Batman Begins

72.9 million dollars just isn’t enough. Summer blockbusters in today’s opening weekend dominated, first 5 days oriented, cinema marketplace need to be hitting 100 million in the first week. 400 million is the line here, once over and into the green, words like “sequel” can be more assuredly spoken. This weekend is the last sprint, the final hurdle towards certainty of another big screen adventure for the dark knight, before Spielberg’s new take on an old tale leaches it’s tentacle around the movie-going public, and the world’s greatest detective is once again lost to the shadows.

These are important facts to consider, as once the credits roll you’ll very much want to see this Batman return. Twisting the traditional origin tale, director Christopher Nolan wisely plays out the well know establishing story through a disjointed narrative, bringing the focus sharply back to Bruce Wayne and the key character events in his emotional build up to launching the ultimate alter ego. This unique sense of grounding everything in a slightly heightened reality is a true masterstroke, that allows Nolan and screenwriter David S Goyer (making amends for Blade 3) to carve out a film that is the Batman you should’ve always known: brooding, terrifying, an avenging angel of the night.

Banish all thoughts of previous Bat-efforts from your mind. There is no Chris O’Donnell with silly earrings here, no Jim Carrey scenery chewing. Goyer’s writing is perfectly toned through the performances, with standouts from Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. Caine brings a staggering new emotional resonance to Alfred, a passionate father figure desperate to maintain the Wayne family’s ideological legacy, whilst Freeman manages to elevate his essentially expositional role to scene-stealing levels. Despite making an impression as Gordon, Gary Oldman is the surprise weakest link, mostly due to his limited screen time and non-existent character background, but this is one of the few sequel-promised sacrifices made in a film clocking in at over two and a half hours. Praise must also go to the quite outstanding support players such as Linus Roache and Sara Stewart, who in only a handful of moments create an intimate portrayal of the Wayne family, a palpable sense of human duty that further influences their son destined to be a hero. And great to see Rutger Hauer back on form, between this and Sin City, the man is redefining a comeback.

Christian Bale is the best on screen Batman. It’s due in no small part to the material, but Bale really has a definitive handle on Bruce Wayne’s transformation, which is key to reflecting both faces of the character. He revels in the playboy bachelor as anyone who’s seen American Psycho knows he can, whilst embracing the aggressive minimalism required for the dark vigilante. This results in a performance that is both beautiful and haunting, repentive and fierce. Couple this with a fantastic score from mainstream opposites James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, and you have pitch perfect entertainment, the best Batman film ever, and a strong contender for the greatest film you’ll see this year.

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CategoryFilm