Batman Begins

Christopher Nolan’s sweeping comic book movie saga set the bar pretty high for other films that hoped to tackle similar source material. He collected a slew of A-list actors, wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer (the Blade series, Jumper), and amassed a rather big budget to shoot the film in Chicago. Nolan’s idea was to do an origin story of the character of Batman and wanted to ground the character in reality, giving him emotions and giving audiences a reason to care. Batman Begins was born out of Nolan’s desire to give Batman back to the masses.

And boy did it work! Nolan and Goyer’s screenplay spectacularly created the Batman universe steeped in realism and darkness. The characters move and work with a sense of purpose and a sense of desire, each one functioning under the umbrella of another. The villains come together logically and Bruce Wayne approaches Batman in a way that makes sense, employing fear and stealth tactics to embrace the darkness that once gave him great terror.

Christian Bale is pitch-perfect as Bruce Wayne. We meet the billionaire as he’s traveling the globe looking for some action. He is seeking the means to fight injustice after the death of his parents and the failure of Gotham City’s justice system to deliver righteousness to the criminal element. Drenched in guilt and drowning in fear, Wayne eventually comes into contact with an elite vigilante group, the League of Shadows. This group takes him in and Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) becomes Wayne’s trailer and confidante. Bruce begins to learn how to use intimidation to fight criminals and learns a lot about himself in the process.

After discovering the true purpose of the League of Shadows and refusing to participate, Bruce returns to Gotham City refreshed as a crime-fighter. He meets with trusty butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and begins to device a symbol with which he can strike fear into the criminal underworld. Bruce’s claims that a symbol cannot be destroyed and can use fear as a weapon is a central theme of Nolan’s approach to Batman. Wayne also becomes reacquainted with childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) and uses the services of former Wayne Enterprises board member Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) to help assemble an arsenal.

The beauty in the sequences of the evolution of this great Batman character is that Nolan takes his time. The development of each element of Batman’s character is done with such precision and care, allowing the audience time to soak in the realities of whom Batman is and who he is beginning to become. The formation of the character is among the finest I’ve seen on film and the performance by Bale to capture the evolution of this vigilante icon is spot on.

Batman Begins includes the constant presence of mob bosses and shady characters, including the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy in a massively underrated performance). Scarecrow is a madman who uses drugs to induce fear in others, making him the perfect foil for Batman’s first legitimate test. And test Batman he does, as Gotham’s hero is reduced to a quivering mass on the backseat of Alfred’s car upon one occasion in one of the greatest scenes of heroic weakness I’ve seen. Batman is not invincible and he can be harmed, badly, at the hands of this criminal element.

It is that type of attention to detail that makes Batman Begins so great and far superior to its letdown of a sequel. Gotham City is a dangerous, deadly place and Batman is often over his element in protecting the good people. Chaos looms just below the surface of the city and it takes the impression of fear and panic to unleash it, setting people to the streets in madness. Batman’s attempt to contain the mania as the League of Shadows return to Gotham is immense and epic in every way. The desperation by Batman as he works alongside Sgt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) to try to contain the threat is remarkable.

Batman Begins is the quintessential Batman movie. It is steeped in emotion, realism, consequences that matter, panic, fear, and darkness. The villains are spectacular in their scope and Nolan’s ability to capture the madness of Gotham as it goes to hell is remarkable. It’s too bad the same sense of chaos and fear was left off of The Dark Knight in favour of posturing and speechifying, but such is life. Batman Begins is phenomenal and is the watermark of the comic book movie. If you haven’t seen it for a while, see it again.

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