batman begins [A-]

moviemcpeake snippet: We always wondered “where does he get those wonderful toys?” Batman Begins takes us on a remarkable, believable story of how a man transforms into a legendary bat. The film takes us through the journey of how Bruce Wayne turns to the dark side, battles his demons, balances good and evil and most importantly, how he gets his toys.

The film delivered more than I expected. It was dark. It was Gotham, it was frightening, it was suspenseful, it was action, and the best part, it didn’t feel overloaded with special effects, yet so cool. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, as the director transformed the city of Chicago into Gotham. It was so great to see the buildings I pass on a regular day be the buildings that batman flies by and the Gotham public train maneuvers through. More films should be filmed in this great city.

Batman Begins carries well its balanced, explained, yet complicated story. The acting by the lead, Christian Bale, is wonderful. He is a great batman. He pulls off the playful façade of Wayne and the dark tortured soul of Batman. Michael Caine, is endearing as Alfred. The favorite is Morgan Freeman appearing on the screen. He is funny, intelligent, and stole each scene he was in (typical for Freeman). Katie Holmes was distracting. Not because she lacks talent, but unfortunately because I could not seem to separate her character from the real Katie Holmes. The only area I would have liked to improve was having the story and characters better align with Batman (1989). Clearly Batman Begins wanted nothing to do with the other Batman movies (understandably so), but if you look at all the Batman movies, the first one Tim Burton directed with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson was a worthy adversary. It was dark, it had a great story, and although the joker was cartoonish, the film balanced the villain well. I should say, Nicholson carried the joker extremely well. But Batman Begins holds its own and would rather be considered on its own, which it does flawlessly.

Batman Begins appeared to be just another typical summer blockbuster movie. Loaded by outrageous budgets, actors, and action, summer blockbusters satisfy our material needs. Batman Begins turns out to be much more than a materialistic number one movie. The special effects take a back seat to the story. Not because the effects are weak or lacking but because the film actually focuses on character development and story. It becomes a journey of soul searching and confliction that anyone who has lost a loved one can empathize. For a summer blockbuster without the Hollywood glitter but loaded with dark drama and a great plot, start your journey at Batman’s beginning.

recommendation: if you collect toys (DVDs) then collect this one.