Batman Begins My (depressingly long) Batman Begins review

[JackBauer24]

Hi guys - sorry to pollute the forum with my own tedious ramblings, but I figured if nobody's interested they can just let it slip down the board unnoticed. My creative writing class was recently asked to pen a lengthy in-depth review for the film/book/play etc. of our choice and I chose BB of course it being the best film of last year. Was just wondering what you fellow Bat-fans thought of it as a piece of filmic criticism. Agree/disagree? Anything prominent you think I missed?

BATMAN BEGINS (12A)

«««««

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Written by David Goyer and Christopher Nolan

Starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe and Morgan Freeman


I know what you’re thinking. Not another Batman movie. And at first glance, I would be inclined to agree with you. Taking the inherent premise of Batman at its most literal – ‘man dresses up as flying rodent to fight crime’ – the character may seem somewhat ridiculous, if not downright laughable. Add to that the slew of positively terrible Batman movies that have been unloaded upon innocent cinemagoers in recent years, and you might be forgiven for passing up the latest outing of the Caped Crusader in favour of, well, anything. But, as the old adage (sort of) goes, ‘don’t judge a comic book by its cover’. The Bat-Man may be a rather fantastical character, but he is also an extraordinarily versatile one, and just because you didn’t like the last Batman movie, don’t assume that you’ll hate this one too. However, I hear the sound of newspapers being discarded nationwide, so I shall address what for most of you is likely the burning issue. Is it any good? Put simply, yes. Yes it is. Very good in fact. Just how good I shall come to in a moment, but first – a little Bat-History.

The character of Batman started life as the brainchild of DC Comics artist Bob Kane, making his first appearance in 1939. Over the next thirty years, through an immensely popular television series, some not-so-popular (and slightly racist) wartime movie serials and of course the comics themselves, Batman would rise from the status of kinky superhero through to that of a bona fide American icon. By the late 1970s his legacy was all-but-guaranteed. Yet there were some who thought the character had strayed too far from Kane’s original vision of the tortured hero, and into the realm of camp buffoonery. The widely loved 60s television series had famously taken Batman to farcically camp heights, and had in turn influenced the comics from which it itself had sprung. One man who yearned for a return of the Dark Knight was Frank Miller, a comic book writer and artist (now something of a celebrity himself after the success of Sin City earlier this year) and it was he who was took the lead in returning Batman to his noir roots.

Then of course, in 1989, buoyed by the popularity of Miller’s interpretation, Tim Burton released the first full Batman feature into cinemas to enormous success. Although the film was met with both critical and popular approval, many of the hardcore fans complained that the movie was more of a Tim Burton film than a Batman one, and whilst stylistically dark, bared little substantial resemblance to Miller’s works. This dissatisfaction was only to increase with the release of Burton’s sequel in 1992, Batman Returns, which was so macabre and grotesque that McDonald’s were forced to pull the movie from their Happy Meals. Luckily for McDonald’s, Burton was to be replaced for Batman 3 (which would later be named Batman Forever) by the more family-friendly Joel Schumacher. Batman fans were not so lucky. Nor were general fans of quality cinema. Schumacher’s high-camp day-glo nipple-fest was met with very mixed reviews and bore more than a striking resemblance to the dreaded Batman of the 1960s. However, nothing could prepare audiences for what was to come in 1997, with the release of Schumacher’s second entry in the Bat-Franchise, Batman & Robin – a movie that mostly consisted of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a big neon costume making progressively tenuous ice-related puns. The film was not only savaged by the critics, but was also a gigantic commercial flop for Warner Bros. and caused the once-proud Batman franchise to go into death throes. Schumacher’s planned sequel, Batman Triumphant, was immediately abandoned, and all looming Bat-Projects cancelled, in a concerted effort to sever all ties with the disgraced character. And for the next five years, that is how it remained. Whilst X-Men and Spider-Man aficionados the world over were enjoying a renaissance in movie adaptations, Batman fans found themselves with slim pickings of a poorly conceived animated series, a Darren Aronofsky project that never got off the ground, and the spectacle of Halle Berry negating her Oscar win in the abysmal Catwoman. Things looked bleak for the Dark Knight. Until now.

