Batman Begins

What happens when Qui-Gon Jinn goes to the dark side, The Last Samurai is a bad guy, Tom Cruise's Fiancé plays a not important part, the kid from Empire of the Sun, Newsies, and Swing Kids play a super hero, God as the hero’s "Q", and Michael Caine plays a butler? You get Christopher Nolan’s version of Batman.

I have to admit, I was very apprehensive about seeing Batman Begins. I was worried about all the changes and that they where going to be basically starting over. I was disappointed that Tim Burton wasn’t directing or that Christian Bale would suck as batman since in my mind I still think Michael Keaton is the best. And Michael Caine as Alfred? Michael Gough's Alfred is a tall order even for a talented actor as Michael Caine (it was rumored that Michael Gough died but I haven't found any info to support that). But after seeing the movie I was pleasantly surprised.

I haven't read the Batman comics yet but I plan on catching up and definitely reading Frank Miller's Version(Batman the Dark Knight Returns). Growing up a preacher’s kid in rural Nebraska has a lot of downfalls and lack of access to comic books was one of them. I did watch a lot of the old Batman TV series with Adam West. The first few Batman movies seem to follow this corny, for a lack of a better word, style. Tim Burton directed the first two movies (Batman and Batman Returns) and the universe and feel of Gotham City and Batman world fit so well into this directorial vision (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Sleepy Hollow). His work is very visual and eye catching. Which is why I was worried about Christopher Nolen signing on as director. The Batman universe is about action and feel, Christopher Nolen's prior work (Memento and Insomnia) was very cerebral. I didn't think it was going to work but it did. Very well. He was able to show the universe at you would expect and ad his own touch of psychological story line.

Article Author: Richard Call

Visit Richard Call's author page — Richard Call's Blog