Batman Begins

One more tick for me under the category of "which Christopher Nolan films have I seen?". It looks like his entry into mainstream Hollywood is complete, which on one hand proves to him that he can span the gamut of "indie" to "pop", but gives those of us who looked at him as a posterboy for novelty some anxious moments.

Not that the film is bad. It is more than competently made and in keeping with the recent trend in probing the inner works of "the men who keep the world safe", a plausible exploration of Bat-origins. The trouble is that there is only so far anyone can go with the plot, and Nolan does hit the horizons easily. I'm used to not knowing how a Nolan film will end, but with such films, there is no doubting the outcome. A few well-shot sequences, a baleful (pun intended) mortal-turned-hero, cliffhanger moments and a cool sequel hint later, Batman Begins joins a list of films you'd do well to watch once, but not necessarily in the theatres. My agnosticism here is probably explained by the fact that I haven't seen any of the earlier Batman films; many of the people who loved this film do so on the rebound from some of the disasters of the past.

The film seemed a little differently shot, with claustrophobic close-ups, especially during the action sequences, but the usual dearth of light is trademark Batman. I liked the idea of the Scarecrow and his "weapon" of choice - fitted in well with the travails of Bruce Wayne.

Unbreakable, Spiderman, Batman Begins later, will we finally see a film on the musings of Captain Self-Doubt?

Two useful reviews

* Samanth's review
* Ebert's view