Batman Begins (2005) ****/*****

The most important thing to know about director Christopher Nolan’s newest effort Batman Begins is that it is totally badass. Down the line from story, to character development, to camera work, to acting, Batman Begins delivers in a way that none of the previous, craptacular Batman films have. And no, that’s not just a slam on Joel Schumaker’s ludicrous efforts with the character; it also includes Tim Burton’s vapid, production design choked, live action cartoons.

Nolan takes a radical approach to the character by looking at him primarily as a real man with real motivations, and not just as a combination of costume and one-liners. Nolan’s film delves right into just who Bruce Wayne is, and why he does what he does. Because of this the actions he takes as Batman have meaning, and resonance. Deep down, in this film, as well as in all of the best depictions of the character, Batman is a traumatized little boy. Something happened to him at a young age that was so horrifying, he simply could not deal with it in a rational way. Because of this, a stubborn, childish decision is made; an obsession is born. At the heart of the character of Batman is a simple mantra, “No one dies, ever again.” Of course as a goal, this is totally unrealistic, but that is what makes Batman so fascinating. He’s not just a typical hero, but an obsessive, psychotically strong willed mental case. Nolan’s Batman engages in a bit more hemming and hawing to reach this point than most of the comic depictions, but in the end I felt he got the spirit of Batman pretty close. He also plays with the fact that Bruce Wayne ceases to exist and is completely taken over by his endless mission. In this film Bruce Wayne is a mask, an illusion. Wayne becomes almost the Paris Hilton of the Batman universe, a perfect way to protect his mission from possible prying eyes.

It’s up to Welsh actor Christian Bale to bring the character alive, and I felt that he did an admirable job. Certainly his depictions of both Bruce Wayne and Batman were more intriguing than Michael Keaton’s boring, brow furrowing depiction of the “character”. Bale successfully conveys the frightful ferocity of the masked creature, and seems to have fun with the smirking cocky “billionaire playboy” persona that Bruce Wayne adopts. Rounding out the film is an impressively cast group of supporting actors, who bring a warmth and levity to the film that the over the top Mickey Mouse performances of the original Batman films can’t touch. Especially affecting is Michael Caine as Bruce’s surrogate father figure Alfred Pennyworth. Caine lets his character’s affection for Bruce shine through, coloring what could have been a one note character used only as comic relief. It is only Katie Holmes who is left out in the cold, as her character of Rachel Dawes is used for little more than to be the girl in the movie. I haven’t seen enough of her work to have formed a real opinion on her acting talents, but she could have a sufficient challenge in front of her for possible sequels if Nolan goes the interesting route of making her character the new Two-Face.

Another thing central to the character of Batman is the way in which he identifies with the city of Gotham. Gotham is his city, and through capable screenwriting and production design, Nolan brings this notion to the forefront of the film. Alfred instills in Wayne a sense of pride and duty toward the contributions his wealthy family have made to the city. Wayne Towers looms both figuratively and literally in the center of this city, and it’s public transportation and utilities were also provided by Bruce’s family. Gotham is the most prominent and important piece of the Wayne legacy, and now that it has begun decaying Bruce sees it as his sworn duty to save it from itself. The city itself is beautifully crafted, and production designer Nathan Crowley deserves a mention. If not for the way the organic, real, lived in, and decaying feel of the city were translated, the weight of Wayne’s mission would not have been as strongly felt

Nolan once again works with his regular cinematographer Wally Pfister, and, generally, the results are impressive. From the panoramic mountain views early in the film, to the murky depths of Gotham City’s slums, Batman Begins is beautifully shot. However, the visuals of the film are not without fault. The glaring problem with the camera work is the same problem I see in too many action movies these days; the closeness with which the fight scenes were filmed leave the viewer unclear as to the action taking place. Adding to the confusion is the frantic editing that accompanies these fights. For this film Nolan has moved from his regular editor in Dody Dorn to Lee Smith. However, the too frantic jumps from camera to camera, I would imagine, are a result not of ineptitude on Lee’s part, but a stylistic choice made by the director. To Nolan and crew I would give the same advice I’d give to many filmmakers: Pull the cameras back some, have confidence in the work that your fight choreographers and stunt designers have done. If you feel the need to move from steady cam to handheld during fights to add a more “down and dirty” and kinetic feel, that’s perfectly fine, but for the love of God please don’t resort to the cheap gimmick of “shakey cam” to try and add excitement to your action scenes. These cheap tactics are equatable to a bad magician’s lack of slight of hand, and it’s insulting to the audience. The problem, honestly, isn’t as bad in this movie as it has been in others; namely The Bourne Identity or Blackhawk Down. The closed in rapid cuts allow a bit of believability to the proceedings, as we can’t actually see what Batman is doing to the perpetrators, and these fights might become otherwise unbelievable in the semi-realistic world this Gotham is set in. At the same time, if you can’t pull something off, don’t do it. Try something else. If you can’t believably show Batman taking out six guys at a time, don’t put him in a situation where he has to. There can be a middle ground between shooting your fights stylistically, and still maintaining a followable visual narrative.

Overall, however, this movie is wicked cool. It has strong characters, strong acting, impressive action, good villains, the best hero ever, and it’s the only summer blockbuster I’ve enjoyed in quite a while, probably since The Pirates of the Caribbean was surprisingly good. My only slight complaints are the aforementioned problems with the fights, and that there were just a few too many cheesey one liners thrown around, particularly when the new Batmobile was put into action.