Film Review: Batman Begins

diebitter · #1 02-09-2006, 04:59 PM

Batman Begins

This is the most recent addition to the list of Batman films made so far (not forgetting Adam West's effort of course), and is by far the best. Chistian Bale is excellent as Bruce Wayne/Batman in this installment, which ignores all the previous offerings in order to restart the franchise (a good thing after the dog's breakfast that was Batman and Robin - notable for having some of the worst-delivered and written one-liners in the history of movies).

This film is much more character-driven than previous offerings, delving into Wayne's past; the horrible tragedy of a young boy seeing his parents murdered in front of him; his drive to channel his aggression; his need to get revenge with his own brand of justice... Bale is excellent here, dark, brooding, and conveying surpressed rage and pain very nice. Good casting! This movie is directed by Chistopher Nolan, maker of the astonishing 'Memento', so it is fair to expect a treat with this, and he delivers. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn good.

Not only is Bale tip-top, but the supporting cast is great too, and includes Liam Neeson, Michael Caine as Alfred, Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Katie Holmes. Bale, Leeson and Caine are great in this, and Katie Holmes is fine and doesn't deserve her Razzie nomination for this role.

This is my favourite Superhero movie, bar none. It's exciting, well-written and engages entirely for most of the film. It does however have a few flaws. The fighting scenes are choppy and incoherent - sometimes difficult to follow; it gets far too hollywood blockbuster in the last 20 minutes (I like to imagine an ending a bit like the fight between the gang leader and Bats in the comic 'Dark Night Returns', where Batman fights the leader one-on-one in an old run-down junk yard in front of all the followers, and defeats him. And when he wins, he claims the followers as his own followers - that would have really been something!); several large plot holes (no one comes forward that recognises actually working on the batmobile?!?); some of the support are underused (such as Oldman); we never really see where the Scarecrow came from; and so on.

But the pluses outweigh the negatives - this is one scary Batman. Even when he sits still, he exudes an air of complete menace, and is utterly terrifying to the criminals - and we the audience can see why! An example exchange:

Criminal (caught off-guard by Batman): Please don't eat my soul!
Batman: That's a new one.

If it had ironed out some of its faults, this would have been clearly the best superhero movie of all time for everyone, but hey, it's still that for me (just in front of Spiderman 2, X-Men 2, and Superman 1+2).

Good to have you back, Bats!

OVERALL: 4
REWATCHABILITY: Once or twice a year. Suitable for older teens up.

RATINGS (out of 5):
0 - This is a complete waste of time, and you will regret wasting it
1 - don't bother unless no other options at all
2 - okay for a single watch, if you've got time
3 - Definite watch if you get a chance
4 - See it very soon, at least once before you die
5 - See it immediately, no excuses

Previous Reviews in: OOF Film/TV/DVD Archive

Elevens · #2 02-09-2006, 05:01 PM

Nice review.

Dids · #3 02-09-2006, 05:03 PM

"Katie Holmes is fine and doesn't deserve her Razzie nomination for this role."

Her preformance was fine, but she's simply too young looking to credibly play this part and I was really bothered by it. The role just called for somebody with a little more grit.

acoustix · #4 02-09-2006, 05:04 PM

Good, honest review. I give the review a 4.5 out of 5.

Note: DB, It's Christian Bale, not Christopher

Shajen · #5 02-09-2006, 05:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
"Katie Holmes is fine and doesn't deserve her Razzie nomination for this role."

Her preformance was fine, but she's simply too young looking to credibly play this part and I was really bothered by it. The role just called for somebody with a little more grit.

[/ QUOTE ]

that and she has zero range. None. Zip. My microwave can act better. No, really. And she talks out of the side of her mouth. Basically, I thought this movie was awesome, except for her.

diebitter · #6 02-09-2006, 05:07 PM

Gah! Thanks. I had the director, Christopher Nolan on my brain at the same time. Us guys no good at multitask.

Colonel Kataffy · #7 02-09-2006, 05:07 PM

I agree Katie Holmes is "fine." She doesn't ruin the movie. However, if you take a look at the entire cast "the one of these things is not like the other thing kicks in and you can't help but think, if they can cast every other part perfectly, why did they settle for "fine" with the female lead.

Synur · #8 02-09-2006, 05:07 PM

[ QUOTE ]
"Katie Holmes is fine and doesn't deserve her Razzie nomination for this role."

Her preformance was fine, but she's simply too young looking to credibly play this part and I was really bothered by it. The role just called for somebody with a little more grit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps... but DB is right in that she didn't deserve the Razzie.

WayAbvPar · #9 02-09-2006, 05:09 PM

[ QUOTE ]
"Katie Holmes is fine and doesn't deserve her Razzie nomination for this role."

Her preformance was fine, but she's simply too young looking to credibly play this part and I was really bothered by it. The role just called for somebody with a little more grit.

[/ QUOTE ]

When the movie came out, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise were big news. I found it incredibly distracting- I kept seeing Katie Holmes, and not her character. I think a lesser known more talented actor would have been good.

Aloysius · #10 02-09-2006, 05:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
It does however have a few flaws. The fighting scenes are choppy and incoherent - sometimes difficult to follow

[/ QUOTE ]

DB - this really bothered me for some reason. I get the whole "he's Batman and he moves in the shadows and his whole deal is he's stealthy" but from an audience standpoint, it sucks not knowing what the hell is going on in a fight sequence. X-Men, for example, had much more coherent and watchable fight scenes (thinking specifically of Wolverine fights).

I enjoyed this movie, but in agreement with the Shajen - Holmes kind of sucked and can't act. Also, her face is really doughy or something (I am not saying she is not eminently bangable FYI).

With better casting for the female lead, and a better ending, this movie could have been great. Bale is easily the best Batman we've seen IMO. But it was good enough to make me psyched for the next one.

Nice review overall.

-Al