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Christian Bale,
Christian Bale,
Michael Caine,
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Christopher Nolan,
Christopher Nolan
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: Warner Home Video
: Action, Comic Books, Superheroes, DC, Fantasy, Ninja
: English, French
: English, Spanish, French
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The origins of the Caped Crusader of Gotham City are finally brought to the big screen in this new adaptation of the perennially popular comic-book series. The young Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis) leads a privileged life as the son of wealthy, philanthropist parents, both of whom stress their commitment to improving the lives of the citizens of crime-ridden Gotham City. After his mother and father are murdered by a mugger, however, Wayne grows into an impudent young man (Christian Bale), full of rage and bent on retribution until encouraged by his childhood sweetheart, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), to search for answers beyond his own personal vendettas. Wayne eventually finds discipline in the Far East under the tutelage of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows who guides him in the study of martial arts -- and the ways in which an ordinary man can hone his senses to an almost superhuman acuity. After seven years away from Gotham, Wayne returns, determined to bring peace and safety back to the city. With the help of his faithful manservant, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a scientist at his late father's corporation, Wayne develops a secret identity as Batman, a masked fighter for justice. But when a shady psychiatrist (Cillian Murphy) joins forces with the criminal underworld, Wayne realizes that putting an end to their nefarious plans will be very difficult indeed. Batman Begins also features Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon and Tom Wilkinson as the crime boss Carmine Falcone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Read our exclusive interview with Christopher Nolan.
More than a few were surprised when Nolan, director of such heady features as Following and Memento, was chosen to revive the Batman franchise. Sean Axmaker asks him about reimagining an icon and the challenges of directing an action adventure as big as Batman Begins. Full article >>
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| "Begins"? Enough, Already.
by talltale
October 16, 2005 - 5:13 PM PDT
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7 out of 16 members found this review helpful
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If you last out the first 45 minutes of BATMAN BEGINS without laughing yourself to toast, you'll undoubtedly go along with the rest of the film, which does get better. A bit. But lines like "To conquer fear, you must become fear," even if they are uttered by Liam Neeson, no less, are simply too staggeringly stupid to let pass. After those first 45, you'll still have 95 minutes remaining to consider the dark visuals (very nice), starry cast (including Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman) and very poorly directed action sequences (Who's doing what to whom? You'll never figure it out). Clearly, Christopher Nolan should refrain from action--unless it moves backwards in time.
A pumped-up Christian Bale has apparently recovered from "The Machinist," but I have never seen him give a more boring performance. Even the special-effect bats flap without personality, thrills or teeth. The screenplay insists on expositing ad infinitum and has its characters explaining EVERYTHING, including their tired psychology. Toward the end, in an attempt to give us a bit of "Bond," Bale start heaving one-liners here and there. Gosh, guys: Can't you be serious--or even funny--without boring us to death? Evidently not. Want to know what's REALLY scary about this film? The second word in the title. |
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