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Batman Begins (2005) |
 atman
Begins is the
latest Batman movie, and the first in nearly a decade, since the debacle
that was Batman and Robin. This film, as the title indicates,
is not a sequel to the previous series, but a fresh start to the
character and the mythology. In this one we see Christian Bale as Bruce
Wayne, and learn about his childhood, how he developed a fear of bats,
how his parents were killed, how he found himself as a man, where he got
his combat training, and see the idea of Batman germinate in his mind
and watch as he figures out how to fight, assembles his utility belt
from useful items (nothing cheesy like a bat-arang), finds an image and
becomes known to the people of the city, and learns to fly and climb
around the city while avoiding criminals and corrupt police.He fights enemies also, those of Gotham and elsewhere, and struggles to save the city that killed his parents and made him the hard man that he is. To the scores: MoviesThis film is definitely the best Batman movie thus far. That's not saying very much from me, since I wasn't a fan of the previous four, and I only saw the first two that Burton did; I was smart enough to bail out before they turned cheese-meister Joel Schumacher loose. It's a good movie though, by any standard, and may be the best comic book film yet made. It's not a fun movie, and it's not a comic romp; it's very dark and serious, with convincing performances and genuine human tragedy. There's even some scary stuff, and not just for people who are afraid of swarms of CGI bats. I think it would have been greatly improved by an R rating, since that would have allowed the bad guys to be much nastier, the action to be more violent and bloody, and the perversion and hinted at sexual elements to be convincing. It's an effective PG-13 though, with very hard-hitting action and many deaths hinted at, if not actually shown. And there are marketing and box office considerations behind the teen-friendly PG-13 rating, of course. Saying it's dark doesn't mean it's grim and joyless though. I enjoyed it a great deal, and the dark elements just made the heroism and triumph that much more enjoyable. The villains are evil and despicable, but have a bit of a wacky edge to make them comic book, and the main plot to destroy Gotham City is realistic enough to believe, while being too crazy to belong anywhere outside of a comic book world. More on the scores: Script/Story: 8 This is the strongest element of the film, and while it's not perfect, it's pretty good. The flashbacks to Bruce Wayne's childhood and young adult years are very well done, both in of themselves and in terms of how they are integrate into the film. You could see this movie having never heard of Batman in your life, and it would all make sense, in a comic book sort of way. The film opens with Bruce Wayne incarcerated in some sort of Tibetian prison, fighting for his life against a gang of prisoners, and as the plot unfolds we see why he was there, what sent him off on his world-traveling, soul-searching path, why he decides to return to Gotham City, and how he tries to live up to his father's memory. From there we see him picking his weapons, training in their use, and deciding what sort of public and private life he's going to lead. In short, this one has all of the "how" and "why" stuff that superhero movies usually skip, and that's exactly what bothers me about most of them. For example, I couldn't sit through Batman 2, the one with Danny DeVito as the Penguin, since it was just too much disbelief to suspend. Baby Penguin washed into the sewers as a deformed baby, and the next thing you know it's decades later and he's this hideous beak-nosed thing with jagged teeth, a vast fortune, and hundreds of costumed henchmen. How did he survive? Where did he find the henchmen? Who makes their clothing? Where did he get hundreds of penguin backpacks to outfit his animal assassins? And so on. I also always wonder how Batman got his vehicles and costumes, how he built his huge Batcave beneath his mansion without any workers talking, and so on. This all goes for other movies too; I can't watch X-men without wondering who built all of those massive underground rooms, how Xavier has the most advanced aircraft on earth, etc. Just the fact that almost none of this stuff marred the quality of Batman Begins would have earned it a high score in this category. That it's got a good plot otherwise, good dialogue, and so on, is gravy. Acting/Casting: 7 No one is exceptional in the film, but everyone gets the job done. Michael "30 years ago I'd have carried this film and now Iām the fucking butler!" Caine as the Alfred was perfect in his role, and I liked Policeman (not yet Commissioner) Gordon too. Christian Bale as Batman is acceptable, and the young guy who plays the psycho Scarecrow is suitably creepy, while Morgan Freeman plays Morgan Freeman, in a role that's well-written for him. Liam Neeson is also good in his mentor role, and the only one who really stuck out in sore thumb fashion was love interest Katie Holmes. She's not horrible, but she just takes up space and is surprisingly not-attractive throughout. Honestly, the only memorable thing she does comes at the end of the film, when she wears a thin white silk blouse in a chilly outdoor scene with a stiff breeze, apparently wanting to make up for the lack of nipples thus far seen on the new batsuit. If not for her ongoing Tom Cruise-related circus I'd have had no idea who she was and not have given a thought to finding out afterwards, except to wonder why they didn't get a beautiful woman for the role. Action: 7 It's not really an action film, not with all of the story and acting, but what action there is rocks. It's hard-hitting and realistic and intense, and while the fight scene editing is all of the fast and tight and frantically-edited type, it works pretty well. True, there's no way to tell what's happening, especially