Batman Franchise Resurrected with Batman Begins

Batman Begins, one of the most anticipated movies this summer, soars into theaters with every bit of the gusto that one should expect from a surefire blockbuster. The intelligently crafted caper, along with that other behemoth Star Wars, will likely emerge as one of the winners in this summer’s box office battle. While Star Wars, Episode Three provided a worthy conclusion
to a beloved series, Batman Begins reinvigorates a series left for dead after the 1997 star-studded debacle, Batman and Robin. That Batman Begins excels when it explores the psychological scars of Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne should come as no surprise given the talents of its director, Christopher Nolan, who rose to prominence with the 2000 mind-bending indie thriller Memento. That film featured another tortured soul who suffered from short-term memory loss and wrote down clues to his wife's murder on his body. Nolan avoided a sophomore slump and followed up his Memento effort with Imsomnia, an effective, atmospheric thriller with imsomniac police detective Al Pacino on the trail of a serial killer, played by a surprisingly creepy Robin Williams. The thirty-five-year-old director expands on his already-impressive resume with this film that explores how and why Bruce Wayne became Batman, giving us confidence that this franchise can live if not thrive in the coming years.

Dark and broody yet never completely void of the fun that should characterize a summer release about a comic book hero, Batman Begins takes flight well past the previous Batman films with the possible exception of the first Batman feature. That film, like this film, was aided by A-list actors including Jack Nicholson, who ad-libbed and laughed his way to near delirium as the Joker. (Readers who want to quibble over the merits of the first film and Nicholson's performance should watch it again and tell me that his antics, gyrations, and one-liners don't elicit at least a dozen chuckles.) The top-shelf cast of this film includes Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne's trusted butler Alfred; a spirited Morgan Freeman, perfectly portraying inventor Lucius Wolf; Gary Oldman, unusually straight and serious here as Lt. Gordon; Rutger Hauer as the CEO of his father's corporation Wayne Enterprises; and Tom Wilkinson as a Falcone, a high-priced criminal caught between a crime boss with much more muscle and the police. The movie's younger stars rise to the challenge of being on screen with these Oscar-nominated heavyweights. Katie Holmes is more than adequate as Bruce Wayne's DA friend and Cillian Murphy, looking nothing like the panicked survivor in 28 Days Later, is devilishly devious as psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane.

At the film's core, though, is Christian Bale's performance as Bruce Wayne and Batman. From his performance as a psychotic Wall Street trader in American Psycho to his performance as a major love interest of one of the women in Little Women to his highly-regarded work in The Machinist, Bale has shown the dramatic range needed to portray Wayne as a wealthy playboy and a psychologically-scarred loner and his alter ego, the justice-seeking Batman. As Bruce Wayne and Batman, Bale possesses rich-dude looks and harbors at least a hint of mystery.

There are, however, two minor disappointments in the film. One is the casting of Liam Neeson, generally a fine actor. Here is Henri Picard, a Ninja-like warrior who is hell-bent on training Bruce Wayne in martial arts technique that he will put to use as Batman. Neeson's performance is simply a retread of his turn as Gunga Din in The Phantom Menace. In a lesser film, his work is the kind that might lower an overall rating of a film. The other disappointment is the lack of screen time for Ken Watanabe, the Oscar-nominated warrior from The Last Samurai. Watanabe's role could and should have been more pivotal for an actor of his talents.

Unlike the other Batman films, the stunts and action sequences take a back seat to the drama unfolding around Bruce Wayne and his evolution to Batman and the perfectly-gauged plot lines that involve Bruce Wayne's return to Gotham and all that ensues. Upon his return, Wayne learns that parts of Gotham are near depression while large corporations such as his family's own Wayne Enterprises are regular parties to rampant corporate greed, corruption has infiltrated the city's police department, and criminals virtually run amuck. At the center of this danger is, of course, his childhood friend Rachel, who is an assistant in the district attorney's office.


Batman Begins has a look and tone unlike any of the other Batman films. The cinematography by Wally Pfister, while not as impressive as the famously dark and darker Batman and Batman Returns, is still skillful. The Gotham City in Batman Begins is at one end a place capable of unspeakable horrors and street-filled poverty and at another end a city of supreme wealth and corporate greed and mischief. Some of the city’s streets are filled with vagrants and hoods doing what they absolutely must to survive and towering skyscrapers that house the large city’s wealthiest corporations. Danny Elfman’s original score in Batman was something of an artistic triumph, and while the music in Batman Begins is not quite on that level, the music is competently produced and coordinated by a mixture of accomplished composers: Ramin Djawadi, James Newton Howard, Mel Wesson, and Hans Zimmer. They’ve provided a score that is evocatively gothic.

Batman Begins concludes with a reference to a popular villain from the comic strip, providing us with a glimpse of what is to come. This confidently crafted work zestfully resurrects the Batman franchise, setting the stage for a series of engaging summer films for years to come. It comfortably joins X-Men 2 and Spider-man 2 in an elite class of marvelously-produced movie adaptations of comic book super heroes in recent years.

NEWS AND NOTES

Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood will collaborate on Flags of our Fathers, a World War II drama about the six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Spielberg will produce and Eastwood will direct from a script by Paul Haggis, who was nominated for Best Screenplay Adaptation for Million Dollar Baby. Haggis recently co-wrote and directed Crash, a drama about racism and the clash of cultures in LA.

After completing his work on Flags of Our Fathers, Haggis will direct Death and Dishonor, a drama about a G.I. who is murdered after returning from Iraq.

Cinderella Man opened in fourth place after Madagascar, The Longest Yard, and Star Wars: Episode Three. It earned just $18.3 million in its opening weekend. The surprisingly low gross is particularly peculiar, considering the film's director Ron Howard teamed with production partner Brian Grazer, Russell Crowe, and writer Akiva Goldsman, the same team who earned Oscars for Best Picture and Best Screenplay for A Beautiful Mind.

Hollywood insiders are indicating that Reese Witherspoon will be an Oscar contender for Best Actress for her performance as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line.

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx have signed on to portray detectives in Michael Mann's film adaptation of his own popular 1980s television show Miami Vice. The film will open next summer.

Tom Hanks is set to star in The Da Vinci Code. Ron Howard is set to direct. The film will open in theaters in May 2006.

Bryan Singer, who emerged as a major directing talent with Usual Suspects, X-Men, and X-Men 2, will direct Superman Returns. The film will star newcomer Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth. Kevin Spacey will play super villain Lex Luther.

Spike Lee is directing a hostage thriller starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, and Eli Wallach. The film is tentatively titled Inside Man.

Despite predominantly positive reviews, Christopher Nolan has still not agreed to direct the next movie in the Batman franchise.

Louisville native and Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan will direct Syriana, a political expose about U.S. policy in the Middle East during the Cold War. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Amanda Peet, and William Hurt will star.

Michael Cunningham, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hours, is adapting a screenplay based on Good Grief, a popular novel from 1984. Julia Roberts is reportedly interested in the project.