Rent Batman Begins on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Bob Kane (characters), David S. Goyer (story), Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer (screenplay)
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Mark Boone Junior, Morgan Freeman
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
After training with his mentor, Batman begins his fight to free crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption.
Verdict
This provides an origin for Batman, something the other movies never did. We see the experiences that shaped Bruce Wayne, the internal struggle, and the prison he's created for himself. He can never be free, he feels obligated to protect a city that's corrupt. The strength of this movie is the narrative. The story has the depth of a comic book, providing great insight into Bruce Wayne. This is a great movie.
Watch It.
Review
While I've seen this soon after it released, I had forgotten just how good it is. The other Batman movies never got into backstory. This provides a lot of insight in a short amount of time with great plotting. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) leaves Gotham behind on a spiritual journey after failing to gain closure for the death of his family.
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| Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne |
Bruce is recruited by the League of Shadows, as the movie cuts back and forth between his childhood and young adult hood. The Leauge of Shadows feels like a comic book story, and I really like that. This provides the foundation for Batman's abilities, from the black armor to his ability to sneak around undetected. This provides an answer as to how Batman acquired his fundamental skills. Batman's ethos is built on the principles of the League. Bruce Wayne became what people, and he, feared.
Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) is a minor villain, and that keeps the focus on Batman as his skills develop. He never calls himself Batman in the movie. It's only by the end that his reputation begins to expand. It's a nice touch that the title card doesn't appear until the end. That's the point where Batman begins. Everything we've seen is a precursor.
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| Liam Neeson and Christian Bale play Ducard and Bruce Wayne. |
Bruce Wayne wants to clean up Gotham to avenge his parents. We care about his plight because we care about him, seeing him grow up, confront his fears, and find a father figure in Ducard (Liam Neeson). Bruce Wayne leaves the League of Shadows, returning to Gotham to complete his goal. He's not fighting mindlessly, he wants to rid the city of crime.
The Batman clash is that he has two lives. Bruce Wayne wants to save a city that took his parents. It's his compassion that leads to him to leaving the League which directly ties to the main villain emerging at the end of the movie. Bruce Wayne risks his life for the city out of compassion and a sense of justice. He can't complete his goal as Bruce Wayne, but by the end of the movie Bruce Wayne is the mask and Batman is his true self.
I thought The Dark Knight was my favorite Batman movie, but I"m going to have to watch it again to make sure. I really enjoyed Begins.
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