Batman Begins

Totally a blockbuster. Full of action and almost real. I fully enjoyed the film.

This movie really is a superb example of how any major comic book character should be portrayed. Grounded in some sort of reality that touches the viewer on an emotional level, and amazing character development that allows you to appreciate the moments when the main character isn't in costume. Two thumbs up for a movie that warrants repeat viewing, as well as having a story deep enough to keep you interested no matter how many times you have seen it.

The storyline was excellent. The special effects were brilliant. The reality factor is higher than most Super Hero films. t offers a new angle on the whole Batman theme, bringing the Cartoon to life. It is a full energy film that will leave you on the edge of your seat for more action. It is probably the best film this decade. It has kept us entertained at least 5 times already. As for the Batmobile, where can I get one?

This film had alot to live up to, espcially after the dismal performances and plot lines of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. And thankfully it succeeded! Christian Bale manages to "round out" Bruce Wayne, where Michael Keaton failed. Michael Cane, as ever, a great actor, as the charming Alfred... True Brit Wit prevails. The casting in general was good, apart from the character of Katie Holmes. Her annoying lip slant and slightly tranced look, doesn't present well on to the big screen.

The sound, atmosphere, set, lighting and dialougue was of a good standard. The plot line is enough to keep the audience watching. It may have some ridiculous twists and turns, but is grounded in reality by its dark undertone.

Well done for making the film what it should have been!

Batman Begins is the first superhero film in many years that I have really enjoyed. So often is the genre a let down that I was sceptical about all the good reviews I had read prior to checking this one out.

For a start, the plot is good, as we see Bruce Wayne's transformation into the Dark Knight. The film begins miles away from home as Bruce Wayne is in a foreign prison, getting in fights and rubbing the locals up the wrong way. His devastating combat skills are noted by an elite group known as The League Of Shadows. They are headed up by Liam Neeson's character who recruits Wayne and trains him in the art of the ninja in what are some brutal scenes. However, Wayne soons finds himself disagreeing with their methods and walks away from The League Of Shadows after an almighty flare-up.

Upon his return to Gotham City, a place that has sunk as low as a city can go, Wayne vows to take out the trash and clean up his hometown. This is where we see him take up the guise of Batman as he goes about fighting crime. He has loyal allies in the shape of family butler Alfred (Michael Caine), scientist Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and the only good cop in the city Seargent Gordon (Gary Oldman). He begins his efforts in taking on Mafia Kingpin Carmine Falcone and soon ends up doing battle with the mysterious Scarecrow.

This makes for a great movie as the Caped Crusader has to take on various enemies to rid Gotham of the scum that has over-run it.

What I loved about this movie is that it is a dark film and one made for adults rather than kids. The film takes its time to establish the history of Bruce Wayne, so much so that we don't see him as Batman until over an hour into the movie. It is also very violent in parts, starting with a prison brawl and Wayne's unceremonious introduction into The League Of Shadows. The film climax is also knee-deep in violence as Gotham City seems more like Sin City with fights going on in every corner. If your kids are easily scared, they may not enjoy this film.

The cast though, is first class. Christian Bale is an excellent Batman, he really brings intensity to the role and was an excellent choice. Katie Holmes is also really good - I can see what The Cruiser sees in this lady! Liam Neeson is top notch as a Grand Ninja who tutors Bruce Wayne, while older hands Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman earn there money whilst oozing class.

My only criticism was that it maybe went on a bit too long. But intelligent movie-goers will love this, it's dark, vicious and keeps the CGI to a minimum. My advice: Buy Your Ticket.

Batman Begins: Let's get one thing before we go any further - this is not your father's Batman. Actually, let's make that two things - this is not the superhero movie to take your kids to. That's probably going to be Fantastic Four when it arrives. Kids will be bored witless by Begins, and will spend the first half relentlessly asking you where Batman is. Get a sitter.

Batman of course has been featured on both the big and small screens for decades now, from the camp insanity of Adam West and Burt Ward, through Tim Burton's twisted gothic vision, and Joel Schumacher's neon disasters. When you take your seat for Begins, however, bear in mind that all of these previous incarnations are irrelevant in the Begins universe. This is not a sequel, prequel, or other quel to any previous Batman instances. This is a Batman movie that literally starts again.

