BATMAN BEGINS

4/5
stars christian bale, katie holmes, liam neeson

i saw the ads for this movie well in advance and thought to myself that it looked alright. but then i remembered that's what i thought when i saw the Episode III (2/5) trailer, so naturally i was quite apprehensive. and after Batman and Robin, i wasn't expecting much from the lastest batman film. thankfully, i was woefully mistaken.

the story traces the beginning (really? oh my god!) of bruce wayne's (christian "best-batman-ever" bale) path into becoming th dark knight. the film starts off with a series of flashbacks that shows us where wayne first encounters the bats. the film also pays tribute to bruce's parents and portrays them as noble and righteous. a saying that has been passed down the wayne family line is one that epitomises the notion that one person, if they wanted to, could make a difference.

"why do we fall? so we can learn how to pick ourselves up"

the story takes its time to get to the real action when bruce returns to gotham city after exiling himself after the trial of the guy who murdered his parents. he returns with a hope to bring gotham to salvation, and to prove to the world that gotham is a city of heroes, a city that is worth saving.

enter liam neeson (i mean ra's al ghul) and his minions who are hell-bent on destroying gotham, a society which they believe have reached its decadent peak and must be extinguished.

diretor christopher nolan (of "memento" fame) creates a world that, while being slighly over stylelised, that is believable and very much real. the backdrop of economic depression and corruption is one that all audiences, both local and global, can relate to. the film takes a very X-Men/X2 approach by making the film look as though it could actually happen in real life. all the gadgets are explained this time round, as are the histories of the main characters.

micahel cain does a fantastic job as alfred, as does liam neeson as ra's al ghul. all performances were top-notch, even katie holmes as the outspoken assistant district attorney rachel dawes. i usually don't like holmes, but in this film, equipped with a awesome script, she does fine:

"...he's been missing for two days, which in this city means i should start looking at the bottom of the river."

christian bale also proves he's got more than an american psycho in him. he plays the part perfectly, being the reluctant playboy billionaire and as the caped crusader. it's ironic in a way that "bruce wayne" is his mask, and batman is who he really is. and as rachael says, "it's not what's inside - it's what you DO that defines who you are." this could not be closer to the truth.

my only criticism of the film that it was a bit long; at 141 minutes the viewing experience does become somewhat arduous. even with this said, the film kicks arse so badly we can almost forget about the other aboniation of batman films... almost.

i wouldn't see this film again any time soon, but from my first viewing, i loved it.

-LOki