The Bar

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writer(s): David S. Goyer

Studio: Warner Bros.

Rating: PG-13

Official Bar Score: 

I have to admit I have been jacked to see this since the original trailer. It looked like it was going to go back to the moody, dark thing that made the original Tim Burton flick a classic. And then rumors started flying around that there was potential for an R rating, and I was hooked. While this rumor really had to validity, the fact that it generated such gossip was enough. I just knew it was going to be good. For once, I was right.

This film takes us back to the beginning, where a jaded Bruce Wayne is struggling mightily with the death of his parents. He travels to the farthest regions of the world to learn about the criminal mind and what it is like to be desperate. He believes that this will teach him what is necessary to fight injustice in his treasured hometown of Gotham City. He is rescued from a prison by a secret society that is bent on destroying the evils of society by all means necessary. They train him to be the best fighter he can be. He returns to Gotham City, and sets out to rid the city of it’s criminal element.

I love what Warner Bros. did here. They took the franchise and hit the reset button. It’s a fresh start to what started out as an excellent series and quickly became a joke. This film redoes the origin of Batman in a very realistic way. They explain the use of a costume in a way that make sense: it’s strikes fear. They explain that it’s the theatrics of the whole the thing that gives him an edge. Using this explanation, it makes it quite feasible that someone like Batman could exist.

The acting in the film is top notch. Bale kills as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and is backed by a powerhouse squad mixed with established masters (Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Rutger Hauer) and some of the new blood (Katie Holmes, Cilian Murphy.) With all of these heavyweights in the ring at once, it would have been easy for Bale to be outshined, but he has officially moved into a tie for numero uno on my top ten actors list. He just absolutely kills everything that he does, and this is no exception. He outshines everyone. His chemistry with Caine and Freeman is amazing.

The film itself is beautifully shot, although a lot of the action sequences are a bit too dark for my tastes. There is a lot of bad ass stuff going on, but unfortunately some of it is impossible to see. I chalk it up to that being the price of taking the series back to it’s dark roots. It really isn’t that big of a deal.

I want to call it a classic, but I want to see if it stands the test of time the way the Tim Burton one did, so the score could change at some point. Just rest assured that you will love this film, regardless of whether or not you like comic books. It doesn’t feel like a comic book movie at all (thank Christ,) just a bad ass action flick.

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