Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
Christopher Nolan
Cast :
Christian Bale……….Bruce Wayne/Batman
Michael Caine……….Alfred Pennyworth
Liam Neeson……….Henri Ducard
Morgan Freeman……….Lucius Fox
Gary Oldman……….Lt. James Gordon
Ken Watanabe……….Ra’s Al Ghul
Katie Holmes……….Rachel Dawes
Cillian Murphy……….Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow
Tom Wilkinson……….Carmine Falcone
Rutger Hauer……….Richard Earle
Sara Stewart……….Martha Wayne
Richard Brake……….Joe Chill
Gus Lewis……….Young Bruce Wayne
Emma Lockhart……….Young Rachel Dawes
Linus Roache……….Dr. Thomas Wayne
Trying to do a super hero movie involving a member of the DC Comic universe has been a difficult proposition. Catwoman and Steel were both commercial and critical flops while Constantine faired slightly better, if only because of its’ foreign box office gross. DC Comics’ main cinematic draws over the years have been its two elder statesmen, Batman and Superman.
Of the 13 movies that have sprung from the DC Comics staple of heroes, Only Constantine doesn’t have origins in either of these franchises. The top three grossing movies in DC history are all part of the Batman franchise. As the sequels followed from the original Batman starring Michael Keaton, box office returns and overall movie quality diminished. 1997’s fourth entry into the franchise, Batman & Robin, garnered a large backlash due to its’ quality and poor casting decisions. George Clooney as Bruce Wayne and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze weren’t the sort of inspired casting calls that could overcome a poor story and worse dialogue.
Many thought the Batman franchise was dead after the uninspiring duo of Clooney and Chris O’Donnell donned their respective costumes as the caped crusader and his masked sidekick, but nearly a decade comes the latest entry into the pantheon of Batman. Complete with a new Bruce Wayne, a new costume and a whole new look to the world surrounding it, Chris Nolan has retooled one of the mainstays of the DC universe in Batman Begins.
Batman Begins isn’t a continuation of the franchise, it’s a reset. The events of the first four movies (Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and the aforementioned Batman & Robin) haven’t taken place and there is a clean slate on all sides. Nolan uses this to revamp the entire look and feel of the franchise; his Gotham is a much more realistic and less cartoon-like atmosphere. In order to divest the franchise from its’ prior incarnations, Nolan turns Gotham into a dark, gloomy place that could’ve been magnificent years ago. The four movies that created a prettier Gotham have been bull-dozed over with this newer, darker and more intriguing version.
Christian Bale steps into the role first popularized on television by Adam West as Bruce Wayne, billionaire industrialist. Wayne’s parents were killed in a random act of violence when he was very young, leaving him their vast fortune and a surrogate father figure in their butler Alfred (Michael Caine). But the pain from that experience leaves him a changed person and he heads out to the world, picking fights with criminals amongst other things. He is found in an Asian jail by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) and is soon involved with Ra’s Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and his League of Shadows. After leaving the league due to philosophical differences, Wayne returns to Gotham to try and save the city from the evil that is controlling it. Facing a relatively coherent storyline featuring the emergence of secondary Batman villain Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy as the villain and as his alter ego Dr. Crane) in a large-ranging conspiracy against the city, Batman emerges from the shadows to try and save the day.
As the latest man to don the cape and cowl, Bale proves he can handle being Bruce Wayne and Batman much better than this three predecessors could. That’s not to say his performance is amazing or superb; it’s good but not stellar. But when compared to the men before him it looks much better. When it comes to emoting and delivery Bale has had better performances but physically Bale provides the sort of presence that hasn’t been there. He looks the part and has the sort of cocky swagger as Bruce and the dark intensity of the caped crusader that allows him to be comfortable in both roles.
But the true stars of the movie are the supporting cast. Having either Morgan Freeman or Michael Caine in your cast provides a serious upgrade in terms of acting ability, but having both gives an actor like Bale who isn’t comfortable with the non-physical aspects of Bruce Wayne much more leeway and give him a comfort zone as Bale is at his best when he’s with these two.
Caine, who has gone from being one of the top leading men to the one of the top supporting players in the industry over the past 20 years, turns in a stellar performance as Wayne’s butler Alfred. He doesn’t steal the screen from Bale or chew scenery as that’s not his style as a supporting actor. When he and Bale are on screen togethor Bale is at his best. It’s the same with Freeman as Wayne’s version of Bond sidekick Q, Lucius Fox. Freeman is regarded as the best supporting actor currently working in Hollywood; he isn’t a leading man, but he’s the best supporting player out there. With both of them around, Caine and Freeman play to the strengths of the movie’s star, letting him use his presence and not his words.
Nolan also does one thing well that the prior movies didn’t; solid action sequences. These aren’t cookie cutter versions inserted when deemed appropriate. The action has a purpose and a reason to be there, as no explosion or fight is unnecessary or gratuitous.
But this isn’t a masterpiece or a spectacular movie; it’s just a good one. Bale struggles at times when he doesn’t have his main supporting actors with him and he’s left to carry the movie. It shows especially with designated love interest Katie Holmes. As a steely assistant district attorney, her Rachel Dawes lacks a real bite to back up her bark. She also lacks a definitive chemistry with Bale. They could be friends, for sure, but they don’t have the sort of spark required from their positions.
