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'Batman Begins': The franchise finally takes wing on the big screen

By ERIC ROBINETTE
The Middletown Journal

Batman never had super powers, but the dark knight has pulled off a super feat.

For the second summer in a row, a superhero movie ranks among the best films of the year. Last year, it was "Spider-Man 2," the live action pinnacle of the genre. "Batman Begins" is virtually its equal.

Warner Brothers Pictures

'Batman Begins'

The verdict: The Batman movies have never achieved greatness — until now.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Ken Watanabe, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy
Run time: 140 minutes
Release date: June 15, 2005
Rating: PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements.
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When Batman first flew into comic racks in 1939, he was all about vengeance. But that was mostly missing from the Batman movies of the late '80s to the mid-'90s, replaced by sullen introspection in Tim Burton's films, then outright camp in Joel Schumacher's.

As a result, the Batman movies have never achieved greatness — until now.

Co-writer/director Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer have wisely ignored the last four films and started from scratch. "Batman Begins" not only brings the hero back with a vengeance, it has vengeance coursing through almost every scene.

What set Batman apart from most of his caped brethren was that he was as frightening as many of the criminals he hunted. That piercing intimidation is largely what makes "Batman Begins" so memorable.

Nolan is the ideal director for Batman because he and the character share a knack for creating an unnerving sense of dread. Like Nolan's "Insomnia" and "Memento," "Batman Begins" is an engrossing look at a dangerously fragmented mind.

Years after the murder of his parents, a simmering Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) falls in with deadly fighters in the Orient under the exacting tutelage of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson, who between "The Phantom Menace," "Gangs of New York" and "Kingdom of Heaven" has cornered the market on mentor/father figures).

When Wayne returns to the crime-ridden Gotham City, he must battle a plot by a villain called the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), who is the mirror image of Batman in that fear is also the Scarecrow's weapon. He develops a mind-altering drug to paralyze his victims with their most primal terrors, and threatens to spread it throughout the city.

I'm making the movie sound awfully grim, and to be sure, this intense thriller is absolutely not for children or viewers looking only for breezy fun. Older kids, and some restless adults, will likely become antsy when Batman doesn't show up in costume for more than an hour into the film.

I urge those viewers to be patient. The first half of the film cleverly sets up a slam-bang payoff with more than a few startling moments. Once "Batman Begins" gets going, it becomes impossible to shake. Even the Batmobile, with its silly monster truck-like wheels, works in this movie's hyper-real world.

The film boasts the strongest cast of all the Batman movies. Bale, whose intense style has spawned a cult following, will inspire more than a cult after his formidable turn. Bale's Batman doesn't just sneer at criminals — he growls at them.

Michael Caine, in a pitch-perfect performance, plays Alfred not just as a butler but as a devoted servant determined to uphold the Wayne family honor, which means he does not always approve of Bruce's methods. Morgan Freeman is great fun as Batman's gadget master with a twinkle in his eye, and Murphy is suitably maniacal without being over the top.

If "Batman Begins" has a chink in its suit, it's that it lacks the emotional resonance of "Spider-Man 2" or the first two Superman movies. This is not the fault of Katie Holmes, who has a rather limited role as Bruce Wayne's love interest. However, since Batman is inherently aloof, warmth is naturally in short supply. I chalk this one up to personal preference more than any actual faults, of which there are few.

Batman begins, indeed. On the big screen, he finally begins to take wing.