Batman Begins
Perfect.
That's all I can say about Chris Nolan's attempt to reboot the Batman franchise. I'm not talking about the story or script or any particulars like that. I'm talking about the tone. The mood. The feel. I'm talking about the film.
**There may be some spoilers in this, as I don't really know what I'm going to write until I blurt it out onscreen. So I'm just hedging my bet in advance. If you haven't seen the movie and don't want to know anything, you should probably skip this post.**
As I've stated in earlier postings, I have been a huge Batman fan since I was a little kid. I bought the comics and read them religiously. I loved Batman in that he wasn't necessarily a super hero. He was a man, albeit a very screwed up man, who trained his body to physical perfection and went on a crusade to end crime. Well, not necessarily to end crime. As a boy, his parents were taken from him in a senseless crime and he was powerless to stop them. So now he feels he must control that and never let it happen to someone again. And it's those psychological elements that make me love the character and the endless stories you can tell with him.
That's what I feel they did so right in Batman Begins. They focused on Batman himself. How he came to be and more importantly, why he came to be. Yes, we all know that his parents were murdered and he became a bat because "criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot". But the psychological reasons that drive him, the fear and insecurities, have never really been explored in a Batman movie before.
The closest (and what as been the best representation of the character, in my opinion) they came to that is the Batman: The Animated Series show that aired in the early nineties. They did a great job with making him a dark avenger and even some episodes focused on his lingering nightmare that he failed his parents and that he fails them to this day. Great stuff and it still holds up today.
I felt this movie did that. They kept the tone consistent and the characterizations pitch perfect. This is the first time I've felt that they got Jim Gordon right onscreen. Again, B:TAS coming closest, but not as good as Gary Oldman's performance. His world weariness and just exhaustion at being one of the only good cops in a corrupt administration really rang true. Michael Caine's Alfred was the perfect combination of pithy and nurturing. And the villains were great without overpowering the movie. Ras Al Ghul has always been one of the best villains in the comic (besides the Joker) and it was good to see him on the big screen. I loved the twist with him and I feel we will see him back in future episodes, playing role of puppet master. Scarecrow was actually scary and creepy and it looks like he may be back as well. I can't believe they also snuck in Mr. Zsasz as a peripheral character, scars and all. But the movie didn't make the mistake of being about the villains as in past installments. This film focused on Batman himself and made him a character to care about and root for.
There are two aspects of the Bat mythos that I've always found fascinating and seem to be the root of the stories and I was really pleased to see that both were addressed and look to be an ongoing theme. (and I guess this is really the only spoiler of the whole post)
1) that Bruce Wayne is the mask and Batman is the real person. This is without dispute. The goofy, womaning, billionaire playboy is his cover. It's the misdirection in the same way that frumpy Clark Kent takes attention away from his non-bespecaled alter ego. Bruce Wayne died the same day his parents did. There may be traces of him here and there, but now his whole life is lived for Batman.
And 2) Escalation. What came first, the chicken or the egg. Or more precisely, what came first the super hero or the super villain. Does Batman exist to stop these psychotic, homicidal crazies from harming innocents? Or do these villains exist as a counter to Batman's presence in the first place? There's definitely a ying and yang with Batman and the Joker...each needing the other to survive. Two sides of the same coin. I hope we see some more of this theme in the sequel.
And the ending with the Joker card was a total mark-out moment for me.
Overall, I loved the movie. Was every aspect perfect, I guess not. But as an overall film, it was exactly what I wanted and the movie hit the perfect notes and got me excited for the DVD and sequel. So I'm a happy camper.
I rank this one up there with Spiderman 2, X-Men 2, Sin City and the original Superman.
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