Review of Batman Begins (2005) by Magnus G — 03 Oct 2014
The first in the highly acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy, Batman Begins returned the franchise back to its darker gritty roots after the hugely disastrous Batman & Robin. Instead of bat nipples, flashy toy advert visuals and cheesy villains who spew out one-liners, Christopher Nolan's reboot offers a more grounded and realistic interpretation of the superhero while still keeping in line with the comic book style narrative.
Christian Bale is definitely my favourite on screen Batman and Bruce Wayne. People are often split over whether him or Michael Keaton is the best live action Caped Crusader and Bale has always been for me.
He plays a very nuanced Bruce Wayne which is faithful to the comics and even looks good in the Batsuit. Even his much derided Bat-voice isn't that bad. He's menacing in the role but also sympathetic and carries the character's emotions well.
The rest of the cast all do great as expected in a Christopher Nolan film with Liam Neeson playing a dark twisted take on the mentor role that he's usually associated with, Michael Caine doing great as a caring Alfred and Cillian Murphy playing the creepy henchman brilliantly as Scarecrow.
Gotham City also looks brilliant with its chalk coloured skyscrapers and grimy slums. Everything right down to the amazing edgy action scenes is effective along with the iconic backstory being brilliantly integrated into the narrative.
An amazing and well crafted start to the trilogy.
This review of Batman Begins (2005) was written by Magnus G on 03 Oct 2014.
Batman Begins has generally received very positive reviews.
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