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BATMAN FILM REVIEWS Part 5: Batman Begins (2005)

With the poor reception of Batman & Robin, the thought of another Batman film being made seemed unlikely. When Batman Begins was announced, it sparked curiosity from fans, especially since it was supposed to explain how Bruce Wayne became Batman in detail.

I was skeptical of this idea, considering that we’ve already learned all we need to know about the origins of Batman from previous films. We learned in the first film, Batman, that Bruce Wayne’s development of taking on the role of Batman was sparked by the murder of his parents. In Batman Forever, we learn more about this event and more about how Bruce was influenced to become Batman. I didn’t think it was necessary to base an entire film on it. This concept causes an odd plot shift where the film basically has two main plots, making the second plot seem out of place.

The director of Batman Begins is Christopher Nolan, who wanted the film to have a close connection to reality. This is easily recognizable in the film, as there is an explanation for every minor detail of Batman’s development. There’s an explanation for his mask, his cape, his gloves, etc. There’s even an explanation for how the bat-signal came about. Some guy was being tortured by being strapped to a searchlight, and the shadows casted by the searchlight appeared like a bat symbol, influencing the idea of the bat-signal. Do we really need this much detail for everything?

The first part of the film shows Bruce Wayne training in martial arts and learning more about the murder of his parents. He travels to Gotham City with his butler Alfred. From Wayne Enterprises, Bruce acquires a prototype armored rubber suit and car. The plot shift occurs when Bruce investigates a drug shipment in his new suit. After experiencing complications with his suit, Bruce makes adjustments that eventually complete the final product of the Batman suit. Batman later discovers that a toxin is being distributed to Gotham’s water supply. The man behind this plan is Ra’s al Ghul, the main villain of the film.

Christian Bale plays the part of Bruce Wayne/Batman. I wasn’t a fan his performance as Bruce Wayne and, later, Batman. Bale seems to force Bruce’s emotions too much, and his devotion to pursuing the persona of Batman feels fake. Once he becomes Batman, there’s the obvious forceful acting with that infamous gruff voice Bale uses when in the Batman costume. This voice is meant to make Batman sound intimidating, but it just sounds unnatural and forced. When Michael Keaton was playing the part in the Burton films, the intimidation came naturally.

Liam Neeson plays Ra’s al Ghul, which was an odd choice for the main villain. I bet a lot of viewers were thinking, “Who the hell is Ra’s al Ghul?” He appears mostly in the comics and makes occasional appearances in a couple of the animated Batman series. He’s definitely not as popular or exciting as the Joker or the Riddler or the Penguin. Neeson didn’t help by portraying Ra’s al Ghul with a boring monotone voice and expressionless face, making the character incredibly boring and forgettable.

Scarecrow, a more recognizable villain, appears in the film too, but is unfortunately downplayed and clearly overshadowed by Ra’d al Ghul. Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy, is a psychiatrist who possesses a power gas that, when he sprays it on people, causes them to see hallucinations of their greatest fears. For example, there’s a scene where Batman is sprayed with this gas, and his hallucination is bats coming out of Scarecrow’s mouth.

I have mixed feelings about Batman Begins. It was refreshing to have the dark, serious tone return to the film series. However, sometimes I thought the film took the concept of Batman too seriously with details that I didn’t care for. It was also plagued by dragging dialogue scenes and an awful extreme close up camera perspective during action scenes. I liked some of the actors cast in supporting roles, such as Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Sgt. James Gordan, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.

Though I didn’t care for the in depth explanation of the background of Batman, I can see why people generally enjoyed this film. The Batman films typically have a reputation of diverting most of the focus of the films away from Batman and more towards the villains. Batman Begins was certainly a refreshing film but some of it felt unnecessary to me. The next film, however, will be very redeeming.