Batman Begins
Dir: Christopher Nolan
2005
****
To say the Batman franchise was in need of a reboot was an understatement. Hardcore fans wanted it and everyone else was still trying to forget the abomination that was 1997's Batman & Robin. Joel Schumacher was given the boot in 1997 and Batman was put back in storage, luckily for Batfans, Christopher Nolan had a vision. The late 70's/early 80's had Richard Donner's Superman, the late 80's early 90's had Tim Burton's Batman, a few others had had a go with lesser know Superheros but it was Christopher Nolan who really opened up the genre to the 00's and dominated it, with Marvel taking note and acting quickly as a result. The original series of Batman films should have lead to a fifth film that was to be called Batman Triumphant. This was binned after Batman & Robin was critically rejected. It would have seen Batman come up against The Scarecrow, Harley Quinn and The Joker (who would appear as a hallucination). I'd like to have seen that but Christopher Nolan went back to brass tacks and revisited Batman's origins, in doing so he introduced us to Bat's original foe; Ra al Ghul (played by Liam Neeson). The murder of his parents is shown fleetingly, we've seen it before. What we hadn't seen however is how Bruce Wayne became Batman physically and mentally. Previous incarnations simply suggested he went away and thought about it, here we see exactly where he went and what he did and therefore understand the character more. Nolan wants us to get closer to the character than we have before. Nolan sees Batman/Bruce Wayne as a character in a film rather than a live-action cartoon. Ra al Ghul is a mentor turned villain and acts as a suggestion towards schizophrenia, a subject synonymous with Batman that was rarely explored before in film. Comic fans rejoiced, unsurprisingly as most of the story structure has been taken from some of the best comics of the last twenty years. Bat's other villain in the film is The Scarecrow, his appearance welcome among fans who considered it long overdue. The Scarecrow's hallucinogenic powers lead to some amazing visuals not generally found in the superhero genre which is also very much to the films credit. Christian Bale nails the character and gave fan favorite Michael Keaton a run for his money, splitting fans down the middle as to who is Batman. Batman Begins has a cast to die for and everyone (maybe apart from Katie Holmes) is exceptional. Gary Oldman really is the James Gordon of Batman: Year One and Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman made a great Alfred and Lucas Fox respectively. Tom Wilkinson was a great Carmine Falcone too, a new character in the comics that is unlike many of the cartoonish villains of the past that adds to the films realistic approach. Indeed, all the film's villains are believable, all unhinged and frightening but all real. Making them even more terrifying. Brilliantly written by David S. Goyer (the go-to Superhero writer) and beautifully directed by Nolan. The second best Superhero film made at the time, quickly overtaken by it's sequel.