Mel, Paul B, Denny and I caught the late show of Batman Begins last night and it was excellent. Christian Bale pulled off both a fully fleshed out Bruce Wayne character and a scary cool Batman that you could believe was really the same person. He had a lot of help from a smart, well-thought-out script that explains who Batman is and why he does what he does.
Actually, a lot of the movie is explanation, as you would expect from a good origin story, and it maintains a good balance between showing and telling.
Batman in action is great fun to see. Previous movies made him a slow “tank” that couldn’t even turn his head. In Batman Begins we see him as he should be seen — a criminal-terrifying ninja that strikes from the shadows and moves back so he can strike again. He has his gadgets, to be sure, but the man using them is far more important.
Gary Oldman is, of course, great as Seargent Gordon. I can’t think of a time I’ve ever disliked his acting, even in movies I haven’t liked. Katie Holmes does well in a difficult job — the love interest in a comic book action movie. She’s believable, tough without forcing it, and most important acceptable in a movie genre where the love interest typically instills cringes in an audience. Liam Neeson is excellent as Henri Ducard, a nasty mentor to the pre-Batman Wayne, and the training sequences are cool, though a little reminiscent of Highlander in spots.
Cillian Murphy (of 28 Days Later) makes a great creepy Scarecrow, deftly avoiding overplaying the creepiness which simply makes him more creepy because you know something is up with him but you can’t quite figure it out.
I normally don’t notice sound design in movies but watching Batman Begins in a DTS theatre I couldn’t help but note how great everything sounded, especially the “Batmobile”. It somehow sounded exactly like it should but also like a roaring lion. There were several other times throughout the movie when I thought “Wow, that sounds great!” so kudos to the sound team.
Anything bad about the movie? Well, being an origin story with a lot to tell it had a few pacing problems, but nothing major.
Overall I give Batman Begins an 8 Batarangs out of 10. Definitely the best Batman movie ever.
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