Batman Begins
The origins of the dark knight are stunningly
wrought on celluloid.
Batman Begins stays close to the comic-book
roots of the "Dark Knight" and shows us the origins of Bruce Wayne's fears,
traumas, and desires to do justice by his parents and by the world. After seeing
his parents murdered during hard times in Gotham City, he is raised by the
butler, Alfred (perfectly cast with Michael Caine) and spends time drifting
around Asia, where an enigmatic avenger (Liam Neeson) takes the now adult Bruce
(Christian Bale) under his wing and teaches him his ninja
ways.
Bruce refuses to be an
executioner, though, and while standing up for himself kills most of his fellow
ninjas but saves his master.
Back in
Gotham, he winds up creating his Batman persona, with some help from Alfred and
a Wayne employee (Morgan Freeman) who give him access to all the paramilitary
toys and armor.
Unlike the Tim Burton
movies of the 1990s, Batman
Begins gives us a darker, more realistic
version of the Batman mythology. The cinematography is incredible and Bale is a
perfect young Batman. I was not as happy with the casting of Rachel, the maid's
daughter who grows up to be an ADA played by Katie Holmes, who should be played
by someone equally dark.
[Seen at
Chelsea Cinema West.]
Posted: Wed - November 2, 2005 at 01:05 PM