A further welcome back for the final part of our Armrest Review of Batman Begins, the first entry in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Trilogy." As before, I’m joined by The Popcorn Prince, who’s been watching movies for almost as long as I have. He’s a big Batman fan, so I’m pleased to have him by my side for the next installment of this series.
Cinema King: By this point, we already have a sense of how all the pieces fit together – Scarecrow is working for Ra’s, who’s somehow alive and about to vaporize Gotham’s water supply and scare the jeepers out of them.
Popcorn Prince: Good point. The Ra’s stuff felt like a prologue but turns out to be really important, so it ends up that we’re watching one unified movie rather than a few short films with the main character.
CK: At Bruce’s party, we find out that Earle is grabbing more power, and worse, he’s fired Morgan Freeman.
PoP: But “that wouldn’t stop a man like you” is spot-on. I like that Bruce and Lucius have such a camaraderie going on with each other.
CK: I like even more that Liam Neeson comes back, and he’s actually Ra’s al Ghul in disguise.
PoP: He’s been behind everything this whole time. Is this as big a deal in the comics?
CK: Ra’s is a huge deal in the comics. He was created in the Sixties when a few folks realized Batman needed a cool new villain, and he runs a criminal empire basically dedicated to destroying humanity in order to save the world.
PoP: He’s an ecoterrorist?
CK: Who’s obsessed with marrying off his daughter to Batman. He’s a thousand years old and a damned good swordsman, and Liam Neeson is a perfect choice for making this character imposing and threatening. He monologues the hell out of this scene without ever losing the upper-hand.
PoP: I’m just noticing how much Bale looks like Linus Roache, who plays his father. Y’know, speaking of good casting.
CK: Gordon is tasked with the unenviable job of catching all the “homicidal lunatics” Ra’s just released from Arkham, while Alfred saves Bruce from dying in a fire.
PoP: That building really goes up, doesn’t it? For a brick manor it shouldn’t just crumble like that, right?
CK: We don’t know how long it’s been burning, but what matters is how, once again, we fall so that we can learn to pick ourselves up. Bruce is close to rock bottom here, and Alfred reminds him what it’s all for. Meanwhile, Gordon keeps running the show and making sure he never loses his cool.
PoP: We’ve been in love with Oldman this whole time, but he’s really the guy who should be in charge, so thank God he becomes Commissioner in the next film.
CK: With all this fog and fear toxin going on, I’m getting a big hit of Insomnia here. Nolan does a fantastic job showing us how quickly the whole situation goes to hell and how much we need Batman to save the day.
PoP: I wonder this a lot with superhero movies, but how would we handle something like this in the real world? Granted, there’s no such thing as fear gas and a microwave emitter, but stuff like the loose construction equipment in Spider-Man 3 – how do real people handle that?
CK: Apparently by tasering Cillian Murphy in the face. If Katie Holmes can beat Scarecrow, we can probably handle anything else.
PoP: Oh, come on. Cheap shot.
CK: Do you mind that he reveals his identity to her?
PoP: Not really, because like you pointed out, he’s so upset with himself that he can’t tell her the truth. The pressure of having his best friend think he’s a horrible spendthrift was bound to crack him eventually.
CK: While he’s fighting Ra’s’s goons, I like that Liam is still a little bit proud that his best student has made so much of himself. He thinks the costume is absurd, but he knows that those lessons paid off.
PoP: Too bad he couldn’t teach Gordon how to drive the Batmobile.
CK: The Tumbler.
PoP: It’s a Batmobile. A Tumbler is something you waste time on while you’re surfing the Internet.
CK: It’s a fair bit of comic relief, though, something that Oldman sells without damaging the intensity of the scene. This is a guy so far out of his element that he can’t help but have fun with the car.
PoP: This fight scene is really well-choreographed, too. I like how it’s apparent that Batman is still in many ways the student facing a teacher who isn’t holding anything back.
CK: I’ve struggled with the end of this scene, where Batman refuses to save Ra’s, since not killing is such a sticking point for Batman in avenging his parents, but the distinction made here is so fine that I’m ultimately okay with it.
PoP: I don’t mind at all, because Ra’s al Ghul is a terrorist. And if we’ve learned anything from eight seasons of 24, it’s that you do not negotiate with terrorists.
CK: It’s not all over yet. Bruce tidies up the loose ends about the way that his company is run, finally putting Morgan Freeman in charge.
PoP: And letting him deliver the badass retort to Earle that we’ve been waiting the whole movie to see.
CK: My father’s favorite line of the film, I think. And Bruce gets some closure on his relationship with Rachel. It’s unfortunate that his “mask” is still preventing him from ending up with Rachel, but the psychology behind it is so compelling that Nolan ends up making a really important statement about the character.
PoP: This soft music is probably Howard’s contribution, and it’s pivotal to winding us down after that explosive climax.
CK: But Zimmer brings us back for the scene that establishes the new status quo for Batman and Gordon.
PoP: I like that Nolan sets the movie up so perfectly for a sequel but without forcing us to come back for the rest of the story.
CK: Absolutely. The reason this film is so successful is because it devotes itself to telling a complete story, balancing the demands of franchise with structural integrity. Nolan is a top storyteller –
PoP: You told me he was the best filmmaker alive.
CK: I might have been hyperbolizing, but he’s easily Top Three. But that’s a post for another time. What matters here is that Batman Begins sets a new precedent for what Batman films – and comic book movies more generally – are supposed to be.
PoP: Thanks for having me aboard. I’m definitely more keyed up for The Dark Knight Rises after rewatching this, especially thinking through the ways that the third film is going to reinvoke what’s going on in this one.
CK: I’m glad; I’m feeling the same way too, and I’m really excited for tomorrow’s post, because The Dark Knight is probably my favorite movie of all time.
PoP: Even more than The Departed?
CK: Well... let’s save that for tomorrow.
PoP: See you then!
That concludes the first “Armrest Review” here at The Cinema King. Come back tomorrow for The Dark Knight!
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