Movie Review

Batman Begins

The first two "Batman" films are still the best of the series. Tim Burton gave the series style, Michael Keaton underplayed it to show the character's pain, and Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito played their villains with over the top perfection. This is when watching "Batman" used to be fun. Joel Schumacher couldn't even come close to mirroring what Burton was able to do, but you could tell he was trying. Now we have Christopher Nolan's version, ?Batman Begins,? which is at least an original piece of work (i.e. Batman drives a tank) and better than what Schumacher was ever able to do. The movie is a bore, though, sure to please comic book fans, but should exhaust everyone else.

?Batman Begins? actually cares about the Batman/Bruce Wayne back-story, the son of a rich billionaire who falls down a well one day and is attacked by bats. This would be his everlasting fear, a fear that he would later put into the hearts of every criminal of Gotham City. Gotham has become a dive lately, a place where crime, poverty, and a lot of trash and graffiti outline the streets. Bruce's parents have given a lot of money to the city, a Wayne tradition apparently; but for their efforts, they are shot and killed by a poor man during a mugging right in front of Bruce. The only guardian Bruce has left is his butler Alfred (Michael Caine), who cares for the boy throughout much of his teen life. Only Gotham's depression is mounting. Criminals are robbing people blind and the big boss, Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), has all the cops and the law on his payroll. Bruce (Christian Bale) wants to help save the city like his parents, but his idea is to take a more proactive approach.

The people of Gotham know his face already, so he travels to the ends of the Earth where he takes up with a group of poor thieves, learning the criminal mind. He also has an encounter with Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), the right hand man of Ra's Al Guhl (Ken Watanabe), the leader of a renegade samurai squad that can blend in with the darkness in order to surprise their enemies. The group is dedicated to ending crime and corruption. With the tutelage of Ducard, Bruce gets the training necessary to become one of these samurai, but declines when he finds out that they plan on destroying Gotham because the city has gone down the crapper. Instead of joining them, he goes back to Gotham in the hopes of defending it against harm.

Luckily for him, Wayne Enterprises has a scientific division run by a guy named Fox (Morgan Freeman). Fox is a weapons expert, someone who can give him graphite gloves, a costume with a very hard casing, and a high powered tank to name just a few things. Bruce/Batman gets right to work on helping Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) rid Gotham of Boss Falcone, while at the same time trying to reconnect with his childhood friend Rachel (Katie Holmes), the only one practicing law in Gotham who maintains any ethical abilities. Gotham has a new and more powerful villain, however, in Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy). Known as Dr. Jonathan Crane, the manager of Arkham Asylum by day, he also wears a sack over his head that sprouts worms whenever he wears it. He is determined to destroy Gotham by poisoning it.

The biggest disappointment about "Batman Begins" is the lack of a decent villain. There are three of them here, but they are one-dimensional caricatures. Falcone just exists as a mob boss stereotype. Ra's Al Guhl is the usual madman bent on destruction. And then we get to the Scarecrow, the villain who should be the coolest of the three but is only relegated to being a henchman with a really freaky mask. The special effects team has done a really fantastic job on his mask ? it?s the most terrifying thing in the movie. Only as far as the character goes, we never understand his motivations or even how he became the Scarecrow to begin with. Also, if this series is going to have the life it once had, it can't rely on the sob story of Bruce Wayne. It needs that Nicholson Joker or DeVito Penguin to achieve that electric excitement.

Another problem is that Bruce Wayne's back-story isn't nearly as interesting as what he does for a living. There are really drawn out and talky scenes about honor, heroism, the law, and how revenge is wrong. The movie treats these subjects like they're new, but have been mentioned so many times before that they have no meaning anymore. Christian Bale's over the top portrayal of the character isn't that good either. As Batman, he sounds like Clint Eastwood combined with Larry King and he has these weird mouth movements that make him look like the "Predator.? "Batman" looks scary as hell, but more in a psychotic way than a heroic one. And as Bruce Wayne, Bale is a more millionaire womanizer than a tortured son.

The large, big-name cast is wasted. Murphy, Wilkinson, and Watanabe are good actors forced to play one-dimensional villains. Katie Holmes is annoying and when placed next to Kim Basinger, Michelle Pfeiffer, and even Nicole Kidman, she looks plain and out of place by comparison. Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman take up only small supporting roles that could have been played by my cousin for all I care, and Liam Neeson has to get away from playing mentors because he is starting to get typecast. They spent a lot of money on this cast, but the only one who comes out well in this movie is Michael Caine, who at least gives the flick some British wit.

Then we get to the action, which I would describe if I could make out any of it. Batman may be able to strike quickly in the dark but it all looks hazy and confusing from where I'm sitting ? and I saw this on an IMAX screen. The only thing I was able to make out was a car chase in which almost every street and parking lot in Gotham is destroyed. Other than that, "Batman Begins" is pretty low on the excitement level. I will say that I seemed to be the only person at the screening who thought this was a long, talky, over-produced, under-whelming spectacle, but I stand by what I said. Batman Begins may please comic book fans, but for me, it still lacks that energy, excitement, style, and acting talent that made the Burton flicks so good.

Craig's Grade: C

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%