It took the
storytelling skills of British director Christopher Nolan to finally get Batman
right. The 1960s TV show, starring the late great Adam West, had a lot of
action, but was overly campy. The Tim Burton films felt very much like comic
books come to life, but the villains stole the spotlight. Then there was Joel
Schumacher who nearly killed the franchise by turning it into a live-action
cartoon and by putting nipples on the suit. However with Batman Begins (2005) the spotlight was firmly placed on the
character of Bruce Wayne as he becomes a vigilante, the villains were much less
campy, and the action sequences seemed to be set in our world.
Like many people
my expectations for Batman Begins
were pretty low for what would be chronologically the fifth theatrical Batman
movie. I had watched Batman Forever many
times on VHS, but Batman & Robin,
the last Schumacher entry, had left a very bad taste in my mouth. Going into
theatres in Quebec City in the summer of 2005 all I knew was that the bad guys
would be the Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul, and that this new story would take a
more in-depth look at the early days of the caped crusader. Christopher Nolan
was relatively below the Hollywood radar, and Christian Bale was mostly known
for having played a murdering stockbroker in American Psycho. Yet I walked out of the theatre having seen the
best Batman interpretation to date filled with anticipation for what was next.
As this was a
restart, or that ridiculous word, a “reboot,” for the franchise writers Nolan
and David S. Goyer took Batman back to his roots, using classic graphic novels
such as Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween as inspirations. The
previous films had all done the iconic scene in which the parents of
billionaire Bruce Wayne are shot by a mugger in an alley of Gotham City, but in
Batman Begins the story digs into
what happens after that and how exactly Batman gets all those wonderful toys.
A man born in
comfort does not overnight become a vigilante who dresses like a bat. Wishing
to understand the motivations of criminals, Bruce Wayne chooses to leave Gotham
and travel the world in search of answers. In Asia he draws the attention of
The League of Shadows, an organization that teaches him how to fight and master
his inner fear. His mentor Henry Ducard (Liam Neeson) tells him he can
accomplish much more by being not just a man, but also a legend. That indeed
sounds promising.
When he realizes
The League’s ultimate goals are too drastic even for him, Bruce leaves them and
returns to Gotham to fight crime and corruption on his own term. Flying home
with loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine), he lays out his plan to become a
symbol of hope. First off though he needs a bulletproof suit, a strong vehicle
to pursue criminals, and a secret lair where he can tinker on those items in
secret. Fortunately there is a large cave full of bats beneath his mansion, and
as for the tools needed for his crime-fighting nights, Wayne Enterprises
archivist Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) shows Bruce an impressive military vehicle
called The Tumbler. “Does it come in black?” Bruce asks with a smile.
The filmmakers
show all of this with a relative degree of realism, despite the fact it is
after all a ridiculous conceit. Gotham looks like a real city, and it should
since most of the production took place in the streets of Chicago. Even the
villains have a plan that is somewhat within the realm of plausibility. Mobster
Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) uses corrupt psychiatrist Jonathan Crane
(Cillian Murphy) to give his thugs the insanity plea in order to get them out
of jail. What Falcone does not know is that Crane, soon to be known as The
Scarecrow, is also working on a plan to spread a chemical weapon into the city
using its water supply. Crane is receiving his orders from The League of
Shadows, whose leader believes the only way to save Gotham from its corruption,
is to burn it to the ground. These villains don’t just have an evil plan; they
have understandable motives.
Batman of course
saves the day, but as he is only just beginning he takes a few stumbles along
the way. He gets back up with the help of Alfred, who here gets to act as much
more of a father figure than in previous incarnations. Batman’s other allies
include childhood friend and assistant district attorney Rachel Dawes (Katie
Holmes) and of course good cop James Gordon (Gary Oldman, for once playing the
good guy).
Once the city is
saved they will all have to stay strong for the next fight, because the
filmmakers were also smart enough to look at the effect a man like Batman would
have on the criminal underworld. As Gordon explains to Batman next to the newly
installed Bat-signal, in response to this new war on crime criminals are
upgrading to automatic weapons and armour-piercing bullets. Then there is the
matter of a new theatrical criminal, one that leaves a calling card behind: a
Joker card. Uh-oh.
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