"Batman Begins" Directed by Christopher Nolan With Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes PG-13
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The Dark Knight returns. Eight years after the movie franchise seemingly gasped its last breath with director Joel Shumacher at the helm, Batman has been rebooted into a new series that delves more into the character's roots than CGI.
Unlike most comic book-based movies, "Begins" spends more time telling the story than blinding the audience with one action spectacle after another. It's not the usual summer action movie in which the plot only serves to tie together the fight scenes. "Begins" is much more satisfying fare.
Christopher Nolan, director of "Memento" and "Insomnia," takes a fresh approach with his Batman movie: focus on Batman. Unlike the Tim Burton and Shumacher movies, the story of "Batman Begins" does not emphasize the villains. Instead, Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer tell the audience all about Bruce Wayne and exactly why he became Batman. When Bruce returns to Gotham City and dons the cape and cowl nearly an hour into the movie, it actually seems like a logical thing to do.
"Begins" is more faithful to the comic than any Batman film before it. The few diversions the film makes feel like natural extensions of the lore.
Action sequences tend to favor Batman more as a mysterious figure of the shadows than a kung fu fighter. Fights are made up of quick, tight cuts. This fast rhythm may put off those looking for big payoff scenes but it ultimately stays more faithful to Nolan's more realistic take on the Batman character.
Movie-goers still left with a bad taste in their mouth from corny one-liners from 1997's "Batman and Robin" such as "It's the hockey team from Hell!" and "You're not sending me to the cooler!" will be delighted to know "Begins" is completely devoid of camp. Director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer keep the film buried in reality and grit while keeping cringe-worthy moments to a minimum.
Similarly refreshing is the film's minimal use of computer-generated special effects. This ensures that there will be no blatantly unrealistic moments like "sky surfing" from an exploding rocket thirty thousand feet in the sky.
Little-known actor Christian Bale is excellent as the caped crusader. Unlike previous Batmen Val Kilmer and George Clooney, Bale captures all dimensions of the role. He plays the brooding orphan, the fickle playboy and the terrifying demon of the night so well they seem like three separate characters.
"Begins" also benefits from strong contributions by Michael Caine as Bruce's droll butler Alfred and Morgan Freeman as technology expert Lucius Fox. Gary Oldman, cast against type as only-decent-cop-in-the-whole-city Sergeant Gordon, gives added dimension to the character absent from previous Bat flicks.
Although the villains take the backseat in "Begins," the characters are well written and marvelously acted. Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later") in particular plays the fear-obsessed Dr. Jonathan Crane and Scarecrow with near-perfect creepy menace. Tom Wilkinson is amusing if not great as mafia boss Carmine Falcone.
The only true weak link of the cast is Katie Holmes as assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes. She's not terrible, but the actress commonly known as "Cruise's new girlfriend" seems out of place amongst the otherwise superb cast.
"Batman Begins" gives the Dark Knight new life. When the credits roll, audiences will be left clamoring for a sequel.
