obsessed with the inner workings of criminality, man dutifully
studies martial arts, man has himself locked up in Himalayan prison
to study criminals and fight them, man meets emissary of a ninja
terrorist leader (Liam Neeson) who trains him and transforms his
fear into a purposeful idealistic crusade against evil, man betrays
ninja terrorist leader (Ken Watanabe) upon learning his true motives,
man comes back home to his awesome butler (Michael Caine), man
fights to regain control of his family's legacy and save his home
city, man meets brilliant tech guy from his company who provides
him with state-of-the-art equipment (Morgan Freeman), man takes
on iconic symbol of his own fear, man becomes Batman, Batman fights
crime, Batman teams up with his city's one uncorrupt cop (Gary
Oldman) and hot district attorney who also happens to be his childhood
friend (Katie Holmes) to defeat an insidious plot by a mobster
(Tom Wilkinson) and corrupt Psychiatrist (Cillian Murphy), Batman
finds out that his past isn't through with him, Batman becomes
man's 'true face'". See? It's a standard plot!
But seriously, this is a review of a film, not a plot synopsis
but an analysis of why this film worked so well. Let's start with
the script. David Goyer, Hollywood's quintessential go-to guy
with comic book movie scripts, tends to be very hit-or-miss. Batman
Begins represents his best work to date. His challenge was insurmountable
in that no matter what you do, when you're taking on a character
as iconic as Batman, it is nearly impossible to ignore all the
interpretations that have come before, whether it is movies, hokey
60's television serials, cartoons, or right from the pages of
the comic books themselves. We've had Bat-Men ranging from the
ridiculous (Adam West) to the very human and likable (Michael
Keaton) to the dull (Val Kilmer) and duller (the normally EXCELLENT
George Clooney).
Let's not forget who Batman is in any GOOD comic book writer's
hands. Batman is a wealthy, Obsessive-Compulsive @$$hole who has
never gotten over the fact that his parents were brutally gunned
down by criminals. He is the world's greatest detective, his scientific/analytical
skills matched only by his prowess in nearly every martial art
known to man. He is masochistic, getting sick satisfaction out
of the injuries he sustains in his nightly "patrols".
His alter-ego, Bruce Wayne is a façade to keep the illusion
that he has a semblance of social skills left, one only maintained
to deflect suspicion of him being Batman. He very often breaks
up with beautiful women to instead pal around with young adolescent
boys, who he trains to be his sidekick. He is Howard Hughes, he
is Odysseus, he is Bruce Lee, he is Charles Bronson, he is Michael
Jackson.
So, you're David Goyer and you're being paid Millions of dollars
to get this movie right. Which Batman do you choose? Which options
do you have? Rationally, you only really have 2. Do you make him
the sympathetic and charming yet brooding Michael Keaton type
or do you make him the World's Greatest @$$hole detective/martial
artist from the comics? "Wait a minute!" you exclaim,
"He can be a little of both"!
That's exactly what Goyer made Batman, and in so doing he made
a character whose origin is perhaps even BETTER than the source
material Bob Kane invented and Frank Miller re-invented.
In Christian Bale, Batman/Bruce Wayne becomes a FULLY dichotomized
being, at once audacious and cowardly, mature and childish, capable
and in-over-his-head, brutal and merciful. There is no other actor
who could have pulled these subtleties off. His American Psycho
persona translates well to the borderline sociopath Bruce Wayne,
and his sad, tortured recollections of stolen childhood invoke
memories of his character in Empire of the Sun.
Come to think of it, the ENTIRE cast is damn near perfect. Michael
Caine lends his preternatural talent for portraying a kindly surrogate-father
figure, to the character of Batman's butler/confidante, Alfred.
Katie "complete opposite of the Holocaust" Holmes is
incredibly solid and sympathetic as Gotham City D.A. Rachel Dawes.
(I still would have liked to see her boobs again though). Morgan
Freeman gets to have a bit of fun with his normal typecast, underplayed,
brilliant, nice-guy character in the form of Lucius Fox. Ken Watanabe's
lack of screen-time and significant presence in the film makes
for a BRILLIANT plot-device later in the film. Tom Wilkinson proves
that he is the most diverse elderly male actor working today with
his portrayal of Gotham crime Kingpin, Carmine Falcone. Gary Oldman
gets to play an HONEST cop for once and works well as the sensitive,
capable, soon-to-be Commissioner Jim Gordon. Cillian Murphy's
Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow is a fantastic over-the-top villain who
looks like a complete asshole, which works for his character but
constantly made me wonder at various points throughout the film
just which crew member shat in his corn flakes every morning before
shooting to cause that "Please hit me, Jacob Stebel"
expression he seemingly has permanently grafted onto his face.
Last but certainly not least is Liam Neeson. My god, Liam Neeson.
Mr. Neeson gives an OSCAR-worthy, Best Supporting Actor performance
in his role as the ominous Ducard. It's just too bad the Academy
is too busy playing at appearing sophisticated to even give this
film a proper glance…. Sigh…
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Batman Begins isn't that
it revived a down-trodden franchise, that it boasted a large and
perfectly chosen cast, nor the perfection of the script. The most
remarkable aspect of this film is that it represents Christopher
Nolan's 4th consecutive triumph as a Director. This is a feat
accomplished only by perhaps the Coen Brothers and Stanley Kubrick
before him. A director with Following, Memento, Insomnia, and
now Batman Begins under his belt has more than enough reason to
be praised and celebrated, but how much spotlight has this man
received for this latest success? His presence is felt throughout
the film as echoes of his previous works ring at various points
in Batman Begins; The Memento-esque time-jumps which show how
Bruce Wayne came to be in the Himalayas, the Ducard character's
training reminiscent of the antagonist in Following, Bruce Wayne's
inner turmoil with his fear paralleling Al Pacino's struggle with
his inner demons in Insomnia. It is a powerful talent which can
link very different films together both tonally and thematically.
I can't wait to see what Christopher Nolan does next with this
franchise, it is clearly in the best of hands
