Four Nerds

Da na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na LEADER! I mean BATMAN!

Okay, I know I said that I was going to get back to everyone about why I loved Batman Begins so much, but I'm a lazy git and never got around to it. So, why was Batman Begins the best Batman yet? There's a lot of reasons. Let's run down the list:

1) The characters.
Batman Begins makes up for it's deviance from the Batman "canon"* by remaining true to the characters. For the first time, they really explore what made Bruce Wayne go from just another victim of a horrific crime to a man obsessed. They dive into his head and give us a story about obsession, fear and vengeance.

Many fans wanted an adaptation of Batman: Year One. I know I did. I'm not sure why they didn't do a direct adaptation, but it doesn't matter. They gave us a story that succeeds in the same way Year One does. The reason Frank Miller's Batman stories are so good (not to mention his Daredevil stories and so on) is because he takes the characters seriously. The Joel Schumacher movies failed (and to a lesser degree, the Tim Burton movies), because there was still that element of comic-bookishness to them.

They also failed because they didn't remain true to the characters. I don't care about Batgirl being Alfred's niece or the Joker shooting Bruce's parents. Look at the Joker in Batman. He may be crazy, but he still knows who he is. He remembers Jack Napier. He goes after Jack Pallance and then Batman out of revenge. That's not how the Joker operates. First of all, his mind is so fractured that very little of his former life exists. His mind is consumed by the Joker. "The Joker, by contrast, is literally a killer clown, driven by a disordered and chaotic mind to pursue destruction and chaos with as much panache as possible."

Batman Begins stays faithful to the essence of the characters, if not the nitpicky details.

2. The script.
All superhero movies (or any movie based on some previously published work) takes some liberties with the original story. Some are relatively minor, like in The Lord of the Rings, (and you can debate that someother time) and some are major, like in I, Robot. Some changes work, like in Blade Runner. Some don't, like in The Hulk. This has been the bane of sci-fi purists for decades. The Joker isn't tall enough. The Human Torch burns at 287 degrees, not 297. Since when could zombies run? Etc, etc.

Now comes Batman Begins. In the past Batman franchises, certain liberties were taken with the story. The Joker killed Bruce's parents. The Penguin was a circus freak. Batgirl was Alfred's niece. The same could be said of Batman Begins. Ra's Al Ghul did not train Bruce Wayne (Although Henri Ducard did). Joe Chill was not gunned down by a mob boss. The difference between this movie and the last couple is that the changes are relatively minor and they work.

And while they did not adapt Batman: Year One like many had hoped, there were plenty of "borrowed" scenes and references.

3. The Actors.
Christopher Nolan put together an incredible cast. Christian Bale is excellent as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. The only thing that bothered me was that thing on his eye. Get it removed, dude!

The supporting cast was even better. Gary Oldman was, as usual, perfect as Lt. Jim Gordon. Morgan Freeman was great as Lucius Fox. I was a little aprehensive at first about Michael Caine as Alfred, but he owned the role. Cillian Murphy was excellent, Tom Wilkinson, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe. They were all great. Even Katie Holmes didn't annoy me, which was a welcome suprise.

4. The Direction.
Christopher Nolan put together a great film. From the style of the fight scenes (meant to resemble a swarm of bats), to the way he motivated his cast, to the overall look of the film. The art direction, costumes, sets, lighting, pacing, shot choices. Every detail was explored, and it worked very well. (Incidentally, Nolan did not use a 2nd Unit director like most films do. This is someone who is in charge of filming minor things, like close-ups and cutaway shots. Instead, Nolan oversaw every aspect of this film.)



*I hate the use of words like "canon" and "gospel" in reference to comic story lines, especially something like Batman, who is now approaching 70. There is no such thing as Batman's "continuity." But all this is for another post.