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As dark and rich as a good cup of coffee
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I will preface this by saying that I might have glanced at a Batman comic book when I was a kid, but have never read one. I did watch the Michael Keaton Batman movie, but my main Batman experience, prior to this movie, was watching the television series, non-animated, as a kid. In short, I am not an expert, at all. I bought this movie because, when I was in the hospital, it was showing on cable television and, while I did not get to see the entire movie there, I liked what I saw.
When the title says "begins," it means exactly that. This movie portrays Bruce Wayne's privileged but traumatic childhood, his path toward becoming an agent of justice, and his unusual training. It then moves back to Gotham, Bruce's hometown metropolis, that has become extremely crime-ridden, corrupt, and impoverished, with the gains made by Bruce's parents having been just about wiped out. To address this, Bruce Wayne, in his new persona of Batman, must face a powerful crime-lord, and an even-more-powerful, albeit shadowy, figure, plotting to ride the world of Gotham's evils by eliminating Gotham itself.
Batman is known as the Dark Knight, and we clearly get that here. Christian Bale gives us a Bruce Wayne who is glib on the surface, troubled beneath that, and an avenging crusader at his core. The imagery, both real and computer-generated, is awesome and dark, and the musical score enhances the story well, without ever dominating it.
The supporting cast is amazingly good. Michael Caine as Alfred? Perfect! Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard, Bruce Wayne's teacher in the martial arts (and more), was also perfectly cast. Tom Wilkinson was chillingly ruthless as the crime boss. Katie Holmes gives us a Rachel Dawes, potential love interest for Bruce Wayne, who is equal parts silk, steel, and flower. I had not seen Rutger Hauer in anything in a long time, but he was very good as the cold, greedy, power-hungry businessman. Morgan Freeman did his usual excellent job as Lucius Fox, Wayne Enterprises engineer and Bruce Wayne's technical advisor. I also liked Gary Oldman as Inspector Gordon, and Cillian Murphy was coolly insane and cunning as Dr. Crane/Scarecrow.
Of course, Batman had to have some interesting toys. What makes him nearly invincible? Check out the suit. How does he fly? That cape is not just a fashion statement. The big toy, though, is the tank-like Batmobile. Wow! Just get out of its way, and watch!
As you can tell, I like this movie. I did not like having to be in the hospital but, at least, I found a good movie from the experience.
-- Chris McCallister, author of Coming Full Circle
.:. Rating:
5
/ 5
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