Batman Begins Review

I think I need to see this movie again to be sure I liked it. You know, just in case. ;)

It was very dark with plenty of angst and moral quandaries. Just the way Batman should be. This is an origin story. As such, the movie spends a lot of time constructing back-story. How did Bruce Wayne become Batman? They put together a fairly plausible tale, though it does mess with cannon a bit to do it. But never mind that, they brought Lucius Fox! Finally! The previous movies never did much with Bruce Wayne, using him only to attend parties where he could find out things that Batman couldn’t. Here, we get a better look at him, his transformation into Batman, and his relationship to his father’s legacy (in several ways). And Michael Caine is excellent as the both humorous and caring Alfred. I’ve never read Batman: Year One (the comic on which the concept of Batman Begins is based), so I can’t say how closely it follows. But it seems to match the spirit of what I am familiar with as Batman (me being a fan of the animated series). I could have used a bit more dark humor, but whatever. Oh, and good news! No corny “Gee, you kiss just like… hey, you’re Batman!” Hooray!

Spoilery bits: (spoiler tagged) Drinking game: pick one of the following words: fear, injustice, or vengeance and drink when one of the characters says it. Drink soda or bring a designated driver. Okay, now that that’s out of the way. Each character in this movie has made decisions that place them on different parts of the spectrum between good and evil. Jim Gordon and Rachel Dawes are both good people working within a corrupt system. Gordon’s partner, Flash, has chosen to use that corruption to his advantage. Bruce Wayne and the League of Shadows both aim to fight injustice outside the system, but Wayne refuses to cross a line and kill. The League, on the other hand, is perfectly comfortably with killing to meet its ends. That, in the end, makes them just as dangerous as the injustice they claim to fight. Crane, interestingly, works both for the corrupted system and the League. It’s not always clear who’s on who’s side or even who’s who. (Nice switch on Ra’s; I kind of suspected it since I knew Ra’s was, at one point, a mentor for Bruce Wayne, and Liam Neeson’s character worked with Wayne much more than the fake Ra’s.)

I’m not sure about the parts where Bruce Wayne tries to be the billionaire playboy, particularly the scene in the hotel. He’s obviously not comfortable with the persona. Though it was pretty hilarious when he insulted everyone out of Wayne Manor (and the resulting headline, “Drunken Billionaire Burns Down Mansion”, was priceless). Rachel hit it on the head when she said that Bruce Wayne was really the mask.

The new batmobile is still fugly, and the chase scene was somewhat pointless (okay, I get he’s just getting started at this, but shouldn’t he be carrying the antidote with him?) But driving lying on your stomach sounds both scary and fun.

The batsuit is still good. I was actually surprised that they didn’t use the brittleness of the first batch of masks to accidentally reveal his identity. But now we know why he can go through lots of capes and cowls and never run out.

Okay, I’m ready for the sequel now. Let’s redo the Joker!