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 BATMAN
BEGINS
by Jane Louise
Boursaw
Rated PG-13 (for intense action
violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements). 140 minutes.
Directed by Christopher Nolan. Released in theaters June 15, 2005.
This movie
tells the story of Batman's early life. We learn why he started dressing
like a bat and why he became a one-man vigilante, determined to rid the
city of Gotham of evil people.
The story
opens with Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) being worked over in an
Asian prison camp. It's all part of Wayne's research into the nature of
evil. He's rescued by the mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), who
becomes Wayne's mentor, teaching him sword-fighting and mind-control
techniques. Ducard tries to enlist him in his amoral League of Shadows,
but Wayne resists and returns to Gotham to fight evil in his own
Bat-inspired way.
Along
the way, he enlists the help of faithful servant Alfred (Michael Caine,
in a brilliant stroke of casting), inventor Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman,
ditto), honest cop Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and former girlfriend
Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). There are lots of sub-plots, including the
fact that Wayne Enterprises has been taken over by a corporate monster (Rutger
Hauer), but at the core is the wonderful performance of Bale, who gives
Batman some depth and makes us really believe that he is, indeed, Batman
(and yes, that such a person could exist).
THE
WRAP-UP: A wonderful movie and better than any of the previous
installments. Here, Batman isn't simply a comic-book character. He's a
human being with faults and childhood demons to overcome (hey, therapy
works for some of us; others require a cape). And as Bruce Wayne, he
looks exactly like my two brothers would look if their faces were
blended. Weird, huh?
Anyway, the
casting is superb and the special effects, including a Hummer-ized
Batmobile, are dazzling. But the PG-13 rating is there for a reason.
This is a much darker, more intense movie than previous incarnations,
and for that reason, I would avoid taking any kids under the age of 10
or 12. My 10-year-old Will and his friend loved it, but I'm glad
8-year-old Marissa stayed home with her dad.
SCORE: 3.5
out of 4 Reels
Jane's Reel Rating
System:
One Reel Pathetic.
Even The Force cant save it.
Two Reels
Tolerable. Coulda been a contender.
Three Reels
Pleasant. Something to talk about.
Four Reels Wow! The
stuff dreams are made of.
E-chat with me
at
jane@reellifewithjane.com - I
LOVE to talk about movies!
 Read my other reviews
here.
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