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Film review

Caped fear

The backstory on this bat story tests one's patience, but if that's the worst act of villainy by the director of Batman, there's still much dark drama to satisfy fans.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published June 14, 2005

[Photo: Warner Bros.

Christian Bale fairly balances the duality of the film’s characters: Bruce Wayne, once a young victim, and Batman, who seeks justice.

	Coming to a darkened room near you Some things old, a handful new, some borrowed plots and a bit of boo: Summer films again marry the proven and the preposterous to lure fans to the movie theater. (5/19/05)

Batman Begins, and keeps on beginning until one wonders if this crusader will ever don his cape. Nearly an hour passes while director/co-screenwriter Christopher Nolan psychoanalyzes the inner demons of billionaire Bruce Wayne and the friends and foes that fans know so well.

This is a movie that could use a good montage.

Once everyone and the monkeys on their backs are introduced, Nolan's version of the comic book myth settles into a nice groove. Not campy, like the old TV series or Joel Schumacher's 1997 atrocity that almost accomplished what Batman's archenemies never could: killing off the legend. And not as overly serious as Nolan's first half portends. Batman Begins certainly could use a bit more humor, a better villain and two major casting changes, but it ultimately does the job.

Christian Bale takes over the dual role of Wayne and Batman, and he's a solid choice; athletic, intense and game for Nolan and David S. Goyer's internalized drama. He can't take Jack Nicholson's advice to Michael Keaton before Batman (1989), to "let the suit do all the acting" since the Wayne persona gets more screen time than usual.

There's a sense of ordinariness, even weakness, to this Bruce Wayne that wasn't previously allowed. Bale nicely balances the extremes of his role. But for moviegoers expecting summertime fireworks, it's questionable they will appreciate in-depth character studies. Batman Begins isn't dull, yet it regularly creates that possibility. Rushes of excitement pulling it back from the entertainment abyss may not be enough for some viewers.

Some decisions made by Nolan are spot-on. It's now impossible to imagine anyone except Michael Caine playing Alfred Pennyworth, Wayne's loyal butler aiding his crime-fighting career. The question posed by Nicholson's Joker - where do all of Batman's wonderful toys come from? - is answered purely by the casting of Morgan Freeman. As a weapons researcher for Wayne's corporation, Freeman makes us believe he had these gadgets just lying around. The same kind of believability helps Gary Oldman's turn as Sgt. Jim Gordon, a straight-arrow cop who we know will someday be police commissioner.

The casting errors are Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, a childhood friend of Wayne's who rose from servant's daughter to Gotham City assistant district attorney, and Cillian Murphy as psychologist Jonathan Crane, whose alter ego is the Scarecrow. Rachel's role requires someone tougher, someone who wouldn't be carded trying to buy a ticket to an R-rated movie. Murphy (28 Days Later) is simply a victim of bad decisionmaking; the Scarecrow has a neat, nefarious scheme but lacks the personality to match. The actor's smugness without his maggot-infested burlap mask is hardly intimidating.

Nolan gets around to a crisis involving the contamination of Gotham City's water supply by a chemical to drive citizens dangerously insane, although not until a lot of troubled waters pass under the bridge. We see (again) the murder of Wayne's parents by a common thief, with a revenge twist leading to mobster Carmine Falcone (British actor Tom Wilkinson exaggerating a "dese, dem, dose" accent) and eventually Scarecrow.

But we also spend a lot of time watching Wayne deal with his parents' deaths by retreating to the Far East where he's freed from prison by mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson, doing another mentor gig). Ducard introduces Wayne to Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe), leader of a ninja cult who teaches martial arts to the budding crime fighter. There's a lot of talk about fear, duty, loyalty and more fear. We get the message long before Wayne does. Everything in Nolan's first hour is appropriately epic, but seems empty thanks to the volume of the vessel.

Batman Begins is a fine filler of gaps left by previous Caped Crusader movies. Why bats as a superhero inspiration? Got it. How was the Bat Cave created? Check. Who designed the Bat Signal? Oh, that's it. How Wayne got that playboy image? That's cool. What can't be explained is how the sleek Batmobile design morphed into a crumpled Hummer, and why Ra's Al Ghul figures into the climactic crisis long after he's dead. Bale has been hired for two more Batflicks, perhaps to tidy up.

Even then, Batman Begins ends with the caped crusader leaping into another case that, without spoiling the surprise, suggests that Tim Burton picked up the myth at precisely the right moment. It's either a clever red herring, or a concession that Nolan's movie is merely an expertly crafted background check.

-- Steve Persall can be reached at 727 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com

Grade: B

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe, Rutger Hauer

Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer, based on characters created by Bob Kane

Rating: PG-13; action violence, disturbing images, mature themes

Running time: 140 min.

[Last modified June 13, 2005, 16:28:03]