Editorial Reviews
Review
Batman Begins:
Batman Begins discards the previous
four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome
avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten
off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into
self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins
tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western
civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a
mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role)
and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead
returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is
strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?
Cowritten by the team of David S. Goyer (a veteran comic book writer)
and director Christopher Nolan (Memento), Batman Begins
is a welcome return to the grim and gritty version of the Dark Knight,
owing a great debt to the graphic novels that preceded it. It doesn't
have the razzle dazzle, or the mass appeal, of Spider-Man 2
(though the Batmobile is cool), and retelling the origin means it starts
slowly, like most "first" superhero movies. But it's certainly the
best Bat-film since Burton's original, and one of the best superhero
movies of its time. Bale cuts a good figure as Batman, intense and
dangerous but with some of the lightheartedness Michael Keaton brought
to the character. Michael Caine provides much of the film's humor as
the family butler, Alfred, and as the love interest, Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek)
is surprisingly believable in her first adult role. Also featuring
Gary Oldman as the young police officer Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman as a
Q-like gadgets expert, and Cillian Murphy as the vile Jonathan Crane. --David Horiuchi
The Dark Knight:
The Dark Knight
arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous
Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But
calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise,
since part of what makes the movie great--in addition to pitch-perfect
casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it
bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it
all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's
new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that
have paralyzed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young
police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian
Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom
only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and
deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers
the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating
matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal,
after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the
longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last
completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the
Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the
tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are
no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is,
his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for
heroes facing more colorful villains). Director-cowriter Christopher
Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man
because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of
realism--there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152
minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But
for most movie fans--and not just superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi
The Dark Knight Rises:
Of
all the "most anticipated" movies ever claiming that title, it's hard
to imagine one that has caused so much speculation and breathless
expectation as Christopher Nolan's final chapter to his magnificently
brooding Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Though it may not rise to the level of the mythic grandeur of its predecessor, The Dark Knight Rises
is a truly magnificent work of cinematic brilliance that commandingly
completes the cycle and is as heavy with literary resonance as it is
of-the-moment insight into the political and social affairs unfolding on
the world stage. That it is also a full-blown and fully realized epic
crime drama packed with state-of-the-art action relying equally on
immaculate CGI fakery and heart-stopping practical effects and stunt
work makes its entrée into blockbuster history worthy of all the
anticipation and more. It deserves all the accolades it will get for
bringing an opulently baroque view of a comic book universe to life with
sinister effectiveness.
Set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, TDK Rises
finds Bruce Wayne broken in spirit and body from his moral and physical
battle with the Joker. Gotham City is at peace primarily because
Batman took the fall for Harvey Dent's murder, allowing the former
district attorney's memory to remain as a crime-fighting hero rather
than the lunatic destructor he became as Two-Face. But that meant
Batman's cape and cowl wound up in cold storage--perhaps for good--with
only police commissioner Jim Gordon in possession of the truth. The
threat that faces Gotham now is by no means new; as deployed by the
intricate script that weaves themes first explored in Batman Begins,
fundamental conflicts that predate his own origins are at the heart of
the ultimate struggle that will leave Batman and his city either
triumphant or in ashes. It is one of the movie's greatest achievements
that we really don't know which way it will end up until its final
exhilarating moments. Intricate may be an understatement in the
construction of the script by Nolan and his brother Jonathan. The
multilayered story includes a battle for control of Wayne Industries
and the decimation of Bruce Wayne's personal wealth; a destructive yet
potentially earth-saving clean energy source; a desolate prison colony
on the other side of the globe; terrorist attacks against people,
property, and the world's economic foundation; the redistribution of
wealth to the 99 percent; and a virtuoso jewel thief who is identified
in every way except name as Catwoman. Played with saucy fun and sexy
danger by Anne Hathaway, Selina Kyle is sort of the catalyst (!) for
all the plot threads, especially when she whispers into Bruce's ear at a
charity ball some prescient words about a coming storm that will tear
Gotham asunder. As unpredictable as it is sometimes hard to follow, the
winds of this storm blow in a raft of diverse and extremely compelling
new characters (including Selina Kyle) who are all part of a dance
that ends with the ballet of a cataclysmic denouement. Among the new
faces are Marion Cotillard as a green-energy advocate and Wayne
Industries board member and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a devoted Gotham
cop who may lead Nolan into a new comic book franchise. The hulking
monster Bane, played by Tom Hardy with powerful confidence even under a
clawlike mask, is so much more than a villain (and the toughest match
yet for Batman's prowess). Though he ends up being less important to
the movie's moral themes and can't really match Heath Ledger's maniacal
turn as Joker, his mesmerizing swagger and presence as demonic force
personified are an affecting counterpoint to the moral battle that
rages within Batman himself. Christian Bale gives his most dynamic
performance yet as the tortured hero, and Michael Caine (Alfred), Gary
Oldman (Gordon), and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) all return with more
gravitas and emotional weight than ever before. Then there's the
action. Punctuated by three or four magnificent set pieces, TDKR
deftly mixes the cinematic process of providing information with
punches of pow throughout (an airplane-to-airplane kidnap/rescue, an
institutional terrorist assault and subsequent chase, and the
choreographed crippling of an entire city are the above-mentioned
highlights). The added impact of the movie's extensive Imax footage ups
the wow factor, all of it kinetically controlled by Nolan and his top
lieutenants Wally Pfister (cinematography), Hans Zimmer (composer), Lee
Smith (editor), and Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh (production
designers). The best recommendation TDKR carries is that it
does not leave one wanting for more. At 164 minutes, there's plenty of
nonstop dramatic enthrallment for a single sitting. More important,
there's a deep sense of satisfaction that The Dark Knight Rises
leaves as the fulfilling conclusion to an absorbing saga that remains
relevant, resonant, and above all thoroughly entertaining. --Ted Fry
Product Description
Batman Begins:
Batman Begins explores the
origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a
force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder,
disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the
world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those
who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his
alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect
and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that
threaten the city.
The Dark Knight:
The follow-up to
Batman Begins,
The Dark Knight
reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who
reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime.
With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent,
Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The
triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising
criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into
anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between
hero and vigilante. Heath Ledger stars as archvillain The Joker, and
Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Rachel
Dawes. Returning from
Batman Begins are Gary Oldman as Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.
The Dark Knight Rises:
It
has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in
that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death
of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he
and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the
lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the
weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the
arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more
dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose
ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But
even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for
Bane.
