Holy tentpole release, Batman!

After the garish bubble-gum nonsense that passed for 1997’s Batman and Robin – a film that cast a twinkle-eyed, smirky George Clooney as the hero, turning the brooding Dark Knight into the kind of guy who’d seem more comfortable hanging out at the Playboy Mansion than fighting bad guys – it would be understandable if most moviegoers approached Batman Begins with more than a little trepidation. The tired legend of Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego is so well known that one wonders what could possibly be interesting about rehashing the whole story all over again. But low expectations, it turns out, can yield high satisfaction because writer-director Christopher Nolan’s re-imagining of the Batman story is a slam dunk, wisely doing everything possible to root Bruce Wayne in the real world in the same way that Sam Raimi’s Spiderman films have done with Peter Parker. With only minor suspension of disbelief, it’s easy to see how this maybe, possibly could sort of happen in the real world. Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman was a pop-culture phenomenon, incongruous Prince songs and all, and is something of a minor masterpiece, but no one would ever mistake that movie’s exaggerated art deco style for reality. Nolan (and co-writer David S. Goyer) takes great pains to show the inner torment that, coupled with Gotham City’s rampant corruption, drives Bruce Wayne to dress up in a cape and go after crooks. Indeed, the film’s all about the fine line between justice and revenge, between law and order and vigilantism. That thoughtfulness gives this film a nice sense of import. Also a fun kick is the way Nolan shows how scary Batman can be to the criminals who aren’t exactly sure who or what he is. Most notable is a horrific rainstorm scene in which Batman interrogates a crook, demanding answers with a frightening intensity you never saw from Michael Keaton or even Adam West. The only real criticism of Nolan is the film’s confusing fight scenes, which are all blurry close ups and quick cuts, making it impossible to see exactly what’s going on. Soothing that sting is the outstanding cast. There’s no Chris O’Donnell gumming up the works here (with the possible exception of poor Katie Holmes). Everyone is at the top of their game. This is particularly true of Christian Bale, whose Bruce Wayne is all chiseled anguish and gritted determination. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine seem to be having a lot of fun as well. All in all, though there may not have been much of a clamoring for another Batman movie outside of comic book geek circles, if Warner Bros. was going to insist on making one, this is a pretty good one to make.

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