It's not until
after an hour into the film where we truly see Batman in all his
glorious armor. What was going on beforehand? An amazingly told
origin story in typical non-linear fashion from (my favorite
director) Nolan. The film starts with hundreds of flashing bats, and
from there we are transported into a world with a Gotham we haven't
seen before. Wayne Towers is at the center of this crumbling city as
the Waynes do their best to help however they can with such acts as
building a cheap train that loops around the city. We also travel to
the beautifully cold Tibet where Bruce Wayne trains in ninja-fashion
to not just overcome his childhood fear of bats, but to embrace it
under the guidance of the superb Liam Neeson, a mercenary following
orders from Ken Watanabe's Ra's al Ghul.
Christopher Nolan
hails from Her Majesty's nation, and he brings plenty of actors with
him. Christian Bale utilizes the new tone with a unique Batman voice
that may put some fans at unease, but a voice that I believe
perfectly captures the idea behind the franchise. And on that note of
an idea, what marvels (sorry, wrong comics) me is how Batman is
approached. He is so much more than a vigilante in a mask-- he is a
symbol of hope for the citizens, and of fear for the criminals. This
carries through the fear-driven film and throughout the trilogy to
unseen levels of depth in a superhero story. But back to the
characters, Michael Caine is the most charming Alfred imaginable (but
I do look forward to Jeremy Irons), and Morgan Freeman and Gary
Oldman provide trustworthy allies in Lucius Fox and Jim Gordon,
respectively, that drives the franchise past the shortcomings of even
Tim Burton's Batman with his fat, pointless Gordon. I will
admit, Rachel becomes much better after Katie Holmes departs after
this film. And I must include mention of Cillian Murphy, playing as
Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow, who brings such energy and crazy charm
with his hypnotizing blue eyes (seriously, Nolan made him take off
his glasses whenever he could just to show off his eyes).
The scenes are
well-developed, especially Batman's drug bust and capture of Falcone.
With the fight scenes, the super-fast editing shows the quickness and
stealth and blink-and-you'll-miss-it aspect of Batman, but it also
makes it quite difficult to understand what's going on. While I
understand what you were going for, Mr. Nolan, I do appreciate that
you dropped this technique for the sequels.
Outside of the
fight scenes, what you can depend on Nolan for the most is the
excellent dialogue. I have complimented previous films for the
subtlety and what is said without saying anything, but with Nolan
helping out with the script as he normally does; we are treated to
lines that are never wasted and complimented by awesome one-liners
(utilized better in the sequels too).
I think there has
been some lost appreciation due to films later like Iron Man,
and of course The Dark Knight. The failing, light-hearted,
toy-heavy franchise truly came to life in this reboot. It is not the
best from Nolan, Hans Zimmer, and regular actor Michael Caine, but it
set the bar and the tone to scramble the gears of how these films
were perceived; and thus setting up not only one of the best
superhero movies, but one of the best ever in The Dark Knight.
But do not overlook the clever first entry in The Dark Knight
trilogy.
Tomorrow, Nolan is
the executive producer for the man in the red cape. Let's see how
Zack Snyder's stylish action holds up.
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