Batman Begins hits theatres around the world
Batman Begins Review
Tom Wilkinson plays Carmine Falcone
Right off the bat (no pun intended) this film separates itself from it's predecessors by setting a dark and serious tone that hasn't been seen in any previous Batman film. Gone are the over the top villains with their witty puns and outrageous behavior and costumes. In its place are characters more based in reality (well as close to reality as you can get with a guy dressed up in a bat suit fighting crime) who have a little more depth than what the previous films gave to their villains. Both villains have an agenda and a passion for what they are doing. While the Scarecrow's (Cillain Murphy) motives are a bit more financially based, Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) on the other hand is a man of passion who believes in justice, but goes about the wrong way of enforcing that justice. Both actors do an excellent job of making their characters shine, while not taking away from the main story.
Batman Begins
In terms of the story, Nolan and screenwriter David Goyer (Blade 1-3)
take a page from Frank Miller's Batman: Year One comic. Instead of just
jumping right into the action, Nolan and Goyer spend close to an hour explaining
to you what exactly made Bruce Wayne become Batman. Some people may be upset
about not seeing enough Batman in the film, but what would Batman be without
Bruce Wayne? He'd be some rich nut who wears tights and beats up criminals.
By going in depth with Batman's origin you really understand why he does
what he does. The story may run a little long and get a little too outrageous
with the final face off, but the little details and emphasis on character
over action really makes the story very compelling even to the non Batman
fan.
If Batman Begins has any flaws it's the dialogue. Even though the
film tries to be as serious and realistic as possible (again, as realistic
as a man dressing up in a bat suit and fighting crime can be), most of the
dialogue comes off as a bunch of long winded preachy monologues. As a lifelong
comic book fan I am used to this kind of stuff, but to the average viewer
it can come off as a bit overdramatic and corny at times. There is also
one scene involving Batman interacting with a young boy that kind of makes
you wince, but both of these issues take nothing away from this film.
Distancing itself from its predecessors and taking a more serious approach
to the character, Batman Begins is a huge success. By not taking
the same route the previous films took and instead caring about the story
they were creating, this film is clearly the best of the previous four and
quite possibly one of the best comic book films of all time. An excellent
script, a proven director, and a great cast help to bring some legitimacy
and hope back to the comic book movie after some recent bombs (Daredevil,
Elektra, Hellboy) and if done right, bring some hope to
future films (Fantastic Four, Superman Returns). Batman
Begins will help erase the horrible past that was the George Clooney/Joel
Schumacher era and is a great step in rebuilding the fans' faith in the
Batman franchise.
Score: 
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