Batman Begins

Originally published Nov 7, 2023

Christopher Nolan is a complicated subject for me. While I understand he’s one of modern film’s most celebrated filmmakers for a reason, I’ve personally never been a huge fan of his work; primarily because I find the linear consistencies of his movies too complicated to follow, especially with Oppenheimer. However, I’m happy to say this wasn’t the case with my latest watch: Batman Begins.

I am a sucker for tight-knit narratives where everything comes full circle, and Batman Begins certainly has that. While the opening initially had me a bit confused, Bruce’s (Christian Bale) journey to becoming the Batman ultimately felt well-paced and earned. From his intense training to the acquisition of his iconic gear from Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), this is an origin story that makes sure no scene is a waste of time. In addition, the acting is pretty top notch as well. While Christian Bale’s voice of choice for Batman is distractingly awkward, his performance as Bruce Wayne was the right blend of grounded, charismatic and emotional. Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow was efficiently creepy while Liam Neeson’s Ra’s al Ghul made for a great foil to the ethical dilemmas Bruce faces in his quest to bring true justice to Gotham. Katie Holmes and Gary Oldman also did well, but I wish they were used a bit more. All in all, solid performances by everyone in the cast. The set design and music were also phenomenal. Gotham City truly looked and felt like a city that was rotting away from the inside, and I’d expect no lesser music from the likes of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard.

Batman Begins may have been a bit slow at the start, but it stuck the landing as a fantastic start to The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Rating: 9/10