Batman Begins is not only the quintessential Batman movie; it sets the new bar to which all comic book adaptations aspire. The panel to panel trueness that was taken with Sin City was not applied, but also was not called for. The director, writer, and actors have worked within the well-defined world of Batman, and yet tell a new story. In the previous two Batman movies, Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997), deviation was seen from this world or perhaps an ill-fated attempt to push the boundaries. But as the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Batman Begins does a great job of not fixing it.
Christopher Nolan places Bruce Wayne in a world corrupt at every level. The movie starts with the slaying of Wayne’s parents at the hands of a lowly mugger and then we are thrust into young Wayne’s training in hiding. A series of flashbacks present contextual back-story about why he so desperately seeks revenge, and at a pivotal moment he decides to exact his revenge on the corruption in Gotham—in order to save the city from itself. The scarecrow, a psychiatrist turned psychopath, makes an appearance and is the most disturbing Batman villain to come to the screen, along with Ra’s Al Ghul, an unsuspecting enemy bent on the cleansing of society. Both team up in an effort to destroy the inhabitants of Gotham and the task falls upon the Dark Knight to save its citizens.
The pacing of the movie matches that of the graphic novels and there are a lot fewer theatrics involved than in previous films. Watching this film feels like watching a graphic novel unfold on the screen. There is a very distinct color palette present in all the shots and it is only deviated from briefly during young Wayne’s training. The film is almost exclusively black and yellow which is probably quite intentional considering those are the common colors associated with Batman. It is a subtle artistic flare to the film, but it truly adds to the mood, and the urine yellow that pervades most of the shots conveys a very seedy feel to the city of Gotham.
Detective Jim Gordon is expertly executed with Gary Oldman capturing the essence of the character, as defined by Frank Miller’s critical graphic novel Batman: Year One. Christian Bale plays a very believable Bruce Wayne and by far the best and darkest Batman to ever appear on the screen. The movie also features Liam Neeson, Michael Caine and Katie Holmes.
This movie is an absolute must-see, even for the casual fan of the Caped Crusader, especially if your only forays into the Batman universe have been the movies. Although the first two films captured the essence of Batman well, this film eclipses them without question.
