Batman Begins, or why you should always start watching a trilogy from the beginning.

So today I watched Batman Begins, which as many know is the first movie in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Now, I had never watched Batman Begins before this and I'll be the first to admit it. I had the pleasure of watching The Dark Knight and, more recently, The Dark Knight Rises. And after watching the beginning of the series I can see the many things that Nolan changed between the first and second movies. This is a warning, there are spoilers.

See, I told you there would be spoilers, we're off to a good start. I'll cut to the chase. One of the elements that surprised me about Batman Begins was Scarecrow (or Dr. Jonathan Crane, played by Cillian Murphy) and his use of a panic-inducing poison, and more importantly the effect used when shots were made from the point of view of those who inhaled it.

figure 1. 

I won't pretend to know the techniques used to get an effect like that (if it's something extremely obvious you retain the right to call me out on it in the comments) but the way in which it is used I found excellent. Whenever they used an extreme closeup on a face from the point of view of someone who inhaled the poison, you are immediately struck by its severity. It is unique among the Nolan trilogy for being one of the few obvious special effects that is implemented.

       

     figures 2 & 3.

Another thing that struck me about the movie was that there was a lot of unsubtle humor involved, with numerous puns and ironic shots, like in one scene where Sgt. Gordon and another police officer are telling each other that there are no forces left, Batman conveniently rides in with his tumbler and enters the fray (unfortunately I do not have a link to this scene). This kind of humor is almost completely absent from the next few films. It is clear that Nolan decided to take a much more serious approach to The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

figure 4. 

Am I the only one who doesn't remember seeing Batman fly so much in the next two films? His use of flight, the joy in which he tests out new equipment...

Using an ultrasonic signal to flood a building with bats. As a distraction.

It implies a very flippant attitude to what he is doing, which I suppose is the point: Bruce Wayne has just acquired his new-found abilities and uses them to the fullest, and enjoys it most of the time. Only in the next film does he begin to toughen up and lose the ironic (and "punny") attitude that he carries around when he visits people he isn't trying to kill (and even then..). The film in general is more of a showcase of the fact that Batman has just become a superhero (although I'm sure he would dispute that). It screams "Hey look everyone, it's Batman!" without giving it any dark undertones.

To sum it up, I enjoyed Batman Begins. It takes much more light-hearted approach, without too much of the seriousness of the later Nolan films. The hallucination factor was unique, and something that I might have enjoyed seeing in The Dark Knight, albeit in a different form. The humor was enjoyable, and didn't force its way down your throat. I'll try not to ramble on here, but I recommend that anyone who wishes to see Nolan's Batman films to try and watch it in order, and not skip. You miss out on a lot of details and background that isn't elaborated upon afterwards.