Batman Begins

DVD, Batman Begins (2005) film

To restart a franchise is both a bold move and a sensible one. Though there had been four Batman films in recent memory the character had been played by different actors and there was little to connect the individual stories, and a fresh audience was ready to be introduced to a different hero. With 'Batman Begins' they set out to change that, create a much more realistic and believeable hero with a cast of characters (Alfred, Rachel Dawes, Gordon, Lucius Fox) as well as bringing in a couple of villains that had not been tried before. This was quite brave because all the previous films had used supervillains the general public would be familiar with, but few would know Raz Al Ghul or Scarecrow. Cleverly these two were worked into the origin story that showed everything from the murder of Bruce's parents, his anger, desire for revenge and eventually his change of heart to become the noble, but feared dark knight of Gotham City.

One thing I wince at is the title. Batman Begins... what? Tying his shoelace? Looking out the window? Perhaps this should have had 'The Dark Knight' moniker, but regardless, it is one of the only things I didn't warm to. Even the Batmobile (or 'Tumbler') is growing on me each time I see the film, adding to the realism of the technology, and providing humour as police officers struggle to describe and deal with it ("it's a... a black... er, tank"). Okay, so fight scenes were too quick-cut. It wanted Matrix-like visual clarity. Though the half-seen attacks were fine for some scenes where Batman is spreading terror on crims, when he takes on ninjas I want to see every move, not a blur.

As I said, the different approach to take on a couple of lesser known villains was a bold decision. Liam Neeson is brilliant and gets to do some Jedi training like he did in Star Wars Episode 1. Scarecrow wasn't as well developed, and Arkham Asylum didn't have the gothic unpleasantness that should have made it frightening and in general the fear moments should have been taken higher but I expect the makers wanted a '12' rating. There was some swearing, some violence, but less than the second film and it came across as more noble than that one, too; more feelgood than 'The Dark Knight', with, I think, a stronger theme - throbbing, exciting, portentous that carries more depth. That may be due to the origin story, but I definitely felt more of a connection with the characters in this film.

Michael Caine as Alfred was everything you'd want the character to be. He injects humour, sympathy and understanding into the film. Rachel Dawes was okay, but more of a take-her-or-leave-her character, and Falconi the mob boss wasn't bad and had more personality than the guy in the sequel. Sergeant Gordon is very well played by Gary Oldman, an English actor that has a real skill with accents (see 'Air Force One' for his Russian villain!). He becomes Lieutenant by the end - advancing the character and ending with a hint for the next film with the Joker leaving his card! Super! Lucius Fox may have been a new character to the mythos as I'd never heard of him, but again, he brought a reality to Bruce's world. There's a great setup for the standard Batman stuff - the bat signal with the crime boss on the lamp; bat sonar; armour; technology. And Bruce doesn't just turn up as Batman, but comes to it 'organically', believably, not in a contrived way.

There is an epic scope with the League of Shadows and their interference throughout history, destroying evil cities (Rome, Constantinople, Fire of London) - and the great twist is that it was actually them that turned Gotham into the mess it is now by trying to destroy it through financial means, except Wayne Sr. got in the way! Raz and Bruce's intertwining storylines improve the film hugely and make a minor villain into an excellent and worthy opponent for the new hero. And it builds anticipation for the continuation with only Rachel, Alfred and Lucius (and Raz, but he's supposed to be dead) knowing Batman's identity, Wayne Manor to be rebuilt after Bruce supposedly burns it down, beginning his reputation as an eccentric to keep people from guessing his dual role (look out for a cameo by Alexandra Bastedo of 'The Champions' - she's the woman at the party who introduces Wayne to Raz Al Ghul!). And the Manor will be rebuilt with alterations... The Batcave wasn't really used in the sequel, and many things weren't as satisfying as in this one, but after seeing 'Batman Begins' it makes me want to see more, and that is the mark of a good film.

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