Batman Begins (Editor's Pick) 8/10 October 17th 2005 05:01pm | Posted by: Robert Falconer HNR Senior Editor Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman Directed by: Christopher Nolan Studio: Warner Home Video DVD Release Date: October 18, 2005 DVD Features: See below Number of discs: 2 Format: Color, Special edition, Widescreen Batman Begins Review by Robert Falconer | HNR Senior Editor Premise: Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city. For the first time in Batman’s cinematic history, we have a spiritually faithful rendering of the Dark Knight’s origin tale. Dark and solemn, yet eminently accessible, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins is the film true fans have been waiting to see since Bob Kane first drew the character in 1939 for Detective Comics #27. I won’t go through all the iterations of Batman that have come before—those of you familiar with this character know each and every one of them, probably better than I. Those of you less familiar with the caped crusader probably don’t care. The only significant comparison that needs to be drawn is with Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. Whereas Burton mixed noir with eccentricity, Nolan’s film is noir mixed with quasi-reality and penetrating psychological speculation. The audience more easily identifies with Batman for two important reasons: his motivations are genuine and palpable and his abilities plausible. He doesn’t fly, doesn’t bench press locomotives or spin webs or ignite into flame. He feels, bleeds and sustains injury just like you or I, because he is like you or I. But unlike you or I, he has turned terrible pain and anger into a burning conviction of purpose, a single-minded quest to right injustice by subjecting himself to the highest humanly tolerable regimens of training and endurance; physical, emotional, intellectual. And he has cloaked – literally – all of that in a shadowy symbolism that becomes far greater than the man from whom it is cast, and which thus strikes fear into the hearts of those who would frighten others. “As a symbol I can be incorruptible…I can be everlasting,” Wayne tells his trusty butler, Alfred (Michael Caine). He also has access to some of the coolest gadgets and technology this side of James Bond, and Chris Nolan handles even that with logical aplomb, laying out precisely how it is that our Chiropteran hero comes to acquire this stuff. Recruiting an inexperienced but inspired art-house director to direct a $135 million blockbuster may seem at first glance like an odd strategy. But it is precisely the sensibility that Nolan has demonstrated in other character pieces (think Memento) that gives Batman Begins its resonance and elevates it beyond your run-of-the-mill comic book film with a stillborn plot and brain-dead dialogue. The film kicks off its first act by incorporating a number of flashbacks that help the audience empathize with the tragic loss of Bruce Wayne’s parents – partially instigated by young Bruce’s primal fear of bats – interspersed with present-day sequences in which the young Wayne is ensconced in a filthy Chinese prison, wallowing in grief and self-loathing after having flirted with a self-destructive life of crime. When he is rescued from the Chinese prison by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) who represents the League of Shadows – a secret vigilante brotherhood who have “cleansed” mankind of its sins since the Roman Empire – Wayne travels into the Himalayas and learns the martial arts and theatrical techniques employed by the League for centuries. Though Wayne proves a quick and adept study, he cannot accept the League’s brutal interpretation of justice. He escapes and returns to the moribund Gotham, employing his harnessed fear and aggression, together with his newly acquired skills, to combat the mobsters who have the city in their grip. To strike terror into their hearts he uses the symbol that had once paralyzed him with fear: bats. Bale’s turn at Batman is almost perfectly nuanced. Bruce Wayne’s motivations manage to be somehow indeterminate and indefatigable at the same time—a perfect interpretation of what the tortured yet driven hero ought to be. In homage to Batmans of before, Bale also manages to toss in the token wry witticism we’ve become accustomed to from the billionaire-playboy Wayne, but don’t look for silly one-liners throughout the piece—it’s not what this film is about. What it’s about is repentance, individual and societal. In our post-9/11 world, its themes resonate with the contemporary archetypes that historians will look back upon and write about in 40 years. So while some cynics might view Batman Begins as a despairing attempt to resurrect a pop-culture heirloom, the character’s relevance is perhaps greater today than at any other time since its origin. All in all, this is a dark Batman for an uncertain time. If the film has a weakness, it’s the third act. Here, Nolan seems to have fallen victim to the cliché of the summer blockbuster with its breakneck action pieces, each becoming progressively more fraught with pyrotechnic carnage and ear-splitting explosions. It doesn’t irreversibly mire the film, but when combined with frenetic editing, one feels as though there’s not enough time to truly savor Bale’s performance as Batman. The ‘A’-list cast all turn in solid performances. The only significant gripe was with Katie Holmes as Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes. There’s nothing wrong with her performance, she’s charismatic enough, it was just hard to accept someone of such a young age having so quickly achieved that position of authority. And though Gary Oldman is usually riveting in every role he plays, as the young detective Gordon he just never seems to have enough to do or scenes worthy of his ability. The production design and effects are impressive. Gotham is suitably gothic, crime-ridden and depressed, yet not so different from a New York or a Chicago to distance the audience. The one artifact from the Batman franchise that has undergone perhaps the most dramatic transformation is the Batmobile. No superfluous wings or gaudy symbolism on this machine. If form does indeed follow function, then this must be the most functional Batmobile ever designed, looking like a cross between a Hummer, a Transformer and a riding mower. Though the film is certainly not perfect, it is bereft of most of the shallowness, superficiality and camp that characterized many of the previous cinematic outings. As an attempt by Warner Bros. to right the injustice that was Batman and Robin (‘nuff said) and restart the franchise, Batman Begins is a resounding success. I, for one, can’t wait for the sequel. BONUS FEATURES: This two disc set doesn't disappoint, and offers plenty of behind-the-scenes stuff for the most ardent and observant movieholic and all around batfreak, including... DVD ROM Features: Batman Begins Mobile Game Demo & Weblinks Documentaries: Genesis of the Bat: Batman Incarnations from the Mid-1980s to the Present The Journey Begins: Creative Concepts, Story Development and Casting Shaping Mind and Body: Fighting Style Gotham City Rises: Production Design Cape and Cowl: The New Batsuit The Tumbler: The New Batmobile Documentary: Path to Discovery: Filming in Iceland Saving Gotham City: The Monorail Chase Sequence Easter Eggs Featurette: Confidential Files Character/Weaponry Gallery Interactive Menus: INNER DEMONS COMIC: Explore the special features through an exclusive interactive comic book Other: Exclusive collectible 72-page comic book Detective Comics #37 - the very first Batman story Batman: The Man Who Falls - a classic story that inspired Batman Begins Batman: The Long Halloween - a chilling excerpt that also inspired the film Photo gallery Theatrical Trailer Source: HNR In: DVD Reviews |Visit the HNR Forums

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