Batman Begins

After the utter disaster that was Batman And Robin, the future of the Dark Knight was in doubt. Joel Schumaker was actually asked to do another Batman film when he declined. The problem with Batman And Robin was that it was completely the wrong tone for the character. Batman is a very dark character with an extremely scarred psyche and Batman And Robin, basically jettisoned that in favor of a more "family-friendly" affair. It wound up being nothing more than an over glorified toy commercial. Also: Nipples on the batsuit. What the hell, Warner Bros? Several years later, Warner Bros decided to try again, except they were going to reboot the franchise. For this, they brought Christopher Nolan on board along with writer David S. Goyer. For the lead character of Batman, they chose Christian Bale, and the result speak for themselves.

Batman Begins as Bruce Wayne(Christian Bale)wakes up in a Chinese prison when he's visited by a man named Ducard(Liam Neeson) who offers Wayne a path: The path of the League of Shadows, headed by a ruthless warrior named Ra's Al Ghul(Ken Watanabe). Trained in the ways of the ninja, Wayne realizes that the League of Shadow's ultimate goal is to destroy Gotham City, so he escapes the organization. After Wayne escapes, he realizes that only by becoming a symbol of fear can he save the people of Gotham from the criminal element. Thus he begins the real journey to become Gotham's greatest hero.

After Batman And Robin, the future of the franchise was very much in doubt, so Warner Bros. brought Christopher Nolan on board and gave Batman a much-needed shot in the arm. And what a shot it was. Gone, are the neon lights of the Schumaker films. Gone, are campiness of the previous films. In their place, a dark, realistic and gritty portrayal of Batman now exists. By showing the murder of Bruce's parents through flashbacks, we are given an insight into Bruce Wayne's damaged psyche. Angered by his helplessness and the corruption of the city that his parents tried to help, Bruce decided it was time to turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. By giving Batman a more modern and utilitarian look, Batman Begins sees Bruce Wayne evolve from playboy billionaire to the Caped Crusader. Instead of a flashy Batmobile that we got in Tim Burton's films, we get: The Tumbler, which is more or less, a tank. A tank that can fly on rooftops. And it's spectacular. The car chases are intense and move at a real good clip. The action scenes are amazing. Utilizing the new Keysi Fighting Method, Batman Begins brings a more realistic fighting style to the series. You don't see flashy loop-kicks or backflips or any of that junk, What we've got here is grounded in reality-based hand-to-hand combat. It's spectacular in a completely unexpected way.

As far as the acting goes, Batman Begins has real ensemble cast. Christian Bale leads as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Michael Caine is wonderful as the butler, Alfred Pennyworth. He brings a very human and father-like quality to the role. Liam Neeson is well.....Liam Neeson. What can I say about Neeson? This guy is one of my favorite actors for a reason, and his role in Batman Begins is one of those reasons. He starts off as a potential ally for Wayne. But as the movie progresses, you see Liam Neeson's character truly become the villain. Cillian Murphy was an interesting choice to play Dr. Crane/Scarecrow. He's very thin, but he gives the character a very sleazy and menacing presence to the film. Tom Wilkinson plays the mobster, Carmine Falcone, a real piece of work. Katie Holmes plays Bruce Wayne's love interest, Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes. Gary Oldman is a revelation as Sgt. James Gordon. The acting is definitely one of the best parts of the film. The music is handled by legendary composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton-Howard. It's a very powerful and heavy hitting soundtrack that really gets the adrenaline pumping.

While I'm definitely singing the praises of Batman Begins, the movie has one noticeable drawback. The fight scenes. While expertly choreographed and brutal, you can barely see what's going on, because the camera is either too close to the action, or is zoomed way in. Either way, it kinda takes you out of the experience if you can't see what's going on. Overall, though, Batman Begins is everything I hoped it would be and then some. The film has set the franchise back on track. And because it did so well critically and at the box office, two more films were commissioned, although, if I remember correctly, this new series was envisioned as a trilogy. Batman Begins was released to critical acclaim in 2005. In 2008, the first sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, was released. And recently the final film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises was released on July 20. Batman has such a huge following and is one of the most popular comic-book characters in history, despite some missteps. Batman Begins gets a 9.5/10.