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Batman Begins by author name on Tuesday 12 July 2005
How to compare this film.... If I compare it to the Batman franchise, I must include the last two films. If I don't include them, then I must rate this film as a stand alone. Oh, well, that answers that. Let's pretend that this movie is where Batman's movie career begins.
Everyone knows about Batman. It's very likely that less is known about Batman than about Superman, but that's sort of besides the point. A movie about Batman is akin to making a movie about American history: we know general stuff about it, we know it happened, we know more will continue to happen, but unless it's told well we still find it boring as hell.
So, the rest of this review will assume that what has happened in the past will not be reflective of this movie's review save one comment only:
Batman Begins is either the best Batman movie ever created or the second best but that would be under major concessions.
The best criticisms I heard for Batman Begins was by a member of this site who said that the film obviously sets up more films.
It's a valid criticisms seeing as how the strategy of setting up more films usually falls under the cop-out that all the issues of the film will not be resolved in the film. However, my contention is two fold:
First: To start and end this story in one film is to deny that this character exists, lives, in this world outside the film industry. In other words, this type of character, basically the super hero, cannot exist in a world and then conveniently hang up his cowl at the end of the movie because the movie ends. Cops don't hand up their cuffs at the end of cop films because crime still exists. Cooks don't hang up their aprons at the end of films because people still want to eat. The same goes with super hero movies: the world that would require a super hero must still exist to warrant the super hero in the first place.
Second: Yeah, why not set up a sequel. The title is Batman Begins. Not Batman Self-Contained. We have issues when sequels exist solely because the mindless masses will go see them (I cite Home Alone 2 and 3 as examples). However, no one says, "Hey, why do they need three Lord of the Rings Movies?" The story isn't over with the origin of Batman. Hopefully Warner Brothers takes this movies and learns that Joel Schumacher should be shot.
The movie was an excellent comic book movie. No the best ever created. I'd probably credit Sin City to that title.
Sin City notwithstanding, Batman begins was still a great telling, in a belieable way, of how a larger than life character could exist.
Christian Bale, to my opinion an unlikely casting for Bruce Wayne/Batman was the best Bruce Wayne I've seen on screen. His Batman was true to the character those I felt his portrayal to be slightly over-the-top, meaning that his deep scary voice was slight too deep for him to sound natural. Beyond that his acting was well on point.
The script, written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer with parts very blatantly stolen from Frank Miller (who was not credited in the film), held a few forced romantic points that detracted from the film. Beyond that the film was fairly tight.
For a comic book film this movie gets a loose 10/10. If I was more strict I'd say 9/10. For an action movie I feel this film would get a 8/10 - losing points for the fairly unnecessary romantic tie in that Hollywood feels all Batman films need for some reason.
If more Batman movies were to follow stylistically from this film I would encourage everyone to support them. Batman Begins was a great movie worth watching and a base from which many great films worth watching may begin.
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