Review: Batman Begins

Director : Christopher Nolan
Main Cast : Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman

Ladies and gents, we have a new winner! Winner of the title of “Best Superhero Flick” that is. Yes, in my humble opinion, Batman Begins is that good. The film, based largely on Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One series of comics, is better even than Sam Raimi’s Spiderman films. Maybe not the best comic adaptation though. For that, you just need to scroll further down for the answer.


Anyway, let’s just go back a bit here. When it was announced that a new Batman film was going to be made, you could understand the paranoia and skepticism towards it. I mean, after two relative classics by Tim Burton, we then saw the franchise gloriously die in the next two films. Just let the dead rest in peace! After all, with the multitude of new superhero flicks released in the last few years, surely there was no need for another Batman? How wrong were they, me included.

Batman Begins continues the trend of serious critically-acclaimed directors known for producing classic small-budget indies given responsibility to helm big-budget comic-to-screen blockbusters. Recent examples include Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) directing Spiderman, and Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) with X-Men. For Batman Begins, enter Christopher Nolan, director of Memento, a personal favourite of mine.

As the title says, Batman Begins is the story of the making of Batman. Of what drove the millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne to be this one-man vigilante, the training he went through, where he got his cool costume and gadgets, and why he’s so intrigued with bats in the first place. Indeed, like the recent superhero flicks which similarly place more emphasis on the making, we only see Batman in full garb more than halfway through the film. And Batman Begins is not merely about the beginning of Batman, as it also explains how all of Batman’s plethora of OTT and colourful villains came into existence. In that way it’s very similar to the new trilogy of Star Wars films explaining the beginning of Darth Vader and other characters. You could just imagine a George Lucas version of Batman Begins though, dragging it over 3 full-length films, with many needless and pointless characters and scenes, when he could explain everything neatly in just one film.

Brit actor Christian Bale proves with Batman Begins and the underrated dragon-flick Reign Of Fire that he can cut it as an action hero, and I might add that (without starting to sound too gay) that he’s really got the muscles, man! More inspiration for me to continue slogging it out at the gym, then. Though he did carry himself well in the more serious scenes. When you watched Spielberg’s Empire Of The Sun that many years ago (or more recently on Astro or DVD), you wouldn’t have thought that the little annoying white boy running around would turn out to be a major star. Or maybe you did. Hmmm… I may need to watch that film again, think I saw a Special Edition at the local “DVD shop” *winks*. Anyway, Christian Bale as the next James Bond, anyone?

Liam Neeson has yet another role in recent memory where he plays a sword/lightsaber wielding “sifu” to a younger apprentice. Besides Neeson and Bale, the Brit/Irish influence on the cast is considerable, with the amiable Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) as the loyal butler Alfred, a very understated Gary Oldman (Leon, Harry Potter) as the future Commissioner Gordon, an effeminate and daft Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) as Dr. Crane/Scarecrow, Tom Wilkinson (old bloke from The Full Monty) with a very fake NY mobster accent as Carmine Falcone, and last but not least, the very Japanese (though London trained) Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) as Ra’s Al Ghul.

Batman Begins and Sin City are certainly the two best films so far this year. Mere coincidence, then, that both were based on Frank Miller comics? Anyway, the Batman franchise is well and truly alive and kicking again. Bring on the sequels, I say! To satisfy my thirst in the mean time, looks like I’ll just have to make do by getting some sort of Batman movie tie-in thingy from one of the fast-food chains. Now, how on earth am I supposed to have a bod like Christian Bale’s then?