**THE GOOD: ‘BATMAN BEGINS’**

WRITING: 85
ACTING: 90
LOOK: 85
SOUND: 85
FEEL: 80
NOVELTY: 95
ENJOYMENT: 85
RE-WATCHABILITY: 90
INTRIGUE: 85
EXPECTATIONS: 90

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**THE GOOD:**

Rewatching Batman Begins all these years later, it still strikes me just how different Nolan’s Batman trilogy is from pretty much any other film within the genre. This film reinvigorated the gritty, realistic and noirish take on the comic book movie not seen since Tim Burton’s classic Batman films. This is a far cry from Marvel’s colourful sci-fi adventures or the bleak and convoluted messes that are the DCEU films.

As the title suggests, this is the origin story of Batman, but also Bruce Wayne. The core story from the comics is there, but Nolan goes much deeper than that, adding layers of psychological and emotional depth to allow the origin story to fill out the entire run-time of the film. Bruce isn’t truly Bruce or Batman until the end of the film, after having faced his biggest fears.

One of the reasons Nolan’s Batman trilogy is so successful is the fact that he has been allowed to freely utilize Batman’s rich comic history while adding his own flair to the story. Batman begins is very recognizably a Nolan film in terms of the somewhat non-linear plot structure and the psychological layers embedded within the story, but it is also an enjoyably refreshing superhero thriller.

The cast is so iconic, it’s difficult to imagine anyone else doing these roles. Christian Bale offers a fascinatingly layered and charismatic lead performance while being supported by the equally fantastic likes of Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Cillian Murphy.

Friends of dark, realistic and mature superhero movies will find lots to love with Batman Begins, as will those who enjoy big action set pieces and quick, but steady cuts. Nolan proves he can handle dramatic content just as well as superhero action and puts immeasurable energy into making every scene dynamically interesting.

Nolan explores Bruce and the people closest to him more thoroughly than any Batman director before him does. This means we understand the people involved better than ever before, which adds to the realism of Nolan’s Gotham. The Batman stuff is given a background position, while the script slowly puts all relevant pieces together before the satisfying introduction of Gotham’s new symbol during the second act.

The Scarecrow sequences have been realised very well, to truly capture that chaos and fear the character is known for creating. He comes across as a formidable enough villain for the fresh superhero.

After the low build-up, the third act feels bombastic, bold and satisfying. Batman Begins isn’t an action-filled film, and most of it is saved for the final 40 minutes of the film. Despite this, nothing of what comes before feels slow or undeserved.

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**THE BAD:**

The first act might be somewhat hard to get into for a casual viewer. It introduces multiple plot strands and characters in a short amount of time, before slowing down and fleshing out the story more.

Nolan still shows weakness when it comes to writing compelling female characters. Rachel is mostly lost under all the heavy-hitters among the male cast and her part in the story never feels satisfying. She’s mostly there to be looked after by Batman, which doesn’t give her much to do.

Crane/Scarecrow could have been utilized more throughout the story. At times she feels like a character added just to have supervillain fitted into the story, and his part in the big picture doesn't feel as dynamic as with other villains in the sequels. As Batman himself says, Crane is “just a pawn”, and that’s a shame given the character’s potential.

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**THE UGLY:**

This film proves that Game of Thrones and Nolan’s Batman trilogy exist in the same universe.

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**VERDICT:**

_Batman Begins is a mix of serious comic book movie-making and Nolan’ visionary filmmaking and one of the strongest openers to any film trilogy so far._

**87% = :white_check_mark: = GOOD**