Batman begins movie review

Batman Begins

Review by Zulfi

            As much as many consider ‘Dark Knight’ to be a timeless classic, ‘Batman Begins’ deserves its due credit and consideration to be rated as one of the best superhero movie of all times. While dark knight is more about the strong psyches of three different morally opinionated people, ‘batman begins’ has the best plot of the trilogy. It is not only a budding stage for the evolution of the next two movies but also the spirit of the whole franchise. As much as batman was one of the popular comic characters, Nolan’s fusion of his psychological take on the caped crusader made him the most loved one of the comic world.

            Every superhero has pathos. It becomes the pivot for his turning into his alter-ego. It is so easy when you have some deficiencies in the character which makes him motivated to become a vigilante. Some other heroes are born out of their superhuman powers. Batman, though devoid of these two characters, has achieved the pinnacle of success, which is surely tough to imagine. He is rich, he is handsome and he is strong. Along with that he has his strong banner of an industrial enterprise of a company. Finding the motivation for him is not easy and it surely becomes unconvincing. He too had the pathos of losing his parents, but a child carrying it as a baggage for such a long time doesn’t suddenly become a vigilante. Nolan provides the best excuse for Bruce Wayne to don his cape and mask. He provides the back story and the present conditions which cumulatively inspire him to inspire others.

            The movie has three parts, -motivation, construction of his emblem and facing his first biggest challenge. Nolan does all these three phases with such a good pace and answering all the questions. Nolan gains when he doesn’t directly take the reason of senior Waynes’ death for the junior to help people. He shows how Bruce becomes more withdrawn and rebellious after his parents’ demise. That’s the actual psychology. When his friend, Rachel Dawes tells him that he should defend what his father had stood for rather than an accident, which happened many years ago, we see him make a fool of himself and learn from it. This provides his intention to stand up for his people, as in them he sees his parents. Nolan does it with such a heart and with crisp and clear dialogue. Falcone’s instruction regarding life maybe the best scene in the movie. Another great representation of the comic world comes from Ra’s al ghul. I am told he is one of the top-ten all time villains rated by some famous magazine. He might have got the mileage from ‘batman begins’ as far as I know.

            Ra’s al ghul is certainly a very unique villain. His ideology of raising of a new civilization from the dust or ash (can compare with phoenix evolution) is a very incomprehensible concept. We don’t know whether to laud at his simple solution to the growing corruption or shiver at his straightforward and blunt approach to the problem. Nolan handles not only the character but also the name and it’s impact. We don’t know if it is a name or a person. Probably the trump card of Ra’s is that a person can die but a name can’t. Nolan and David Goyer use all the minute breadcrumbs which are dropped while they tell the story and gathers them at the end when we just sit and watch how everything starts to fall in its place. The script of the movie is like Nolan’s typical presentation. David S Goyer, skillfully, moves it back and forth in chronological order but follows the linear approach when telling the plot. A convict in Mongolia has a tale to tell and a chapter of morals to learn and when he executes his knowledge he does it at his own terms. This is the linear story, but moved to and fro in time.

            The biggest problem with watching ‘batman begins’ is that you can no longer watch the older batman movies with the same awe we had. It is not just about new way of unfolding the script, but the main issue is that when you watch older movies, you see characters on a stage in a gaudy makeup uttering lines, which you would never speak in normal sequence of things. In Nolan’s Gotham, You envision batman as a real life personage, talking and moving like us, with common problems of fear and family, while in the older versions he is somebody you couldn’t easily relate to. Though he has no extraordinary powers, he is a fantasy material for us readers. Nolan achieved to break the barrier of batman being only a comic character.

            Coming to the technological advancements, Nolan provides us with the science behind batman’s use of gadgets. Though he doesn’t delve in lecturing the functionality of the springs and weapons he uses, he shows the material being in use during the action set pieces. The Q of Wayne enterprises is Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and his character of a scientist in the R and D department juxtaposes with Batman’s gadget needs. The scene in which he introduces the Tank or Bat mobile plays as the teaser for the upcoming ‘scrambles of Batman over the rooftops’. And yes, bat mobile’s trips in the city sets the tone that Batman has turned the corner in action department. When he calls all the bats of the night for covering up for him, you would know Nolan’s ingenuity in using finer points of science for setting up something path breaking. Michael Caine had started the roll call for Nolan with this movie and he could easily be the perfect Albert, preaching and serving. Gary Oldman is apt as Gordon. Bob Kane’s characters have clear dimensions and Hans Zimmer’s score defines the tone of the movie.

            As all Nolan’s movies, ‘batman begins’ has a strong spirit. It starts the trilogy with romances settled and making the ground ready for Batman as a terror figure for criminals, which will be both a boon and bane. Explaining why it is a bane is what Nolan good at. Upholding law, while he breaks it, is batman’s shortcoming. This is the result while he begins and so, gets caught in his own moral dragnet, which by the way becomes the whole plot for the next 2 in the line. Never has any franchise provided feed for the brain to ponder than this.