Batman Begins

Batman Begins – 2005

**** Out of ****

Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly one of the greatest directors working today. So far, every film he has produced, from his crowning achievement, Memento to his mainstream debut with the physiological thriller Insomnia has been a spectacular success. Upon discovering that it would be Nolan who would helm the reinvention of the Batman franchise, I was intrigued. Such an undertaking was different from his previous works, and while I was very excited, I felt that he would be unable to bring his talent and unique style of filmmaking into such a feature. I was wrong.

Starring the always fantastic Christian Bale as the Dark Knight, these two would pair up again in The Prestige and prove that they are one of the best director/actor pairs working today. Batman Begins is an origin piece, telling us how Bruce Wayne became the vigilante and explores his early years in Gotham. Unlike Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns which were pure camp, Nolan makes Batman Begins into a moody and gritty period piece which is no more a “Batman” movie than chess is a sport.

After the murder of his parents, Bruce leaves Gotham to become a petty crime fighter, moving in and out of prisons, trying to quell the sorrow and guilt he feels for their deaths. Eventually he meets a mysterious stranger (Liam Neeson) who speaks for the leader of an ancient brotherhood, Raz-AL-Ghoule (Ken Wantanabe) who wishes to inaugurate him and teach him their secrets. Returning to Gotham a new man, he finds things have taken a turn for the worse; Mob bosses control the city, poverty strangles the citizens and a sinister plan lurks that threatens to destroy the city itself. Wayne finds allies with an employee of his father’s old company Wayne Enterprises, Luscious Fox, played by Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman as the last honest cop, Jim Gordon who share his passion for justice. Somehow the evil scarecrow, played excellently by Cillian Murphy, is entangled in the plot to destroy Gotham and with the help of district attorney Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) they try to figure out how.

With the back story in place it instantly deepens the batman character and makes him troubled and human. In Nolan’s batman fancy gadgets are kept to a minimum, there is no Batmobile and the entire movie is devoid of camp or aspects that are unbelievable. Instead it is violent, dark and atmospheric, which makes for a much more appropriate background for a character such as Batman. This movie is not a sequel, as subsequent films will feature the same characters as the previous instalments, such as the Joker. It is always refreshing when a filmmaker chooses to opt for a total revamp, rather then a sequel; as seen with Casino Royale in the Bond franchise. Not only does it refresh tired subject matter, without which we are subjected to films such as Batman and Robin, but gives Nolan not only the creative opportunity to make a legendary series their own, but to immortalize their vision in a piece of legendary pop-culture.

Batman Begins makes you think. It is genuinely gripping and powerful and the package as a whole is not only by far the best of the Batman films, it is one of the finest works of cinema to be produced in a decade.