While,
in the ten(!) years since it was released, I’ve encountered plenty of superhero
films that I think are better made and more entertaining, The Dark Knight trilogy is still pretty great. It has a vibe that’s very much its own, and
the to-die-for cast anchors the films beautifully. This movie gets the franchise off to a fine
start
This
being Batman’s origin film, it is, of course, the classic story. Billionaire Bruce Wayne, whose parents were
murdered in a street crime when he was very young, creates an iconic symbol to
serve as a force of justice in corrupt Gotham.
As he develops the skills, image, and technology needed to become
Batman, he encounters a ruthless group of arbiters called the League of Shadows
and turns his attention to a plot going down at Arkham Asylum.
I’ll start
with the cast, ‘cause come on! There’s Liam Neeson as Bruce’s mentor, whose
ideology doesn’t always align with his protégé’s. There’s Morgan Freeman as a wry tech expert
with all the best toys. There’s Cillian
Murphy (in the role that made me take notice of him) as a psychologist with unsavory
“treatment” practices, playing the part with almost gentle menace. There’s
Michael Caine as the devoted Alfred, at times Bruce’s only tether to anything
outside vigilante crime-fighting. There’s
Gary Oldman as the last honest cop in Gotham.
Just for the heck of it, there’s Tom Wilkinson and Ken Watanabe, and at
the center of it all is of course Christian Bale’s Bruce. His over-the-top gravelly Batman voice earns
him some ridicule, but Bale brings the man, the hero, and the persona he adopts
to life with precision and care.
For the
most part, I like the gritty, grounded feel of the film. Since Batman doesn’t have actual superpowers
(and his tech, while impressive, isn’t out-of-this-world impressive like Iron
Man,) it makes sense that his movies are less straight-up comic-booky, and the
inglorious Gotham setting lends itself to less outlandish goings-on. Having now seen/loved so many films that
embrace the genre, The Dark Knight
trilogy feels a little self-conscious at times, like it’s trying too hard to
say, “See? It’s a comic book movie, but cool!”
However, I appreciate that its more accessible approach was probably
instrumental in allowing comic book
movies to become more mainstream and get a little wilder. I also like how purposeful Bruce is in the
development of Batman’s signature style.
He’s not dressing up as a bat just cuz; he intentionally uses
theatricality to confuse and distract his enemies, and he wisely keeps to the
shadows, relying on short bursts of lightning-fast attacks that, in addition to
taking out the bad guys, make them fear him.
I will
say, though – this time around, I got tired of the anvils about how corrupt
Gotham is. So many lines begin, “In a town this bad…” or “In a town like
this…” Again, it seems self-conscious, like
it doesn’t trust that it’s getting the point across. Plus, while rubber-stamped
potential-love-interest Rachel has some rootable qualities – like Bruce, she’s
driven by a desire for justice, and she demonstrates both courage and
practicality – she doesn’t quite come together for me. I’m not sure how much of it is Katie Holmes’s
muted performance and how much is the character; I’ll report further when I
rewatch her in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s hands in the next film.
Warnings
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