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Movies -- Batman Begins

The Batman series returns with a whole new beginning and a tale that's as dark and rich as the Dark Knight himself.

Christian Bale plays Batman this time around, starting off in a prison cell before being rescued by Liam Neeson and trained by the mysterious League of Shadows. When he finds out that the league's idea of justice is to be judge, jury, and executioner, Bale turns his back on them and returns to Gotham.

This time Gotham is filmed in Chicago, providing a gritty, but real backdrop for the city. Here Bruce Wayne returns to take control of his father's company and bring some justice back to a corrupt city, with a little help from his family's faithful servant, Alfred, played by Michael Caine and a tech guru, Lucius Fox, played by Morgan Freeman.

It's really these side actors that drive the movie. While Bale plays a convincing, brooding, almost obsessive Wayne, its Caine and Freeman who provide the balance and keep the movie from going over the top. Even with them however, this is still a comic to movie setup so there must be some kind of threat to the world.

This threat comes from a trio of villians, all well played themselves. The first we see is Tom Wilkinson playing the mobster boss, Carmine Falcone who is running drugs for Dr. Crane, otherwise known as The Scarecrow. Then later on, the League of Shadows is once again tied into this little plot to bring the thing full circle.

Almost ironically, Batman is at its best when Bale isn't in the suit. We get to see the past of Bruce Wayne retold with some differences from past stories, we see how the Bat Cave comes to be and how he slowly gains all of his nifty gadgets and toys without being overly obvious. We also get to see the beginning of Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman NOT AS A BAD GUY?!?!) and his rise through the police force. All that provides a great believable base and really takes up 3/4s of the movie.

When it fails toward the end, the movie grinds down into a serious of cliches and action sequences. Batman must save the city from a device that evaporates water, which will release a toxin that will drive civilians mad. Interestingly enough this device seems to have no effect on all the water in people....oops.

The film gets a bit away from itself with this global terrorism type plan at the end, really being bigger than it needed to be. One of the great things about Batman, is that he's a superhero without superpowers. He doesn't need to fight villians with supernatural powers, a great story can be told just about thieves, murderers, and corrupt officials, without the need to go into the stereotype areas done to death.

That said, with the exception of this slight miscalculation at the end, the film is well done and by far the best Batman production brought to the big screen. With the Joker leaving his calling card at the films end as well, it seems certain that a sequel is a lock.

20 Jun 2005 by Tom

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Past Reviews:
Ghost Rider, by Tom posted on 05 Mar 2007
Wild Hogs, by Tom posted on 05 Mar 2007
Rocky Balboa, by Tom posted on 02 Jan 2007
The Pick of Destiny , by Tom posted on 04 Dec 2006
Deja Vu, by Tom posted on 04 Dec 2006
Stranger Than Fiction, by Tom posted on 20 Nov 2006
Flags of Our Fathers, by Tom posted on 07 Nov 2006
Beerfest, by Tom posted on 01 Sep 2006
Snakes on a Plane, by Tom posted on 21 Aug 2006
Miami Vice, by Tom posted on 31 Jul 2006
Clerks 2, by Tom posted on 25 Jul 2006
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest , by Tom posted on 10 Jul 2006
Superman Returns, by Tom posted on 10 Jul 2006
Nacho Libre, by Tom posted on 19 Jun 2006
X3: Last Stand, by Tom posted on 30 May 2006
The DaVinci Code, by Tom posted on 30 May 2006
Mission Impossible 3, by Tom posted on 08 May 2006
Silent Hill, by Tom posted on 28 Apr 2006
The Benchwarmers, by Tom posted on 27 Apr 2006
Final Fantasy VII, by Tom posted on 26 Apr 2006
Scary Movie 4, by Tom posted on 25 Apr 2006
Lucky Number Slevin, by Tom posted on 11 Apr 2006
Inside Man, by Tom posted on 28 Mar 2006
V for Vendetta, by Tom posted on 20 Mar 2006
16 Blocks, by Tom posted on 12 Mar 2006
Ultraviolet, by Tom posted on 06 Mar 2006
Date Movie, by Tom posted on 20 Feb 2006
The Matador, by Tom posted on 07 Feb 2006
Underworld: Evolution, by Tom posted on 30 Jan 2006
The Producers, by Tom posted on 06 Jan 2006
Movie Awards Preview, by Tom posted on 28 Dec 2005
Fun with Dick and Jane, by Tom posted on 27 Dec 2005
King Kong, by Tom posted on 23 Dec 2005
The Chronicles of Narnia, by Tom posted on 12 Dec 2005
The Ice Harvest, by Tom posted on 28 Nov 2005
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , by Tom posted on 22 Nov 2005
Jarhead, by Tom posted on 07 Nov 2005
The Legend of Zorro, by Tom posted on 31 Oct 2005
Clerks 2 Preview, by Tom posted on 28 Oct 2005
Domino, by Tom posted on 17 Oct 2005
Waiting, by Tom posted on 10 Oct 2005
Stewie Griffon: The Untold Story, by Tom posted on 30 Sep 2005
Monty Python's Spamalot, by Tom posted on 15 Sep 2005
The 40 Year Old Virgin, by Tom posted on 07 Sep 2005
Transporter 2, by Tom posted on 06 Sep 2005
The Brothers Grimm, by Tom posted on 29 Aug 2005
Four Brothers, by Tom posted on 22 Aug 2005
Fantastic Four, by Tom posted on 09 Jul 2005
War of the Worlds, by Tom posted on 06 Jul 2005
Land of the Dead, by Tom posted on 29 Jun 2005
Batman Begins, by Tom posted on 20 Jun 2005
The Longest Yard, by Tom posted on 10 Jun 2005
Summer movie blockbusters!, by Tom posted on 24 May 2005
Star Wars Ep 3, by Tom posted on 19 May 2005
Unleashed, by Tom posted on 14 May 2005
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Tom posted on 03 May 2005
Sahara, by Tom posted on 11 Apr 2005
Sin City, by Tom posted on 04 Apr 2005
Constantine, by Tom posted on 20 Feb 2005
Assault on Precinct 13 , by Tom posted on 30 Jan 2005
Meet the Fockers, by Tom posted on 28 Dec 2004
Ocean's Twelve, by Tom posted on 28 Dec 2004
Blade 3, by Tom posted on 28 Dec 2004
National Treasure, by Tom posted on 29 Nov 2004
After the Sunset, by Tom posted on 13 Nov 2004
The Incredibles, by Tom posted on 10 Nov 2004
The Grudge, by Tom posted on 23 Oct 2004
Team America: World Police, by Tom posted on 18 Oct 2004
Shaun of the Dead, by Tom posted on 30 Sep 2004
Mr. 3000, by Tom posted on 18 Sep 2004
Resident Evil: Apocalypse, by Tom posted on 17 Sep 2004
Hero, by Tom posted on 06 Sep 2004
Suspect Zero, by Tom posted on 04 Sep 2004
Alien vs. Predator, by Tom posted on 15 Aug 2004
Collateral, by Tom posted on 07 Aug 2004
The Manchurian Candidate, by Tom posted on 01 Aug 2004
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, by Tom posted on 31 Jul 2004
Bourne Supremecy, by Tom posted on 24 Jul 2004
I, Robot, by Tom posted on 20 Jul 2004