Batman Begins

Here's what I wanted: the first act of this film as an Oscar contender, with the last two acts as a follow-up tentpole. Meaning that the first act -- in which Batman works through the pain of his parents' demise, takes on the guise of that which scares him the most, and decides to become a hero -- is completely different from the other acts. Those make up your run- of-the-mill superhero action flick, complete with wilting female, nifty gadgets and an ending so reminiscent of Spiderman that you wonder if DC and Marvel aren't in cahoots behind the scenes. It's not what I wanted to see. And I freely admit that I had high expectations, which always damns me in the end. There's a lot riding on the team of Christopher Nolan (of Memento fame) and Christian Bale (whom you all know is one of my top three fave actors). Nolan tries admirably -- the screenplay's arc is better than most (although I would have jettisoned all the jokes) -- but his method of filming action sequences made my eyes glaze over. Bale gives us his usual, outside the suit. He can morph among the multiple facets of Bruce Wayne's personality seamlessly, and his facial acting gives me chills. Which is maybe why once he got the suit on I was so taken aback. He changes his voice (as he's famous for) to sound more like a bully, and while that may fit the story it threw me out of the movie each time. The requisite love interest is annoying. Even though Katie Holmes is a fine enough actor, there is nothing outside the first act for her to sink her teeth into (and, please, our last glimpse of her should have been when she discovers who's under the cape). Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow, on the other hand, mesmerizes and that's not simply the effect of those inordinately blue eyes. Since there's more than enough set-up at the end for a sequel, and the Joker will be introduced, I'll be glad to return for another dose. I just hope they take my advice.

year: 2005
length: 141 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/combined