The movie spends a good portion of time delving into the origins of Batman. It starts out with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) in some far-east country, where a great many of the natives apparently speak English - despite being so far off the beaten track that nobody seems concerned about the enormous training facility built atop a snowy mountain. Bruce's history is shown through a short series of tight, well edited, flashbacks. We see the death of his parents, the guilt, the anger, and the inevitable preludes to a love interest. Unlike previous incarnations, Begins feeds you enough information to truly get across the reasons for Bruce turning into the crime fighting tour de force he becomes. In this respect Begins is the movie that the Batman comic book fans have been longing for.

In this mountain-top fortress the making of Bruce into something that is almost Batman is achieved at the hands of Ducard (Liam Neeson doing his best while handing out some heavy-handed dialogue full of creaky portent, and fortune cookie wisdom). It is here that the real focus of Begins is hammered home. This is a movie about fear, and this theme is thundered about for the remainder of the two and a bit hours. From Bruce's conversations with Alfred (Michael Caine), through the main villains and their plans, Begins ties fear into everything it shows.

Upon Bruce's return to Gotham, he truly builds the Batman persona. Begins shows us where Batman gets his toys. It shows us the first, tentative, steps into the night as Batman battles Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy in a startlingly creepy performance that truly highlights the fear both the role and the movie demand).

Begins sports a famous ensemble - with Caine, Oldman, Neeson, Murphy, Holmes, and of course Bale himself. The cast does well, with Oldman making a surprisingly good Gordon and Bale doing largely great work in a role that demands the display of two distinct personalities. Murphy, as noted, is perfectly creepy as Scarecrow, though the effects used to display his hallucinogenic effects fail to support him to the level he deserved. There are lows, however. Caine does what he can with Alfred, but the butler seems to lack warmth. Holmes is simply empty in a character that is little more than a shell.

Effects were intentionally as devoid of computer generated tomfoolery as Nolan could get them, which really strengthens Begins' grounding in a reality. Not our reality, of course, but a reality that is predominately believable. From Batman's first real fight - shown with great effectiveness by keeping Batman indistinct as the goons become more and more terrified - through to large chunks of the requisite batmobile (sorry, tumbler) chase, this movie feels solid. Far more so than the CGI excesses of the recent past. The action - when it arrives - is mostly well shot, and well played out.

There are, however, ludicrously impossible parts to Begins. And while it wouldn't be a superhero movie without them they feel curiously out of place, even in a world where a man dresses as a bat, because so much effort has been directed into making Begins real. Ducard's machiavellian "master plan" reeks of nonsense, from the intention through to the fundamentally impossible machine used to implement it.

There are some ridiculous parts to the tumbler chase, wherein the machine - which must weigh at least a couple of tonnes - nevertheless manages to flit across rooftops like a hummingbird (or a bat...). Even amidst the final climax the structures of Gotham seem strangely permeable and insubstantial when the action requires it. These drag the movie kicking and screaming out of its serious, rather dour, yet highly effective atmosphere and dangerously close to the camp it otherwise seems to be so studiously avoiding. You can't help but wonder if the makers needed a little more time to edit these kinks out of the screenplay, or if they were left to satisfy the Hollywood mogul's desires.

The most glaring problem was Bruce's declaration that he will not be an executioner, and the moral cachet the movie pins to this frame of mind for the rest of the film. Yet almost immediately kills an unknown number of men through deliberate action, whilst later he endangers the lives of numerous police officers, and kills by deliberate inaction. Begins speaks of a morality Batman claims, yet shows he is not in fact so hard and fast in applying it.

But Batman Begins manages to rise above or gloss over these errors, and remains an excellent movie. This is a dark, and mostly earnest, take on the Dark Knight and it should be approached with that in mind. This is not Schumacher, and it's not Spiderman. Whilst not really a "psychological thriller" (as it has been billed in some places...) Begins takes itself seriously and demands that the viewer does too. If you're willing to invest that much you'll be assured of a superb cinematic event.