Batman Begins (2005) - Film Review

Starring: Christian Bale, Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson & Michael Caine

Screenplay: Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Certificate: 12

When it comes to film cults and fandoms in general, the cult of Christopher Nolan is a fascinating one. See most dedicated followings of something (i.e. the 'Game Of Thrones' or 'Star Wars' fanbases) tend to be that same thing's biggest critics. No one shouts or complains about something more than its biggest fans. Yet when it comes to Christopher Nolan, that couldn't be any more untrue. He's a rare example of a filmmaker with a passionate fanbase who vehemently defend practically everything he does. Seriously, there are critics out there who've dared to say they didn't like one of his films and received death threats in response. For me personally, while I think Nolan is a very good, consistent director, I wouldn't necessarily regard him as a favourite, and only one or two of his films have broken into what I'd regard as absolute top tier movie-making. There's plenty of arguments as to why the cult of Nolan is so averse to criticism. One of these is that Nolan helmed the 'Dark Knight' trilogy, often regarded as the gold standard of Batman films. The trilogy kicked off in 2005 with 'Batman Begins', so does it offer insight as to why Nolan has such an impassioned following? 

Another reboot of the iconic superhero, 'Batman Begins' tells the origin story of the caped crusader. The film follows a young Bruce Wayne on his journey from the death of his parents to his training under the League of Shadows, and his decision to take up the cowl and fight crime as a vigilante on the streets of Gotham city. Gotham's latest threat comes in the form of Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. the "Scarecrow", who plans on causing havoc by drugging the city's water supply. But is Crane the real mastermind behind the operation, or does a bigger threat lurk in the shadows... 

When it first came out in 2005, 'Batman Begins' had a considerable task on its hands. Not only was it the latest in a long line of on-screen Batman interpretations, it also had to redeem the caped crusader from 'Batman & Robin'. The legendarily bad Joel Schumacher-directed effort had left a bad taste in everyone's mouths, and was a colourful one-liner filled mess that failed in replicating a similar campy style to the Adam West Batman series. 'Batman Begins' goes for a darker tone, more grounded in reality. And while I'm not a big or dedicated Batman fan, from what I can gather, this film is pretty much exactly what Batman fans were after. Part of the reason why 'Batman Begins' is a superior origin story is the amount of time it dedicates getting to know the man under the mask. For once, Bruce Wayne is as interesting as Batman, and it's quite a wait before we even get to see Wayne don the Batman suit. When it comes to the question of "What is the best Batman film?", you're not going to find any unanimous verdict. For the record, my answer would be 'The LEGO Batman Movie', but that's a whole different tale for another day. However, whenever I think of the quintessential live-action Batman, the 'Dark Knight' trilogy is always what first comes to mind. 

The successful darker tone for Batman works almost too well here, seeing how it ushered in a wave of comic book movies that tried to imitate this film's gritty realism and moral ambiguity. The early DC Extended Universe and the likes of 'Batman vs. Superman' and 'Suicide Squad' highlight this perfectly … they both try to be dark and mature … but can't pull it off. I'm not inherently against dark and gritty superhero movies, but films such as these lack the same skill Nolan had in handling such a tone, and end up coming off as poor imitators. Crucially, 'Batman Begins' is not entirely devoid of humour, and despite its commitment to realism, it's not without comic book ridiculousness either. Remember, this is a film where a man in a scarecrow mask is trying to drug a whole city's water supply to give everyone nightmarish hallucinations, and a man dressed as a bat (with a device in his shoes that can summon a flock of bats around him) is trying to stop him. The silliness isn't entirely gone. 

Remember when I said that 'Batman Begins' and the rest of the 'Dark Knight' trilogy are the quintessential Batman films? Well the same applies to the impressive ensemble of characters in here. The casting is fantastic all round, consisting of not just big names but big talent too. Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine - they're all who I picture when I think of Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Alfred respectively. Bale is fantastic as the Dark Knight, and while the raspy voice he puts on while wearing the Batman suit can take some getting used to, he plays both Wayne and Batman exceptionally well. Oldman bares not only a strong physical resemblance to the Gordon from the comics, but goes a great job embodying his morals too. Meanwhile Caine's Alfred certainly wins the most emotional scenes of these films, and is as loyal and loveable as ever. Beyond these three, we also have Morgan Freeman who is reliable as ever as tech-man Lucius Fox, as well as a whole assortment of villains. (Spoiler Warning!) Liam Neeson gets to surprise after initially starting off as a mentor figure until he is revealed to be the mastermind behind Gotham's latest threat. It's a decent surprise and Neeson pulls off both roles very well. Tom Wilkinson also puts in an appearance as a Gotham mafia boss, and his role is perhaps the best surprise, especially since I mainly associate Wilkinson with much more different roles. But my favourite of the three is easily Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow. Murphy's already a terrific actor, but he pulls of the roles of straight-talking doctor and psychotic scarecrow incredibly well, and it's nice that he'd get to put in brief appearances in future films. None of the villains here are about to match Heath Ledger's Joker or Tom Hardy as Bane, but they're far from anything shabby. 

However there is one weak link in here, and that's Rachel. As much as some people may try to convince you, 'Batman Begins' isn't perfect and Rachel is its biggest flaw. It's a common occurrence in superhero movies for the love interest to feel underdeveloped Rachel fits perfectly into this category. Rachel's … fine as a character, as is Katie Holmes in the role, but she hasn't really got anything to do here, and her relationship with Bruce is by far the least interesting aspect of the film. For two people who are supposed to be childhood friends, they really don't share a tangible chemistry. What's even worse is that Rachel is about as close as the film has to any female representation, and to see something already so lacking get squandered is terrible. It's a telling sign that when Holmes decided not to return in the sequel and her character was recast that it didn't feel like much of a loss and as though barely anything had changed.

Now just in case I've p*ssed off any ardent Nolan fans, let me reiterate that with the exception of this one fault, there isn't anything else particularly serious I can level against 'Batman Begins'. On a production level, everything is as polished and efficient as you'd come to expect from Nolan. The direction and muted use of colour on the streets of Gotham is brilliant and suits the film's heavy emphasis on realism. With Hans Zimmer in the composer's chair, you can expect an impressive score, but with 'Batman Begins' (and the rest of the trilogy I might add), he delivers some of his best work. Certain bits of the score in here sit up among some of my favourite movie themes. The design work such as Batman's suit and the technology he uses is equally as impressive. There's a believable backstory behind it all too, with it being based on prototype tech from the dusty archives of Wayne Enterprises. Gone are the odd fetish-like rubber Bat-nipples and codpiece and in its place is a new suit that looks pretty sweet. 

So what's the verdict on 'Batman Begins' and does it go some way to explaining the cult of Nolan? Well first, there's no way I can deny that this is a really good film, an excellent origin story and one hell of a redemption for the Dark Knight. In some ways, this is merely obligatory set-up for greater things to come, but when the set-up's as good as this, who's complaining? As for whether Nolan's time directing Batman explains his fervent fandom, I think it's certainly one of many factors that have contributed towards it. There are other more significant things that explain it (i.e. the specific appeal of a typical Nolan protagonist, and themes many of his films explore), but the brilliant job he did with Batman certainly helped cement his success and popularity. Nolan may not qualify as one of my personal favourite directors, nor is 'Batman Begins' the height of cinema. But when the film's this good already, and when Nolan's output is averaging this kind of quality, there's few complaints from me.

Batman Begins

8/10