Batman Begins

Batman Begins exists in a bleak version of the renowned Gotham City, with a depression causing ghettos and crime, and even worse, the breakdown of ideals. Introduced to us by way of flashbacks, is seemingly the only good man left, Thomas Wayne, who is attempting to raise his son to believe in Goodness and Right. His demise leads his son down a dark path of guilt, desire for vengeance, and mostly of fear. It is from here that Batman evolves.

Finally giving much needed depth to the famous character, the development of Bruce Wayne the powerful man is a joy. From prisons in an unspecified Asian nation, to learning battle and self-mastery techniques from the mysterious Ra’s Al Ghul, we see how a boy became a bat. Not since Spider-Man 2 have we had such an effective exploration of the humanity of a superhero, and in some ways this surpasses even that great film.

David S. Goyer wrote the screenplay, and there are many themes present those familiar with his previous efforts will recognise. The seedy underbelly beneath civilised society is something he revealed in the Blade series and also in the excellent Dark City. Beyond that, he uses standard comic book forms such as the loner hero, the threat the hero poses to those he loves, and so on, but introduces another. Seemingly inspired by The Village and its metaphor for post-9/11 America, he uses the World Trade Centre attacks, and the motives of those behind them as inspiration.

His bad guys are true believers in their cause, not just opportunistic thieves and murderers. The League of Shadows, led by a fanatic who believes that Gotham City is corrupt and needs to be cleansed, is a ready analogue to Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. The tactic of using fear upon the residents, such that they turn on each other and destroy themselves, is commonly associated with terrorism, and many would also say that post-9/11 this is what is happening in the USA. There are some who would claim the Patriot Act, and the constantly updating Homeland Security threat level are symptoms of that fear. Certainly the makers of Fahrenheit 9/11, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism and The Village seem to think so.

By giving both his hero and his villains true complexity of desire, Goyer imbues Batman Begins with a thoughfulness not commonly seen in average Hollywood action fare. This is masterfully carried off by the most under-rated of actors, Christian Bale, who supplies Wayne/Batman with both sex appeal and charm, but also a darkness that is impossible to ignore… none of the Michael Keaton nice guy for this Batman. Bale is supported by a wonderful cast, including Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer and Ken Watanabe – truly has such a cast been assembled for a comic book adaptation before?

The visual style is extremely important to this film, and the effects are done very well. The use of the darkness in the shadows brings atmosphere, and the design of the costume and bat-paraphernalia are suitably bleak and foreboding. I did find fault with the editing, with once again a major action film hampered by its use of ridiculous hyper-kinetic cutting to and fro, that makes several of the fight scenes almost unwatchable. The first such scene, in the prison yard, is a mess – not once can the audience see who is fighting whom, and it is only our expectation that Wayne is an unbeatable streetfighter that lead me to assume he was the one winning. With such little differentiation by colour as is afforded by setting a fight in grey mud, with the fighters in grey mud-covered clothing, the editing makes it even harder.

That being said, Batman Begins is otherwise a very strong film, with a unique vision of its hero, and the patience to let us see it. It should be applauded for redressing the damage done to the Dark Knight by years of Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney farce.