Batman Begins

At last, I finally get to start reviewing some seriously good DC films. With Warner Bros. recently releasing a new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, it's time to go back to the start of this glorious franchise. In 2005, director Christopher Nolan spearheaded the all-too-necessary reboot of the Batman franchise with Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Liam Neeson.

I remember I was very reluctant to see this movie when it first came out. I wasn't interested in a young Batman, and I was worried that they'd ruin his origin story. I was also turned off by the previews that relentlessly promoted the new, stupid-looking Batmobile. However, I was eventually convinced to see it, and I immediately regretted ever doubting it. It may not have been the Batman movie I wanted, but it was the Batman movie I deserved.

This film really requires multiple viewings to truly appreciate it. Not only does it help with understanding the flashbacks, but you pick up on so many little details that only makes the movie better. And if you're a fan of the comics, you find yourself squealing with geeky delight when minor characters like Victor Zsasz show up.

The movie was built around the theme of fear, which worked very well with the origin of Batman. In the comics (and nearly every other form of media) Bruce is inspired to become Batman when a bat randomly bursts through his window. While that may have worked decades ago on the printed page, it would look rather ridiculous in the theater. Here, we see a young Bruce falling down an abandoned well and being attacked by bats. Not only is this more realistic, but it describes his obsession with bats as a legitimate paranoia, which is better than what the comics did.

The actual death of Bruce's parents could have very easily been done with a heavy hand, but instead it happened very quickly and abruptly. I think this is also more realistic and sad. They did a good job of letting us get to know Thomas Wayne, so it meant something when he died. It was also nice to see the young Bruce truly being sad and not instantly seeking after vengeance. He took more comfort from the tender James Gordon than Commissioner Loeb telling him they caught his parents' killer. The score is now a 7.

I'll add another point for having Bruce train with Ra's al Ghul. It makes perfect sense! Bruce would naturally seek out the best, and Ra's would naturally recruit the best, so they would naturally meet up sooner or later, and having Ra's provide the main inspiration for Bruce was just beautiful. Liam Neeson was also flawless at playing one of my favorite villains.

In some versions of Batman, the police never find his parents' killer, which is the driving force of Batman's crusade against crime. But realistically, if the richest couple in the world were murdered, the killer would be found pretty quickly. That's what they did here, which was good, but it left them without a built-in motivation for him to become the dark knight. So here, they decided to release the killer, Joe Chill, by having him testify against the gangster Carmine Falcone. That's also a nice touch — it shows that Falcone must be a really bad guy if they're letting the Wayne murderer free just to get a shot at him. But then Bruce decides that he wants to kill Chill. He doesn't go through any legal means to prevent this parole; instead, he brings a handgun to the court house. It's implied that he never thought or cared about avenging his parents until this moment. Luckily, Chill is killed by one of Falcone's men before Bruce gets the chance. Later, when he's telling his girlfriend Rachel about this, she slaps him twice to wake him up. This was supposed to be an important scene here — the turning point of Bruce Wayne's life, but it was delivered so poorly. Those two slaps were the two weakest slaps I've ever seen in a movie. I also really hate the idea of Bruce ever considering to kill someone or even use a gun. It's good that he turned around, but I prefer a Batman who constantly strives to protect all life and abhors guns. I have to take a point off for this.

But I will bring the score back up to an 8 with the perfect portrayal of Alfred by Michael Caine. Michael Gough was a good Alfred in the other Batman movies, but Caine is less stiff and formal, while still being sophisticated, smart, supportive, and funny.

I'll add another point for Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne. Anyone can be Batman, but few can pull off a great Bruce, who acts like an oblivious playboy, while showing the audience that he secretly is paying close attention to everything around him. Out of all the Bruce Wayne's we've seen in the movies, Bale's is probably the most un-Batmanlike of all of them.

I'll also add a point for Morgan Freeman's wonderful adaptation of Lucius Fox. Normally, Fox is just the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, but here, he kind of became the Q to Batman's James Bond. This was also a great explanation for Batman's gadgets. There's only so much Bruce and Alfred can do.

But I will take away a point for the new Batmobile. It does make a little more sense than the other Batmobiles we've seen, but I really do not care for this design. My biggest complaint about it is the ludicrous way it fires its missiles. What is advantageous about sliding down into the front of the car to access the guns? I never liked it and I never will.

One interesting thing about this movie is that we don't see Batman until we're one hour into it, which I really enjoyed. It was all about the build up, and it was awesome. Slowly picking off and terrifying Falcone's men, until one of them yells, "WHERE ARE YOU?!" Batman whispers: "Here." Sublime! 10 points!

I also loved the new Scarecrow. Conniving, cunning, dangerous, Cillian Murphy was an excellent Jonathan Crane, who subtly and slowly became a super villain. He also lit Batman on fire! How cool is that?

I'll take a point off for the chase scene on the rooftops. It was too long and ridiculous. I was actually more concerned with Bruce getting back in time for his birthday party than saving Rachel, who really was a worthless character. I also got sick of the cops and everybody gawking about the Batmobile. I get it! It's big, strong, and fast — stop shoving it down my throat! This scene combined my two least favorite things in this movie — the Batmobile and Rachel.

The score will drop to a 9 due to the over-explanation of the water main thing. Yes, they made sure the audience knew what was happening, but then they had scene after scene of the two guys sitting at a computer screen saying, "If that train hits Wayne Tower, the whole city's water main will explode!" Yes, we figured that out. Why aren't you doing anything about it?

Sadly, I have to take away a point for the death of Ra's al Ghul. He is too cool a character to kill off and not allow to return in a sequel. Also, Batman should not have let him die. He should have at least tried to save him.

I will add a point for the Joker card at the end. Although this was a reboot, they were careful in their villain selection to avoid villains previously used in Batman movies. But then at the end, they had the courage to say, "Yeah, we're going there." At the time, Jack Nicholson's performance of the Joker was so legendary that they were considering bringing him back in flashbacks and dream sequences for the unmade sequel to Batman & Robin. Seeing that Joker card at the end of Batman Begins created an incredible amount of anticipation and was the perfect ending.

This movie brought Batman back from the dead and set up a perfect sequel (with possibly another perfect one on the way). For this, I will add a bonus point to give this wonderful movie a perfect score.

Final score: 10 out of 10