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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Reinventing a popular
character is always a dangerous business.
Christopher Nolan ("Memento," "Following,"
"Insomnia") and co-writer David Goyer ("Blade,"
"Blade Trinity") take to the task like a bat
flying on a dark night. Nolan and Goyer discovered
a major crucial flaw of the Batman films
previously done; none of the films were truly
about Batman but the villains. So Nolan and Goyer
set out to discover the motivation behind the Dark
Knight and figure out what creates a vigilante.
Reinventing some of the elements of the comic book
and incorporating elements that worked well in the
first two Batman films (every film after that was,
truly, not up to par), Nolan and Goyer created a
Bruce Wayne/Batman every bit as dark, compelling
and memorable as the Joker, the Penguin and Cat
Woman.
After millionaire Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale)
parents are murdered, Wayne wanders the world
blaming himself for his parents deaths and
uncomfortable in his own skin. He ends up in China
near Tibet where he develops his skills of
survival without escaping his past. When he's
approach by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) approaches
Wayne in a local jail cell about becoming part of
a bigger cause. He tells Wayne that there is one
name feared by the dark underworld of crime—Ra al
Ghul a mythical vigilante who trains others to
turn the tables on criminals by becoming stealthy
fighters for justice. Wayne agrees to be tutored
by Ra al Ghul's. There he discovers how to be a
relentless, merciless avenger. When Wayne
disagrees with Ra al Ghul's decision to execute a
criminal, he leaves his tutelage and returns to
Gotham resuming his life as Bruce Wayne but with a
mind to become the avenging angel of justice that
the dark, disturbed city needs. Assisted by his
butler and surrogate parent Alfred (Michael Caine)
Batman is born. When Batman attempts to take down
the crime organization behind his father's death
and the injustice visited upon the city, Batman
finds that, with the exception of Lt. Gordon (Gary
Oldman) one of the few honest police officers on
the Gotham Police Force and his ex-girlfriend
Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes (Katie
Holmes), he is alone in the fight against crime in
the city.
Although a slightly flawed film with a sprawling
narrative, "Batman Begins" stands as both the
darkest and most powerful film of the "Batman"
franchise. Lacking the over-the-top humor of
Burton's films, Nolan's film dwells as much on the
psychology that creates Batman as he does the
criminals that run rampant in Gotham. That doesn't
mean the film lacks action—it is completely action
packed but since this is the story of Batman's
untold origins (the comic book and films never
addressed how Batman came to be beyond the story
of the murder of the his parents) it does take a
bit of time before the Dark Knight appears in the
film. The early part of the film focuses on Wayne
learning the skills that he demonstrates as Batman
later in the film and also how he developed all
those "toys" (as the character of the Joker puts
it in "Batman") he uses so well.
Bale gives a performance that focuses on both the
depth of Wayne's anguish but also captures his
sense of humanity as well. Caine and Neeson
likewise bring depth and make their characters
more than just supporting characters in the film.
The only misstep in casting is Katie Holmes who is
completely unconvincing in her role as Rachel
Dawes. Also, it takes too long for Cillian Murphy
to metamorphosize into the villain the Scarecrow.
Since the focus is much more on Batman, though,
the narrative does have to take some shortcuts in
regards to the villains of the film. Luckily,
Nolan and Goyer have an ingenious plot twist that
gives additional depth to the villains and brings
the film full circle.
Featuring a beautiful 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer,
the image quality is top notch throughout. The
blacks as deep and dark as Batman's costume and
the colors are bold where they need to be and have
a muted aspect (in the opening sequence set in
China) that favors the original theatrical version
of the film. There's a bit of digital artifacting
in a couple of sequences but overall the look and
detail of the film is quite pleasing. I would have
preferred a simpler menu with no extras on the
first disc freezing up additional bit space for
the image and sound. That's not to suggest that
they are bad but it would have given a little more
room for deeper, richer images than are on display
in this edition of the film. The 5.1 Dolby Digital
Surround track makes effective use of the format
spreading the effects around the system and
enveloping you in the environment.
The standard single disc edition comes pretty much
no frills with the exception of "Tankman Begins" a
parody that played on MTV featuring Saturday Night
Live's Jimmy Fallon. We also get the original
theatrical trailer and a DVD-ROM game that's a
demo for the "Batman Begins." I doubt I'll be
playing this game all that much.
The second disc holds most of the extras for the
deluxe edition and includes a clever interactive
comic book. You can actually access some bonus
content or you can go directly to the final menu
which, can be accessed via the last page of the
comic book. "Batman –The Journey Begins" is a
thoughtful featurette giving us a glimpse into how
Nolan and Goyer eventually got involved in the
project. "Gotham City Rises" focuses on the sets
and set design. "The Cape and the Cowl" focuses
naturally on the costumes designed for the film.
"Shaping Body and Mind" looks at the physical
training that Christian Bale had to undergo for
the production. "Path to Discovery" focuses on the
development of the film itself with plenty of
brief interviews and clips from the film. "Genesis
of the Bat" compares the comic book to the film.
"Batman-The Tumbler" is a 14-minute featurette
follows the new Batmobile from design to final
construction. We also get "Confidential Files"
which provides text background on the various
characters and hardware on display in the film.
The art gallery section allows you to see the
various posters designed for the film. Finally
there's a 70-page comic book included in the
package. The comic features three stories
including a reproduction of the origin story for
Batman. Middle-aged fans may want to break out
their reading glasses as the text can be a bit
difficult to read at times.
A terrific movie that captures the comic book
flavor of Batman amazingly well, "Batman Begins"
almost becomes a bit of a let down by the time
Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. It's a well crafted
film that breathes new life into a franchise that
died at the hands of lesser film directors. I'd
definitely go for the deluxe edition if you want
all the background on the film. |
