sure about.

That said Bale is not just good, he's superb. I never thought I'd really be able to envision anyone other than Michael Keaton as the definitive Batman for me but since seeing Batman Begins a couple of days ago Bale has cemented himself in the position. Perhaps Keaton will now be able to escape the spectre of Batman he hasn't truly shaken off for 13 years.

The rest of the cast is also pitch perfect. Cillian Murphy is creepy as hell, Liam Neeson is authoritative and imposing, Katie Holmes is strong and sexy (I particularly thought she'd be insipid, she should jettison Tom Cruise and let her talent - which she does have naysayers just watch Pieces Of April - speak for itself) and Michael Caine is an Alfred you've never seen but in fact far more likely as a butler than the aristocratic pomp with which he is usually portrayed. Gary Oldman is also superb in a rare wholly decent character for him as Lieutenant Jim Gordon who gets far more to so here than Gordon has ever had to do before. Only Tom Wilkinson is a little off with a slightly comedic wise-guy American accent that never really convinces.

The emotional bond between Bruce Wayne and Alfred is actually a wonderful human heart to the film than Nolan and Goyer have written perfectly.

Don't let that make you think the action is not front and centre though. From Wayne's training through the early stages of the film to his early missions as Batman at about the half way point to a thrillingly choreographed chase sequence and an edge of your seat finale this film delivers the cool quotient in bucket loads.

Great villains (especially Murphy), great story, great cast, great action... put simply, great film. Probably the best comic-book movie ever made (that's excluding the genius Sin City which I consider a moving comic-book rather than a comic-book movie, that will never be bettered but Batman is a different beast and the best of its kind).

Batman Begins is a well told story of the origin of Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale). It covers a lot of the same ground as Michael Keaton's original Batman, but goes much further in depth in many factors of his creation. It goes into great detail about subjects such as how he got his costume, what exactly it is. Same goes with the Batmobile. We also find out why he chose to be bat-like.

One of the more interesting aspects here is how it shows Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne (Linus Roache), and how he molded Bruce's life and instilled good judgment within him, a point which is misunderstood about him by most people he comes in contact with. Thomas, too, teaches Bruce valuable lesson, such as "We fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up". This is pretty close to the theme of the movie or motto Bruce Wayne lives by. The resemblance of the father & son is pretty good, too.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the training Bruce Wayne endured becoming "invincible". Bruce is trained by Ducard (Liam Neeson) in many ways like a ninja (The concept of Batman IS similar to a ninja). He is taught many valuable lessons in this temple and is shown no mercy. Eventually, we even see his first real enemy as a superhero/vigilante.

Although I am not positive as to how true to the comic book this movie is, I am sure it took a few liberties, as did Spider-Man. Most of the small examples I have noticed are for the better and make for a good story. The Batmobile is more believable as an expensive armored vehicle that the military would not spend the money on than a juiced up Corvette (or whatever that was). Same with the Batsuit.

Katie Holmes is excellent as Rachel Dawes, a D.A. who is not afraid to go after the big villains in court. Also worthy of mentioning is Michael Caine as Alfred the butler. I do not believe they could have found a better man for that role, although I could not get the image of Caine as Austin Powers' dad out of my head when he was on screen.

Finally, in my opinion, Christian Bale makes a much better Batman than the three recent previous ones in Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Something about him makes Batman darker and more mysterious. Hopefully, DC Comics and movies have learned from their mistakes and we will not have to worry about Batman picking up a sidekick in this newest installment of the Batman series. 9/10

I've just come back from a preview screening of Batman Begins. I went in with low expectations, despite the excellence of Christopher Nolan's previous efforts. Talk about having your expectations confounded! This film grips like wet rope from the start. I won't give away any of the story; suffice to say it mixes and matches its sources freely, tossing in a dash of Frank Miller, a bit of Alan Moore and a pinch of Bob Kane to great effect.

What's impressive is that despite the weight of the franchise, Nolan has managed to work so many of his trademarks into a mainstream movie. The story does not progress in linear fashion for the first half, and there are some truly spectacular hallucination scenes. Parents thinking of taking their young kids along, think twice. When we left, a terrified 8-year-old boy was being comforted by his parents. Some of what's up there on screen really is the stuff of nightmares.

Of the cast of Brits chosen to bring this American tale to the masses, Christian Bale convinces in his dual role, while Michael Caine as Alfred comes up with the humour just when the film is in danger of taking itself too seriously. Gary Oldman and Tom Wilkinson provide able support, as does Morgan Freeman.

Most refreshing of all is the way that Nolan and co have come up with a way of bringing comics to the screen that does justice to the often adult source material in a way that, say, Daredevil, tried and failed to do (although the director's cut is better). If the Dark Knight doesn't return after this, there's no justice.