Welcome to the first
edition of “Armrest Reviews,” a new series in which I, The Cinema King, will
partner up with a fellow filmgoer to review films as we watch them. That’s right, we’ll be writing our
unexpurgated observations as we watch the film, meaning you could theoretically
read the review while watching the movie and “watch along” with us. A further welcome back for the second 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: Okay, I’ll gush over Michael Caine for a second. I love his Alfred, how he’s balancing between being a servant and being Bruce’s only reality check, and he does it with his tongue so far in his cheek it’s practically a tumor.
Popcorn Prince: Speaking of gushing, Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow.
CK: Yes?
PoP: Well, gush away.
CK: It’s an awesome role that lets Nolan point to the larger mythos but still play in his own sandbox. The bit about Crane running Arkham is new to this interpretation, I think, but making him corrupt on top of it shows just how much of a systemic change Bruce is going to have to inspire as Batman.
PoP: So I wonder – if the trilogy is about Bruce being obsessed with avenging his parents and changing the city in the process, how much work is he going to have to make up after being off the scene for eight years by the time The Dark Knight Rises begins?
CK: You’re absolutely right, but now who’s getting ahead of themselves? Besides, you almost missed the big new Batman theme’s debut. Seeing Bale in the middle of the flock of bats with that theme slamming into our ears signals we’ve reached the end of the first act.
PoP: A hell of a job to follow for the second act, but it seems like Bruce has his stuff together. He’s playing a playboy perfectly well; he doesn’t want Earle to take him seriously, but he does want him out of the way.
CK: Rutger Hauer is so smarmy that we want him out of the company before we realize he’s spitting on the Wayne name. The contrast with Morgan Freeman is brilliant, too, because who doesn’t want Morgan Freeman on our side?
PoP: And making Lucius the personal armory for Batman is clever, especially because of how friendly he is in the face of a man who’s clearly lying to him.
CK: But it’s for the best, and Morgan Freeman knows that. Bruce is the only guy who can get rid of Earle, which bodes well for the man in Applied Sciences. And he’s not lying completely – he does go spelunking with this gear.
PoP: I always saw Fox as someone who saw what was going on but wasn’t big enough to stop any of it.
CK: He’s Eddie Willers from Atlas Shrugged, essentially; he wants to do the right thing but he needs a strong leader to guide him. Gordon, on the other hand, reminds us what happens when one man tries to go it alone; the bad guys let him know they don’t like him, but his idealism pays off once Batman shows up.
PoP: How great is Oldman here? He’s scared for his life, but his cop instincts kick in right away until he realizes that Batman’s insane plan might actually work. But does the film go too far in showing us how the plan works? I never needed to know about Batman’s cape or his mask.
CK: Maybe not, but it helps Nolan build this hyper-realist atmosphere that shows how Batman might fit in a Schumacher-less world.
PoP: And it gives us an opportunity for some comic relief with Freeman and Caine, who are the closest thing this movie comes to admitting that suiting up might not be a great idea.
CK: The “Does this come in black?” line is already being echoed in trailers, so I’m even happier to rewatch these since it’s apparent that Nolan is making an actual trilogy rather than just a series of three movies.
PoP: And thank God for a united vision – it’s evident that Burton and Schumacher, whatever you want to say about them, they were clearly conceived as four separate films rather than one statement about a mythos.
CK: We’re up to Batman’s big debut at the docks. What’s your take on this scene, Prince?
PoP: It’s a little too pat to think that his first crimefighting attempt would be so successful, but it’s so well-directed that I don’t even care.
CK: Bruce did have some League of Shadows training to help out here.
PoP: Oh yeah, like half an hour ago. How did I forget that?
CK: Because you have a movie with Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson hasn’t been on screen in forty minutes. But you’re right, the direction is so stellar here and builds up tension for the moment when we finally do see Batman.
PoP: Oh my God, you’re right – we don’t see him until he says “I’m Batman.” Nice reference on the bum’s coat, by the way.
CK: It’s just one more moment that proves Nolan & David S. Goyer aren’t writing this thing carelessly. It’s comic relief, yeah, but it’s not random; Nolan is reminding us how far Bruce has already come, especially building his own impromptu Bat-signal.
PoP: Side-note – would Wilkinson not have made an awesome Penguin?
CK: Probably, but you really need Philip Seymour Hoffman to do Oswald Cobblepot justice. And hey, Bruce is drinking a chlorophyll detox, for another Iron Man touchpoint. Then again, Iron Man was three years after Batman Begins; maybe they cribbed a few notes.
PoP: Wait, someone stole a microwhosit whatsit? What movie am I watching?
