Batman Begins

1997 marked the last time the Dark Knight appeared on movie screens. In a showcase of pure folly and eccentricity, the series lost its luster and audiences lost their interest in an overly out-worldly Gotham that no one could relate to. This summer, movie-goers have been treated to a side of Batman not seen since the old comic book days. Critically acclaimed British-born director Christopher Nolan brings forth a serious, dark, and believable cast of characters and environments that focuses on Bruce Wayne as a normal human who conditions his mind and body in order to put on the persona of Batman for the sake of those suffering from injustice. This change from following around the infallible, disconnected, larger than life character of Batman, to studying what drives the man under the mask, lays a rock-solid foundation for a plot that is overlaid with excellent acting, stunning visuals, and jaw-dropping special effects.

The story begins with young Bruce playing a game of keep-away around the outside grounds of the Wayne estate with his friend Rachel. While gloating at his success, he accidentally crashes through a small boarded up covering to a cavern underneath the estate. Laying there stunned, little Bruce sees a wave of screeching bats coming towards him and he cowers in excruciating fear. The camera then switches to a scruffy young man in a Bhutanese jail who has just awakened from his nightmare of memories and is found stuck in this bleak land situated between India and China, along the Great Himalayan Range. Here, Bruce—excellently played by Christian Bayle–is ragged, aggressive, hostile, and soon thrown into solitary confinement after a jail yard scrap. By now the question has arisen: “How could such a man grow up in wealth and fall so far from grace?” Bruce’s mysterious visitor in jail has come to answer by telling Bruce that his actions to find out how the criminal mind works will never give him what he needs to heal the rage of his parents’ murder.

Portrayed by actor Liam Neeson, Henri Ducard is the only man who can solve Bruce’s problems and offers him a chance to channel his anger and hone his skills so that he can truly fight evil. Bruce accepts the proposition and training begins in and around a mythical looking monastery. The visuals here are amazing and director Nolan’s choice of shooting on location in Iceland shine. The completely unique look of the rocky white landscape adds much to the remoteness and special secrecy of Bruce’s training and to the League of Shadows–the group that has taken him in and is headed by the enigmatic Ra’s al Ghul, played by Ken Wantanabe (co-star of “The Last Samurai”).

Nolan’s devotion to a realistic visual style is what makes the film work. Instead of relying heavily on CGI as most directors do nowadays, Nolan filmed as much as the camera could visually capture. A scene involving a snow storm was not digital but a real storm that was so powerful it blew crew members off their feet. Whatever could be possibly made real was in fact made and shot. Batman gliding above the city using his hi-tech cape attached to his advanced military prototype batsuit was filmed using a wire attached to the actor. Probably the most remarkable feat in Nolan’s quest for realism in the film is the redesign of the batmobile to be a fully functional machine which has uses that are more than ascetic. Amazingly, this custom made machine has no front axle and performed a majority of the almost unbelievable car stunts where Batman is being pursued by police, by squad car, and by helicopter. Jumping from rooftops to making jarring turns at breakneck speeds, it is impossible to know which few shots didn’t use the actual vehicle to pull off.

Beyond the detailed set design, exquisite models of Gotham city, and its intelligently envisioned monorail system–built by Wayne Enterprises-are the characters who live in this slowly decaying place and are the engine fueled by Nolan’s vision–the innocent citizens of Gotham, the criminal organizations who prey upon them through fear and intimidation, and the corrupt government system that sits by and does nothing. As the film progresses we see the character of Bruce Wayne as a mosaic of different personalities. Perfectly timed flashbacks melded into the scenes reveal the inner workings of Bruce and the reasons for his behavior and the masks he wears to protect his alter-ego identity of Batman. Bruce can’t save Gotham alone however as a rouge entity of justice. He entrusts the responsibly of locking up the vermin of Gotham to Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes–his childhood friend, and Officer Gordon, the only two members of the establishment not tainted by the corruption of the city’s underworld. Rachel develops a good relationship with Batman, but she encounters Bruce as the careless playboy he attempts to portray to detract from his nightly activities as Batman. Beautiful, strong, and intelligent Rachel(Katie Holmes) is digging for answers and Batman is there to provide the evidence she needs to take down the bad guys.

Fear is the villain in this hero tale and it takes many forms. In the beginning of the film fear is portrayed through the bats that terrorize young Bruce. Later, it is the criminal boss Carmine Falcone, and finally fear comes to a crescendo in the form of a toxic gas created by the mystery villain and his wry and creepy helper Dr. Jonathan Crane, played by an intriguing Cillian Murphy whose alter ego is the Scarecrow. Bruce, through his training, is able to use this weapon of fear and forge the character of Batman, an entity of good. As much as he tries however, Bruce is still human and in need of guidance. His Butler, Alfred Pennyworth, played by Michael Cain has become a surrogate father for Bruce, ever a moral compass and someone to lean on as Bruce accepts his responsibly to take care of the city as his father had attempted to do so through philanthropic work. The scenes between Bruce and Alfred are moving at times where you see the cracks in Bruce, and Alfred is there alongside to steady him and even save him when the chips are down. Another powerful guiding force is Lucious Fox, played by Morgan Freeman. Lucious is an engineer for Wayne Enterprises who has been relegated to the Applied Sciences division where there is little to be done and little to be expected. Here Bruce is able to gain the tools he needs to do his work as Batman, but he also finds a good and loyal friend in Lucious.

Batman Begins is an unexpectedly intelligent film that doesn’t use the tiresome action movie formulas movie goers are becoming tired of. Yes, you are treated to all the visual spectacles of the big "summer blockbusters", but all of these sequences have been reinvented and are threaded flawlessly into a gripping storyline. With an over two hour running time, the film feels shorter due to the driving story that will keep you on the edge of your seat during the action sequences and keep you guessing as to what secrets Gotham is keeping inside Arkam Asylum. Director Christopher Nolan lays everything out realistically and logically, revealing just enough in order to wet your appetite until all the pieces fall into place. Laying the whole story bare and making villains obvious and predictable with shallow lines has been business as usual in Hollywood, but Nolan is sure to change that formula. The film winds up tightly with a solid finish, yet you’ll leave wanting more–as one audience in L.A. showed–cheering when Gordon hands Batman the calling card of his next nemesis… a joker.

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