Enter Christopher Nolan – one of the most promising young directors working in Hollywood today. After having put himself on the map in 2000 with the superb Memento, Nolan had gone on to direct a remake of the Norwegian thriller Insomnia and was now looking for an altogether different challenge. Despite his hard-earned indie credentials, Nolan had always harboured a desire to direct a big-budget summer blockbuster, the kind of which had been so prolific in quality during his formative years of the late 70s and early 80s. Luckily for us, it was the Bat-Man who caught his eye. Working off a screenplay from Blade’s David Goyer and with a brooding Christian Bale taking on the cape and cowl, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins is released this Friday, and tells the story of Batman’s origins, charting Bruce Wayne’s journey from traumatised child to crime-fighting hero. No, it’s not a prequel. And it certainly isn’t Batman 5. This is, as the title suggests, a new beginning. A clean slate. A fresh start. And boy, what a start it is. In one fell swoop, Chris Nolan has completely erased any doubt as to his talents, along with the memory of every previous incarnation of Batman. Put simply, this is how it should have been done from the beginning. Nolan achieves with an effortless confidence what Tim Burton never could – he brings Batman back to his roots. Gotham City is no longer the expressionist dystopia that Burton envisaged, nor the neon nightmare of Schumacher’s fantasies – but a sprawling, modern, hyper-realistic metropolis steeped in noir lore.

The first thing that should probably be addressed when discussing Batman Begins is the fantastic screenplay penned by David Goyer and Christopher Nolan. The first thing that struck me about the script was just how well-structured and satisfying a piece of work it is. Many people seem to think of screenplays as just dialogue, but in fact I think that structure is of greater importance than dialogue. One of the crucial factors that has left me cold to many recent superhero movies such as Spider-Man and Daredevil is the lack of a coherent structure. Pacing, story beats, act breaks, set-up and pay-off. All these elements are masterfully played in Batman Begins, which tells a wonderfully self-contained tale in a classic three-act structure. The story is treated with grandeur, as an almost mythical tale, with not a shred of kitsch or irony to be found within its 139 minutes. Everything is played straight – an admirable approach these days when so many movies are afraid to take themselves seriously. That is not to say that the film is humourless – there are some laughs to be had – but the comic relief stems naturally from the characters and the situation without feeling tacked-on. Crucially Nolan knows when not to crack a joke. The film moves along at quite a pace, is never boring and is also a good deal less predictable than you might be expecting. There are plenty of welcome surprises along the way, although the plot does somewhat devolve into standard comic-book finale mode towards the end. Which is fine really, after all this is a comic book movie and one must expect a certain level of homage to the genre. Besides the world that had been created was so believable that I pretty much bought whatever the filmmakers decided to throw at me.

Suspension of disbelief is remarkably easy thanks not only to the great script, but also the astounding technical proficiency of the movie. Everything about the movie, from the art design to the sound, the score (a delightfully moody collaboration between Hanz Zimmer and James Newton Howard – and quite a departure from the all-too-recognisable Danny Elfman theme), the cinematography and the visual effects are of the highest quality. The cinematography in particular, is very striking and rather unconventional as far as comic book movies go. Wally Pfister forgoes the predictable bright colours, kitchen sink approach and really opens the palette up to give the film its own unique look, more akin to a David Lean epic than a comic book (which it turns out is entirely appropriate). The visual effects are another aspect of the film worth noting. Obviously for a fantastical movie such as this, not everything could be caught on camera, but what is remarkable is that Nolan has attempted to do as much of this film for real as possible – using real sets, real locations and real stunts. Early in the movie when Bruce is training high in the mountains, they’re really in the mountains. It’s not a greenscreen effect, or a computer simulation and you can tell. Unlike, for example the recent Star Wars film, where everything was shot in front of a bluescreen and whilst the backdrops looked fine on their own, you could tell the actors weren’t really there. The action and the stunts are also a notable departure from the recent trend in the movies. There are no fancy bullet-time effects (which were suited to The Matrix but wholly unsuited to a slew of movies that followed), slow motion martial arts sequences or balletic gunfights. The violence is quick, brutal and threatening – as it should be – and when Batman punches a guy you’ll swear you heard his skull crack.

