Fear is the key. From a childhood scare, industrial heir Wayne's afraid of bats. He learns to turn that fear around and use it as a symbol against Gotham's grisliest criminals. When his parents are killed by a mugger, Wayne turns mean. He's picking fights willy-nilly ("you're not the devil - you're practice") until enigmatic mentors Liam Neeson and Ken Watanabe, members of The League Of Shadows, train him to be more selective and potent. But they're not simply forces for good, and Wayne returns to the perma-rain of Gotham aiming to clean up the streets himself. Caine, as trusted family butler Alfred, and Freeman, as an out-of-favour Wayne Enterprises employee, are to be his new mentors and allies, while the bat outfit and vehicle are modified from his father's experiments for the military.
Corruption is rife. Tom Wilkinson's a crime lord; charismatic Cillian Murphy's creepy doctor Jonathan Crane with an alter ego as The Scarecrow. There's a plot to release hallucinogenic toxins into the air. With the help of sole good cop Jim Gordon (Oldman) and assistant DA and childhood friend Rachel Dawes (Holmes), "The Bat Man" is in business. With sheer strength, no little intellect and a dash of high-tech smoke and mirrors, he's a mighty avenger, flawed but now fearless.
While Tim Burton introduced his cool, dark Batman sixteen years ago, showing affinity with the DC books but shocking fans of the poppy, iconic Sixties TV show, Nolan takes the character's pain and loneliness further. He anchors his formative years in a strangely plausible reality. Much credit goes to Bale, who manages to draw empathy despite (as in American Psycho) almost parodying macho - the gruff, growling voice, the slightly smug superiority. So dense is the psychological truth that we believe those are his defense mechanisms, hiding vulnerability. He's also - after The Machinist - completed another remarkable physical transformation. He and Nolan have some fun, too, with Bruce the playboy's attempts to hide his true nature.
In case this is all sounding earnest - and much of the film is, grippingly so - it contains countless bravura moments, with only minimal use of CGI. There's Batman gazing down on the Lang-in-sulphur metropolis (actually Chicago). Wayne clambering up snowy mountains in Iceland. The batmobile roaring thrillingly through a waterfall to enter the batcave. Bats like Hitchcock's birds. And the sense that, unlike Raimi's Spider-Man or Donner's Superman, this nocturnal creature could go off at any minute. He's a loose cannon, a tad trigger-fingered. "I'm not one of your good people, Rachel." So there's no Boy Wonder here, no Riddler or Penguin or Catwoman, no sock, pow or holy exclamation mark, and just one cute (sequel-suggesting) in-joke about The Joker. For all the stunning scenery and cast, it's all about the inner howl under the cowl. This time it's serious.
For Nolan, this guarantees A-list status. Bale, too. For Batman, it's back to the night; a princely, poignant return to darkness.
By Chris Roberts
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Bristol
It had to be a brave man to haul Batman from the uber-camp Joel Schumacher monstrosities that plagued the late nineties; but Chris Nolan seems to be that man. It's dark without being gloomy; its gothic witout being totally art-deco (although it obviouslytips a nod to the original Burton creations); but most of all it's Batman without disillusionment. I actually felt that the fiver I'd payed to see this film hadn't been wasted, and I didn't think, upon leaving as I so often find myself doing, how many pints I could have bought with that money. In fact, I didn't even find myself calculating anything of the sort during the movie.
But Batman Begins is not without it's faults. By giving you so much to stare at, the film avoids having to provide a credible plot...simple destruction of a city by a bad guy bent on extreme vigilantism isn't really good enough for this day and age. And don't get me started on the giant microwave that somehow evapourates all the water in Gotham but not in the bloke standing next to it, who - on last estimation - is about 60% water himself.
But, it has to be said, I found myself forgiving the film of this, and even defending it to a friend in the pub afterwards. It's a good film. The science to explain the technology is believable; and while not necessarily 100% accurate, is less of a strain on the suspention of disbelief than so many superhero outings of late. Christian Bale gives a marvellous portrayal of Wayne, and the death of his parents is done with surprising sensitivity. Michael Cane as alfred is inspired casting and even in his absurdly small role, Gary Oldman is great as Gordon.
I think it has certainly earned the title of the definitive Batman film. See it. If you've seen it, see it again, it's not often you'll get a surprising gem like this; think back on it while you're watching the Fantastic Four...
