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The film's beginnings show Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) as a lost young man. He trains under the guidance of a clichéd kung-fu master until we have a stronger young man, still lost. But have no fear, Bruce finds a purpose after contemplating the outlaw scum of the world: his purpose is to become a Batman, of course! Once he is Batman, halfway through the movie, we see him play with gadgets and start to tackle the criminal decay of his hometown, GothamCity. The movie ends with a reference to the Joker, tying Batman Begins in with the original Batman film.
Nobody can argue against the component merits of this movie. The special effects are as smooth as butter. There are scenes where a psychologist puts on a mask and administers fear-producing hallucinogens. Such nightmare visions had a great potential to be cheesy. In Batman, however, these sequences were well executed and realistic. In fact, the only special effect that really bothered me was a shanty town in Gotham, which was clearly computer generated. Maybe I've simply had too much practice at spotting computer graphics. The plot elements were fun and varied. It took a winding path through Chinese prisons and mountain fortresses and a secret society of Ninjas. There was a girl, an evil company president, a crime lord, and other characters. On paper that sounds like a short attention span, but it works on film.
However, this movie is more than a string of technical elements. There is a message about human determination. There is growth and exploration of a quite human character. For these things, we must have acting. The token woman is played by Katie Holmes. She isn't bad enough to detract from the movie; she isn't good enough to add anything, either. We have a girl Batman likes, she must be saved, and nothing more is asked of the character. Michael Caine, however, was a witty and very English sidekick as Alfred: my favorite in the movie. All superhero movies need a scientist, so Morgan Freeman was picked to play one. produced a very workman-like portrayal. Recall his role as Bruce Almighty's overworked wizard of a god. Both then and now he is faithful to a mediocre supporting character. Freeman makes a very workman-like portrayal. Christian Bale's Batman is good, a man first and a superhero second. Far away were the previous renditions of Bruce Wayne; they have been detached millionaires, driven by some vague sense of duty. The script is a struggle to inject plausibility into a very stupid franchise, and Bale pulls it off. We even forgive him when he dresses up as a giant bat.
There was no love manifested in Batman Begins and it shows. Missing is the lasting presence of a great film. Now we can begin to understand Batman's flaws: the same flaws of many movies today. With a modern blockbuster the elements are perfect, but there is no larger harmony or beauty. How could there be? Consider the creative process of such a production. A movie company will begin by winning a franchise. Then they must produce a copy of a previous success. With an action franchise, all the appropriate action components must be there, and be appealing. "Clichés are low-risk," the staff writers are told. They die a little inside as they hammer out a plot. The final step is advertisement, which almost guarantees profit. Without compassion it's not art, it's an investment.
Batman Begins presents a semi-realistic, and therefore fresh, look at an old franchise. The characters actually work well together, and the experience is fun. The prowess of director Christopher Nolan is obvious, as he manages to keep a two-hour long superhero flick engaging. Unfortunately, the movie has an absolute lack of vision. If there are any lessons about humanity in there, they are lost in a flurry of half-formed concepts and villains. However, if you are a charitable buddy to some optimistic movie-goer, then by all means go with him to this reasonably cool show. Just keep in mind that you've seen it all before, and won't miss anything if you stay home and rent Twelve Angry Men instead.