Must See Movie Of The Week #16: Batman Begins (2005) - Christian Bale, Liam Neeson. Directed by Christopher Nolan. This is the origin story of Batman, rebooting the franchise from the calamitous movies previous (apart from Tim Burtons 1989 effort). Warner Bros turned to talented director Nolan after his success with Insomnia and Memento and his vision of Gotham and Bruce Wayne makes for a story rooted firmly back in the comics roots where Batman is a dark and brutal vigilante, haunted by his past and where its not just the criminals that fear him. The script is where the power of the film lies. Yes, the action is fantastic and the set pieces are brilliant but its Bales portrayal of the Batman/Bruce Wayne that really grips, especially in his dialogue with Alfred, the family butler (Michael Caine in a masterstroke of casting). His final words to Ras Al Ghul completes his journey: Im not going to kill you... but I dont have save you... Also a career best role for the ever dependable Gary Oldman as Lieutenant Gordon (not yet Commisioner) makes his scenes ever watchable. The Scarecrow is a genuinely terrifying villain, brilliantly played by Irish actor and Nolan regular Cillian Murphy, who keeps his performance away from the hammy villains of the past movies and puts him firmly in the clever but clearly deranged psycho section of Arkham Asylum. Special mention for the outstanding music score by James Newton-Howard and Hans Zimmer, for using a big orchestra as opposed to synthesized music and this makes the movie so much better. As a first entry in the trilogy, it is a splendid effort and will always be the best franchise of Batman on the big screen because I simply cannot see how Nolans Dark Knight Trilogy could be surpassed.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 22:21:53 +0000
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