Batman Begins Review

What does it take to rehabilitate a film franchise involving the greatest superhero icon in history that's been in a coma for eight years? An indie director and a $120 million budget of course! Finally, Warner Bros. makes a galant effort to wipe our memories clean of nipple-laden body armor, glow stick slingin' street thugs, and the blasphemous 30-second decimation of Bane (he broke Batman's back in the comics, people!) Never have I seen or read anything that has given so much insight into what drives Bruce Wayne to become a crime-fighting creature of the night. It's refreshing to see a big time action movie that doesn't shy away from character development. The characters drive the action, not the other way around. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the all-star cast filled their roles. Particularly Michael Cane as Alfred, who when announced for the part was met with a fair amount of speculation from yours truly. I think what pleased me the most about Begins was its portrayal of Jim Gordon, played by the always fantastic Gary Oldman. Gordon is my favorite character in the comics and they really succeeded in translating his partnership with Batman to the screen. In a nutshell, Gordon knows he needs Batman and the feeling is mutual. They even made me enjoy that ridiculously designed Batmobile we've all seen in the previews. The movie isn't perfect of course, but most of the criticizms I have are quite minor and aren't even worth mentioning here. I guess my biggest 'complaint' is that the villians aren't really given much time to develop- they are pushed through the narrative at a fairly brisk pace. I can't come down too hard on this though, since the reason they were underexposed was simply to spend more time developing the big man in black. Which is kind of interesting when you compare Begins to the first two Tim Burton incarnations. In many ways, The Joker, Penguin and Catwoman were given as much, if not more screen time than Batman. Burton even said himself that it was simply more fun to focus on the wacky villains. In the end though, Batman Begins just may be the soundest superhero movie ever made. I'm strongly recommending it for anyone who is a fan of Batman, of superheroes in general, or someone who simply likes an action flick that actually tells a story in between the fight scenes. Chris Nolan treats the comic series with a great deal of respect and it's obvious that a lot of effort was put into making the twisted city of Gotham seem completely believable. I can't wait to see where they take the sequels.

Torrey's Opinion:
5- Strongly Recommended
4- Recommended
3- A Mixed Bag
2- Sub-par
1- Don't Bother

Random Related Fact: Before shooting began, Christopher Nolan invited the entire film crew to a private screening of Blade Runner. After the film he said to them, "This is how we're going to make Batman."