Begins Again

I was originally hoping to write a big long piece about Batman Begins by incorporating my thoughts on various incarnations of the character in various media outlets...

But with everything being as crazy as it is, I'm lucky I actually got to see the film at all...so you'll get a somewhat truncated piece.

DC Comics has been having a tough time for almost a decade in bringing (or bringing back) their characters to the silver screen. After director Joel Schmacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman put a nail in Batman's coffin with 1997's ridiculous campfest Batman & Robin, we've gotten pretty much nothing on the big screen from the company (aside from Catwoman and Constantine...but I'll get to those in a moment). Even a slew of potential directors and writers such as Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, J.J. Abrams and Brett Ratner couldn't get the man of steel to fly again.

While the comic books kept churning out decent stories and TV kept things moving nicely (with various animated shows like Teen Titans or Justice League and the small screen hit Smallville), we got a decent adaptation of a cult book (Hellblazer became Constantine) and a feeble attempt at connecting something to the Batman mythos that smelled mostly of warmed over kitty litter and a quick grab for cash (yes...Catwoman was very wrong-headed...yet in an interesting, car crash kind of way).

But finally we get what is not only the best Batman to hit the big screen, but what could easily replace the first Superman as the best comic book based movie ever. It's also the best movie so far this year (which isn't saying much) and could even be one of the best films of the decade so far which is saying a lot).

I never thought that showing what I consider to be "the boring years" of Bruce Wayne's life (the period between the death of his parents and his first appearance as Batman) where he trains to become the hero he is would be exciting...but director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David Goyer have constructed a well thought out and highly exciting story that really gets under the masks of both Bruce Wayne and Batman...and they manage the right balance of hero to villain (or villains) that the previous films (which had their ups and downs) couldn't find.

You all know the basic story of bruce Wayne watching his parents murdered and yadda yadda yadda he eventually dons a bat suit and fights crime...but here we get a much deeper examination of the hows and whys he comes to be. And it all involves a well blended melange of comic book based characters, events and situations from the past 60+ years of Batman comic stories. Everyone has a moment and with maybe two exceptions has a basis in the lore that's been built up on the printed page.

We get a plethora of villains each with different agendas and amounts of screentime, but none feels under used or over exposed. From mob boss Carmine Falcone, to Ra's Al Ghul, to the Scarecrow, to corrupt cop Flass, to crooked businessman William Earl everyone serves a purpose and no one misses a beat.

One the side of good, we get everyone we expect...Batman, Bruce Wayne, Alfred, Jim Gordon, Lucious Fox and newcomer D.A. Rachel Dawes (who could be the film's one weak link...but she's nowhere near the weak link of Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's 1989 film and any "annoyances" of her characters will be quickly forgotten and forgiven).

Everything about this film is top notch. The acting, the writing, the camera work (well...most of it...some early fight scenes are a bit too tight and hard to follow because of the camera and editing). Even the msuic is great as I was afarid I'd really miss Danny Elfman's operatically dark score, but this one works well (there were times I expected the score to segue into it). Any CGI that was used is not at all distracting. Unlike the planetscapes in Star Wars which look cool, but fake, Gotham City looks alive and real in every shot (even the ones that are obviously models...which was nice to see again in addition to some CGI).

The film effortlessly moves through its two hour and twenty one minute running time and will keep you on the edge of your seat. By the end, which leaves a good number of unknown Arkham Asylum escapees running loose, you'll be wanting more. Let's hope they get to it sooner rather than later.

And let's hope that next summer's new Superman movie continues the trend of putting DC Comics back on the good side of the silver screen where it belongs (but this one's gonna be hard to top).

That's all for now.

Be seeing you.