Batman Begins by Chistopher Nolan is bold restrart of a great movie franchise. They do it in comics, why not in movies?

Originally conceived by Bob Kane, the Dark Knight returns in a slick, well written action movie that still manages to mine the mind of Bruce Wayne.

After the four episode Batman franchise descended into camp it lost its momentum. Rather than try to revitalize that storyline and pass Chis O'Donnell off as a teenager, they started off with a new bolt of cloth. To flog a metaphor; this new fabric is dark, tightly woven, and bulletproof, a sleek sexy cinematic kevlar.

The story begins in Gotham; young Bruce (played by the intense Christian Bale) has a very good life. He is destined for a life of luxury, raised by parents who love him. Like all children, he has his slips and falls; as his father says 'Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again.' Bruce falls down an abandoned well on the grounds of stately Wayne Manor. There he disturbs the indigineous bat colony. The experience leaves him traumatized, but none the worse for wear.

Later, while attending the opera, Der Flattermaus, Bruce is bothered by the acrobats in bat costumes. The Waynes leave, exiting by a side door, into the alley. There, a minor thug, intent on robbing them, panics and shoots both adults, leaving Bruce an orphan, broken, and filled with directionless rage.

We fast forward fourteen years. The thug who shot is parents is up for parole. He learned things from his cellmate, and is turning states evidence against crime boss Carmine Falcone. Bruce returns to Gotham for the sole purpose of shooting this man. His rage is focused, and he prepares to throw his life away for revenge. But he is beat to it. A mob shooter kills the prisoner before Bruce can get there, and Bruce is robbed of his revenge.

Directionless again, but with burgeouning purpose, Bruce seeks the dark and seamy side of life to learn to fight it. He attracts the attention of Ras Al Ghul, a shadowy figure who leads the League of Shadows, a shadowy organization. Bruce spends years learning to fight, and to conquer his fear. Finally, he is invited to join the League. The initiation, execute a murderer. Bruce refuses. He is adjudged too weak to be a Shadow, and therefore, worthy only of death.

But Bruce learned his lessons well, and he fought his way free, blowing up the leagues monestary in the process, but true to his values, saving the League's second in command(Liam Neeson.)

Returning home, he discovers he is dead. It has been over seven years, and he has been declared dead by the board of directors. Wayne Industries is going public, and Gotham has sunk even deeper into crime and despair.

Bruce takes a job in the R&D department, and with the help of Lucius Fox (brilliantly portrayed by Morgan Freeman) begins adapting some of the prototypes Wayne Industries has made but not marketed to his own purposes. At the same time, he and Alfred (Michael Caine) his butler, modify the old bat cave under the mansion.

Outfitted, Bruce contacts the only honest cop he knows, Sgt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman.) He tells him the war is coming, and that he will expect Gordon's help. And the Batman takes to the night. His first target, Crime Boss Falcone.

His first drug bust reveals something troubling; two types of drugs, going two different buyers.

Falcone, tired of jail, uses a fake suicide attempt to get in touch with Dr. Stephen Crane (a part nailed by the both sensual and creepy Cillian Murphy.) He thinks he can bully the Director of Arkham Asylum, (whose name is a homage to H. P. Lovecraft's fictional city) into transferring him.

However, Dr. Crane is in someone else's pocket, and he isn't going to let anything jeopardize his plans. Falcone gets a face full of the drugs, a weaponized hallucinagen, and gets his way; he's transfered to Arkham, screaming. The Scarecrow has his first victim.

Things escalate, and Batman finds himself fighting not only the Scarecrow and the entire population of Arkham Asylum and whatever mastermind is pulling their strings, but, thanks to the drug, his own fear. But Bruce and his fears are old friends, and he conquers them, and makes them serve.

Christopher Nolan had a daunting task; how to retell the Batman story without drawing too many comparisons to 1989's classic Batman starring Michael Keeton. He did it by returning to the original, to Bob Kane's vision. He built Gotham from the ground up, giving it a gothic dark and gritty feel, almost a step back in time to the 1930's and 40's, to the world that birthed the original hero. He focused on Bruce the man, and less on Batman the hero. And he made sure that while Batman has standards, he isn't a super hero, he is a vigilante.

With all this dark gothic atmosphere, the gritty decaying city, and the atmosphere of despair, it would be easy to mistake Batman Begins with Film Noir. But it fails in one essential element; the hero is not amoral. Dark, obsessed and violent, but not amoral.

Instead we have a morality play, about one man making a difference. The action is Batman Versus The Forces of Corruption, but the drama is Man Versus Himself.

His love interest is his childhood friend, Rachael Dawes (played by Katie Holmes. I guess she has a thing for unstable men.) Rachael is nicely woven into the story as an assistant District Attorney, and along with Alfred, she is the force that keeps Bruce from becoming an inhuman monster. Together they put the Man in Batman.

Batman is a rock'em, sock'em action flick. Its value is raised by the extensive look into the psyche of a superhero. Every aspect of the production works to build the feel and grow the plot, the scenery, sets, costuming, casting, acting and directing. If I have any complaint about the movie it is that maybe the Batmobile looked a little Toyenetic...like Matel designed the action figure line first, and they built the vehicle from that blueprint.

Still,it is a modern masterpiece of the Superhero genre.


Check out these Comics made into Movies:

The Incredibles
The Justice League: New Frontier
The 300
Constantine


Batman on the screen.
The Dark Knight
Batman Begins

The (Very) Graphic Novels:
The Killing Joke




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8