with almost every fight featuring a guy in a black bat suit against other guys in black uniforms, but it's fast-paced and intense. Most of the scenes of Batman in action are shot from the POV of the bad guys, as they look around in terror and shoot up at shadows, and these work since we just see Batman as he appears and knocks someone out and vanishes. Go watch a Jet Li movie if you want to see long shots of fight scenes featuring people who can really do it. This film is much more stylized and brutal, and you've got to like Batman's bone-crushing attacks. He swoops in, hits some thug hard enough to knock him through a wall, and vanishes. The technical nature of the fighting is remedial at best, but it's not a martial arts film, so don't expect Crouching Tiger style fight scenes and you won't be disappointed. Other than physical combat, there's other quality action. The Batmobile chases are fun, due entirely to Batman's Hummer-on-steroids vehicle, "The Tumbler." It rampages through Gotham, cornering with hydraulics, running right over police cars, crashing through walls, firing missiles, and going into stealth mode, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch. It's probably even more fun to drive, but that privilege is not given to us, the viewer. Coming soon to a Six Flags near you, perhaps. There's also a truly-glorious train crash that goes on and on in a series of explosions and collapsing buildings that I greatly enjoyed. Best of all, the action is there for a reason, and it's more or less realistic. It's not video game silliness, like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, or Charlie's Angels, or the last few James Bond films. The action in Batman Begins is not only part of the story, it actually advances the story, and when it happens it seems necessary, rather than pointlessly inserted for its own sake. Humor: 4 Don't read too much into this score, since it's not a comedy. The scenes that try to be funny are, but there aren't many of them. It's not an action/comedy by any stretch of the imagination. Horror: 5 Much like the humor score, this film isn't trying to be scary. That it was in any way was a surprise to me, and I liked that surprise a lot. I'd talk more about it, but I don't want to be spoilery about something I didn't know about going in, and enjoyed all the more for my ignorance. Eye Candy: 6 The movie looks exactly how it wants to look. That most of the scenes are in the dark, dirty slums of crumbling Gotham City is intentional, and while these are not pretty things to look at, they look perfect for the story. Some of the early scenes of the wilds of Tibet or Nepal (or wherever) were gorgeous in their harsh and frozen grandeur, and I loved a few of the long shots of Gotham City too; with the steaming ugliness transformed by aeriel photography. Gotham is basically New York, but bigger and far more stratified between the gleaming high rises and the festering, third world slums that surround them. Ugly though it was, I wanted to see more of the city, and that's not something I felt about any of the perfectly manicured and computer-generated fantasy lands in the three Star Wars prequels. Fun Factor: 6 It's not a very fun movie, but it's not exactly meant to be fun. It's meant to be gritty and dark and tough, and it is all of those things. It's not quite noir, not with a PG-13 rating and a heroic superhero good guy, but you feel for the characters, rather than laughing along and knowing everything will turn out alright. Replayability: 6 I'm torn on this score, since while I'd like to see it again tomorrow, that's more out of admiration for the quality of the film than because I had such a fun time watching it. I didn't enjoy it as much as appreciate it, but I can imagine it growing on me once I've seen it a couple of times on DVD. Overall: 7.5 I've no hesitation in naming this the best of the Batman films, and it's probably the best superhero/comic book film yet made as well. I'm only including modern ones in this, since the genre has progressed so much, and since I can't fairly-evaluate films I saw when I was a kid. I always thought Superman was pretty boring and far too goody-goody to be of much interest, but I remember thinking Superman 2 was pretty good, with his fights against Zod. Spiderman was a well-made film, but Tobey Maguire is a splash of water compared to the solid presence of Christian Bale, and that movie was all too jokey and consumed with an un-involving love affair to do much for me. The X-men movies have both been passionless and fallen far short of their potential, and various other films like The Punisher and Underworld and Blade (reviews of all those in my reviews section) have had their moments, but haven't really worked on the whole. In retrospect, the only comic book movie I'd put up against this one is Hellboy. My initial review only gave it a 6, but it's really grown on me after seeing it several times on DVD, and right now I'd say it's a better and more enjoyable film than Batman Begins. Admittedly, I also love the Lovecraftian mythology of Hellboy while I'm pretty neutral towards the world of Batman, so factor that into my score if you must. Whether Batman Begins will grow on me once I've seen it again on DVD, especially if there's an unrated version with more intensity, remains to be seen. All in all, it was done about as well as it could have been. I'd have liked a bit more light on and technique in the fights, but that's just my martial arts eye talking. I think most people will like them just as they are, and better frantic editing and close ups and style than unconvincing long shots of some guy in a bat suit. The female love interest could have been a better role and definitely a better actress, but all of the male characters were well written and acted, and when you get down to it, this is very much a man's movie. Or a boy's movie, at least. I'm looking forward to part 2. |
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