Film Retrospective: "Batman Begins"

Batman Begins

As part of my preparation leading up to TDKR, I'm reading a few key comics, like the Knightfall arc, the recent NOTO crossover, and watching the two Nolan bat films so far. To me, Batman Begins remains the better of the two to date. We have a villain we can relate to, and even agree with. The storyline is crisp, solid, and cohesive. And, for once, we truly get into to mind and character of Bruce Wayne. Nolan probably got inspiration from the best batman stories out there, including Miller's Year One, but that doesn't trivialize the accomplishment he achieved with this film. Many credit TDKR with changing the superhero genre, but I think BB did more to further that. It took the tone of the character into account when crafting the film. The marvel films did that as well, but the don't get as much credit because they aren't as, I guess, oscary.

BB is such a well-made film. The dialogue is solid, and weaves the narrative together. Ducard's whole speech on facing your fear, doing justice, and so on manifest themselves well in the film. The opposing viewpoint of Wayne and Ducard paints the narrative in shades of gray, not black-and-white. And the little elements of the story, like the shipments of the poison, the mob backstory, and so on, are expertly teased throughout the story until we get the grand finale. Also, focusing heavily on Commissioner Gordon was a smart move.


I hope TDKR takes more notes from here than from TDK. TDK had a truly chilling performance from Ledger, and I think that carried the film more than the narrative itself. BB kept the plot relatively straightforward; TDK got a bit convoluted at times. That being said, it is the middle chapter of a trilogy, and can only properly be judged likely after TDKR closes the saga.


 

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