For the first two films of the Batman franchise -- 1989's "Batman" and 1992's "Batman Returns" -- the Dark Knight's fate was in trustworthy hands, the masterful Tim Burton's. The films were dark and edgy -- true to the spirit of Batman's origins.
In 1995, though, Burton passed the Bat baton onto the reliably-mediocre Joel Schumacher ("8mm" and "Bad Company"). The tolerable "Batman Forever" had hints of the vastly different Batman tradition Schumacher intended to tap into -- that of the silly, campy '60s show. "Batman and Robin" then drowned in it, from nipples on the bat suit to cringe-inducing one-liners from Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze.
It was as though a carefully-cared-for computer was passed on to an immature little kid who went nuts downloading junk, infecting the computer with viruses and spyware to the point that it became all but inoperable. So, what's the only option? Format the hard drive, upgrade the system and hand it over to someone who's not going to screw it up again.
As far as Christopher Nolan's amazing "Batman Begins" is concerned, the previous four films never existed.
"Batman Begins" features a young Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale ("American Psycho" and "The Machinist"). However, the most fascinating and compelling struggle of the film is not how the superhero battles to protect Gotham City from the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) and gangster Carmine Falcone (a superb Tom Wilkinson); the fight within Wayne's soul is deeper and scarier than any of the physical fights, as intense as they are.
How does Wayne deal with the death of his parents and the guilt he feels? At one point, Ducard (Liam Neeson), Wayne's trainer and mentor, says: "If you dedicate yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely."
Wayne looks at him and asks, "And that is?"
Neeson, ever ultra-cool, replies, "A legend, Mr. Wayne."
So, Wayne spends years exploring the criminal underground and transforming himself into a human fighting machine.
In this film, unlike the others, we see how Wayne basically destroys himself. He is no longer a man. He has few friends, cannot begin a relationship with his childhood friend Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), and he must sacrifice his self-image and appear as an irresponsible billionaire playboy to keep his secret identity a secret.
Thus, we have a comic book film created on the foundation of great drama. When that happens, all the action, special effects and cool moments are endlessly intensified.
And who better to make a dramatic superhero film than some of the cinema's greatest actors, such as Morgan Freeman, Neeson, Bale, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine?
The film is truly exhilarating, on par with "Revenge of the Sith" and "Sin City" for top fantasy thrill ride of the year. One can only anxiously wait to see where Nolan The Savior will guide this Lazarus of a film franchise next.
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