Batman Begins
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine
Box office gross: $372,710,015 (Worldwide)
"Watch for my sign."
In 2005, a much needed reboot of the Batman series was brought to the big screen by Christopher Nolan. After several unsuccessful attempts to revitalize Batman on screen following the disaster that was Batman and Robin, Nolan and writer David S. Goyer began working on the project, aiming for a darker and more realistic tone. Something that the series desperately needed.
It is important when watching these Nolan-directed Batman films, not to compare them to the Burton or Schumacher films. They are all completely different takes on the franchise. Some more successful than others.
This new darker, realistic tone that Nolan and Goyer created, provided the much need spark for the franchise. Fans were thrilled to see the Caped Crusader back as the true dark, tormented superhero from the graphic novels. And what better way to start a reboot than with an origin story, something that wasn't addressed in Tim Burton's 1989 film. Nolan went back to the beginning, beginning the film with Bruce Wayne as an eight year old boy who suffers an accident that becomes the root of his fear of bats. From there, Nolan takes you on the journey of how the young Bruce Wayne loses his parents and uses this pain to fuel his desire to take on the criminals of Gotham and save the city. The story had never been told before and it was time for fans to see it.
Nolan also felt it was necessary to have an allstar cast for Begins. Included with Bale, Neeson and Caine were: Gary Oldman, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, and Morgan Freeman. All actors (save Katie Holmes) were strong in their roles, most notably Oldman and Murphy. Two diverse actors who seem to be able to take on any role, Oldman and Murphy provided two of the strongest performances, each one on opposite sides of the law. Oldman portrayed the morally, uncorrupted Sgt. James Gordon while Murphy played the psychopharmacologist Dr. Jonathan Crane (and villain The Scarecrow).
Christian Bale won the title role over numerous big name actors because Nolan felt he could portray both sides of the character, light and dark, believeably. Bale worked hard and studied everything about the superhero and it showed in his performance. He was every bit the young, wealthy, trustfund-spoiled Bruce Wayne and the struggling, tormented, confused, newly created Batman. Bale was not able to connect with the audience in the same way that Keaton did in the earlier films, however, he was able to do something that Keaton was not; develop both sides of the character from the beginning by providing a back story for the character. Bale's one major downfall, however, was that horrible, gruff voice he used when he was Batman. Whoever approved that voice needs their ears checked immediately. Sorry, Bale. You can't fake that great Batman-voice that Keaton showed the world in 1989.
The role of Alfred, Bruce Wayne's butler and father figure, was played by Michael Caine. An excellent choice. Caine provided the moral compass for Bruce Wayne/Batman and a place for him to call home. At times, Caine was also able to provide the comic relief in a film that was saturated with pain and fear.
The incomparable Liam Neeson took on the central villain, Ra's al Ghul, who begins as a mentor for Bruce Wayne under the pseudonym Henri Ducard, before revealing that he is in fact the criminal mastermind Ra's al Ghul. Neeson's Ghul was set on purging Gotham City so that is may once again have the chance to become a great city. Neeson was a phenomenal choice for the part; he's believeable as a mentor and because of that, it was a great twist to find out that he was in fact the man behind all of the mayhem in Gotham. Unlike past Batman films, the villain played a distant second to Batman, a move that was both needed and respected by film goers and critics alike. Neeson was able to portray this omnious villain without overshadowing the main, title character.
Katie Holmes portrayed Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne's childhood friend and Gotham's assistant district attorney. Not much to say about Holmes. She is a terrible actor who managed to be okay in a well sought after role that could have gone to better actors like Rachel MacAdams or Sarah Michelle Gellar. The character, as a love interest for Batman, was pretty good. It grounded him as Bruce Wayne and propelled him in a "hero must save the damsel in distress" type way as Batman. The biggest fail with this love interest, however, was the lack of chemistry between Bale and Holmes. Sometimes, you just can't fake it. And this onscreen relationship seemed very fake.
Final Verdict: A great origin story that has since been used as a guiding tool for several other superhero films (ie The Amazing Spiderman and X-Men's Origins: Wolverine). A breath of fresh air in the superhero/comic book genre; a film that focuses more on the story than the action. Well done Mr. Nolan. This is the Dark Knight fans love to see.
Even Tim Burton agrees: "[Nolan] captured the real spirit that these kind of movies are supposed to have nowadays. When I did Batman 20 years ago, it was a different time in comic book movies. You couldn't go into that dark side of comics yet. The last couple of years that has become acceptable and Nolan certainly got more to the root of what the Batman comics are about."
Look for part four of my look back into the Batman franchise tomorrow!
What did you think of Christian Bale as Batman?
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