CK: Still Batman Begins, unless you changed the DVD while I was in the restroom. It’s a plot device, clearly, but I don’t mind it so much, especially because the next scene has Bruce doing that whole playboy thing I think Bale plays so subtly.
PoP: Subtle? It’s only subtle because we know what he’s really doing.
CK: Exactly, and the subtlety comes through when he’s so disappointed at the moment he realizes that his playboy act might cost him the affection of Rachel, his oldest friend. He wants to tell her, but he’s so pained by his mission that he can’t be honest with her.
PoP: He does handle that scene really well, but he’s still falling in love with Katie Holmes, which I can’t buy.
CK: You really don’t like her, do you?
PoP: No!
CK: Well, enjoy the debut of Scarecrow’s mask, then.
PoP: Great – Cillian Murphy is so condescending with Falcone, so disappointed that he has to deal with someone as lowbrow as a crime boss, and he’s actually kind of scary now that we see his “mask” under the influence of the fear gas. Hey, isn’t that –
CK: Shush, don’t ruin it. Let’s talk about the Bat-voice. It’s been kind of retrained so far, but this “Where were the other drugs” scene is so notorious that there’s a College Humor video built solely around this moment.
PoP: I hate the Bat-voice, personally. It’s too dramatic, like a kid trying to prank call a 7-11.
CK: But it’s theatrical and deceptive, and it’s primal in a way that’ll scare the “superstitious and cowardly lot.”
PoP: Whatever, it’s still dumb.
CK: What were they supposed to do, hire Kevin Conroy?
PoP: Is he the cartoon guy?
CK: Yeah.
PoP: Then yes!
CK: Well, here’s the rookie mistake I mentioned earlier. Batman gets the drop on Scarecrow’s goons, but Scarecrow hits him with a dose of fear gas that makes him see some really spooky stuff.
PoP: How does he not recognize the effects of the gas? Shouldn’t he be a master detective?
CK: A) he’s not top of his game yet, and B) doesn’t he recognize the gas?
PoP: I don’t remember. You’re the expert.
CK: Then as the expert, I can say that this scene with Alfred and Lucius in Bruce’s bedroom was written solely so Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman could work together.
PoP: And thank God for that. If this were a Marvel movie, there’d be a spin-off short with Alfred and Lucius over coffee or something.
CK: You say that like it’s a bad thing. Those Phil Coulson shorts are great. So here’s something I actually don’t like about the movie – the piano keys opening the secret passageway.
PoP: What’s wrong with that?
CK: In the comics, the entrance to the Batcave is hidden behind a clock, and Bruce has to wind the clock to the time his parents died.
PoP: That would make more sense with Bruce’s obsession with avenging his parents, but that almost seems too obsessive.
CK: And speaking of obsessive, Rachel makes the mistake of confronting Crane head-on.
PoP: In fairness, she doesn’t know he’s a horrible evil mad scientist yet.
CK: You, defending Katie Holmes? This scene gives Murphy total freedom to let his crazy streak out; his stooped posture and wild eyes finally convince us that Scarecrow might not have all his eggs in the basket.
PoP: Yeah, no wonder Nolan keeps bringing him back. It’s a totally realistic approach to a villain who could probably be really lame in the wrong hands.
CK: Even the great animated series had immense difficult doing a good Scarecrow story. And shooting him in the face with his own fear gas pushes him right over the edge. I’ve always liked the idea that Batman’s best villains are somehow responsible for their own plight, and this makes Scarecrow open to all kinds of potential craziness.
PoP: Batman’s escape from Arkham is another really well-directed action sequence, something Nolan doesn’t actually do at all in any of his other films.
CK: Well, except for Inception. But the key here is that Nolan is a master storyteller, and if his story needs an action beat he knows how to direct the hell out of it.
PoP: And using actual bats as backup is just genius. Talk about conquering your fear.
CK: Goodness, you’re right. It’s not just badass iconography; Bruce has literally mastered his fear and turned it against his foes. And the score – it has to be Zimmer’s composition here – lets us know that Batman is coming into his own because we finally get a thematic statement beyond the hints we’ve been given thus far.
PoP: I know Batman is a hero and all, but can we talk about how much property damage he’s incurring? Cars, parking garages, highway medians, a church roof – is Batman really footing the taxpayers with a bill?
CK: I always figured Bruce Wayne would set up some kind of fund or charity, either clandestinely or as part of his secret identity where “Bruce” doesn’t approve of Batman’s methods. But really – is that something we need to be shown?
PoP: Why not? Everything else gets explained here.
CK: I guess that’s a fair point. But Gordon finds out that the chemical needs to be breathed, not drunk, which leads us into the third act of the film.
Stay tuned for the final part of our Armrest Review, in just a few short hours!
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