Nevertheless, all these technical achievements would be for naught without the performances of the actors involved, and it is here that the film truly emerges a cut above the rest in terms of superhero movies. Nolan must be a director that actors love working for, because he has managed to pull together here the most impressive cast list I have seen in a very long time. Christian Bale has been one of my favourite actors ever since I saw him in American Psycho and of course he fits the title role like a glove. It’s something of a miracle that he fits the suit just as well, seeing as not six months before filming the movie, Bale was a scrawny 110 lbs, having just filmed The Machinist. Somehow, he managed to bulk up in that time into the fine form he exhibits here, which just goes to show his (almost disturbing) level of commitment as an actor. His is the most memorable and complex Batman yet, probably due to the fact that the film is actually centred around him this time, rather than on pantomime villains gurning for screen time. Taking a page from Spider-Man’s book, Bruce Wayne is afforded more screen time than his alter ego this time out, thus letting us get to know the man behind the mask – and saving Bale from having to spend the whole movie growling like a bear.

Bale’s supporting cast is, in a word, intimidating. A veritable ‘who’s who’ of seasoned, respected Hollywood veterans, it includes Michael Caine as Bruce’s droll butler; Morgan Freeman as his Q-esque confidant at Wayne Enterprises; Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman both cast brilliantly against type as villain and hero respectively; Tom Wilkinson, having obvious fun as a Mafia crime boss and Cillian Murphy (whom I’ve been keeping an eye on since 28 Days Later…) in a delightfully creepy role as a deranged psychologist. We even get to see Rutger Hauer (which is always a bonus) as Wayne Enterprises’ slimy CEO. With so many heavyweight thesps taking part, the worry is that they may end up simply cancelling each other out or overshadowing Bale. However this is not the case – all actors give absolutely top-drawer performances, playing their parts to perfection and there isn’t one phone-in job in the bunch. The only person who seems slightly out of place is Katie Holmes as Bruce’s childhood friend Rachel. She isn’t bad per se, and adequately acquits herself in the role, but she does appear a little out of her league. Such a pedigree of talent means that the dramatic scenes are often the more enthralling than the action. You know you’re in a good movie when high-speed, near-miss car chases can’t quite match up to the frisson of two people talking.

But ultimately, the credit must go to Nolan, whose singular vision for a new Batman, and drive in actually getting it made have gifted viewers with a magnificent film. I have no hesitation in calling Batman Begins the best movie of the year so far, if only because I know that come Oscar time, it will not get the nominations it deserves. It is a mythic, fluid and effortless piece of work that is the best Hollywood blockbuster in many a year – and a textbook example of how it is done. And the highest recommendation I can give it is that even I, who so often despairs at the industry’s penchant for sequels and remakes, felt a rush of anticipation when a certain playing card turned up at the end. Roll on 2008.

Anybody who took the time to actually read all that crap and offer feedback has my humblest appreciation. Cheers.

 

[Fenrir]

Nice review but I also got a fain feeling of deja vu reading all that, as if I read it somewhere before...

 

[JackBauer24]

Well, you didn't I assure you. Thanks for reading.

 

[7Hells]

Nice Jack, loved the ending sentence particularly

"And the highest recommendation I can give it is that even I, who so often despairs at the industry’s penchant for sequels and remakes, felt a rush of anticipation when a certain playing card turned up at the end."

no $hit right?