Virtue Magazine

“It’s not who you are underneath, but what you do, that defines you.” Rachel Dawes

Batman Begins
Running Time: 141 minutes
Rated PG-13 (Rated PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements)
Starring Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Five stars (out of five)

I’ll be frankly honest. I am a Batman fan. Not just any little “it was a good movie” fan. No, this goes beyond and before all that. When I was young (say 7 or 8 ) I obsessed over Batman. He was the most amazing person to ever exist (yeah, yeah, whatever – to me, he existed), and my brother and I did everything Batman. We had (almost) all of the action figures, we had Batman bed sheets, Batman pajamas, Batman stuff. And then our parents put an end to it. They confiscated all our Batman paraphernalia and forbid us to watch the TV show*.

But really, that wasn’t the end. You couldn’t “end” something like Batman. It wasn’t just a TV show, it was an idea. The idea of a hero. There was more to Batman, too, than just the TV show. There were comics – these were the real Batman, and, as I grew older, the Batman of the comics – especially the comics of Frank Miller – was the one I gravitated to. The movies, however, have always disappointed me. They have cheapened Batman for Everyman. He doesn’t know what Batman is, because he sees him as a ridiculous figure in a black latex outfit with nipples on it. But no more.

Christopher Nolan has breathed new life into Batman. It is perfectly fair to compare Nolan’s work with Batman to Sam Raimi’s work with Spiderman. The production values are extremely high, the scriptwriting is excellent, and the special effects – though not as heavy as in Spiderman – are flawlessly done.

This is a movie that will satisfy fans. First of all, there are no nipples on the Batsuit. Secondly, he drives the coolest Batmobile to ever hit the streets. Gotham City is beautifully portrayed as the dark, decaying edifice of humanity that we have come to know. It’s all in there: the Batsignal, Commissioner Gordon, the Batcave, all of it. The one thing that may disappoint purist fans is that one of the main villains, Ra’s Al Ghul, is quite different from the traditional comic book villain.

Batman is a believable hero – a real man, driven by real motives. You could really be Batman. Sure, it would take some ferocious martial arts training, some savvy scientists, and a few billion dollars, but those are so much more manageable than getting a mutant spider to share DNA with you. Bruce Wayne is no X-Man; he’s just your normal, everyday billionare. Nolan has done the fantastic job of making Bruce Wayne a sympathetic character. Remember the Wayne in the 60s Batman TV show? This ain’t him. Even the Wayne from Batman: TAS and The Mask of the Phantasm is shoved aside by the new Bruce.
The acting is excellent from all the characters, particularly from Christian Bale (Wayne/Batman) and Liam Neeson (Henri Ducard). Bale delivers all his lines masterfully, from the obligatory “I’m Batman” to the more serious discussions about fear and vengeance. Personally, however, I think the best acting is by Michael Caine, who plays the part of Batman’s butler, Alfred.
The themes in this movie are many, my personal favorite being that a person is not defined by “who they are deep down inside,” but by what they do. This is extremely relevant in today’s political world, where we are continuously told by the media about how Hillary Clinton is a moderate at heart, or the John Kerry is a gun lover, or that Howard Dean is really a nice guy. It is also an important idea to Christians, and echoes what Jesus says about his false teachers: You will know them by their fruits. (Matt 7:16 NKJ)

Batman Begins also warns us against compromise, showing the folly of sacrificing our sound footing to gain a single blow. I find this to be an extremely important concept in modern politics, where politicians often stab each other in the back to gain small victories, and then find that they have given up too much. An example that immediately comes to mind is that of Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who gave up his mildly conservative base to try to appease the gay community, and it now furiously backpedaling to try to regain his foothold.

The two most important issues in the film are obvious: justice and vengeance. Vengeance is a very pivotal issue in this film. Several characters are driven by vengeance, and one holds up vengeance as a remedy to sorrow. I won’t give much away, but I will say that I believe a Biblically acceptable answer to vengeance is reached at the end of the film.

Another subject that is often touched on is fear. The film fosters a good view of fear: fear is conquerable, and can even be used by those of the law against the ungodly. The depictions of fear, however, make the film unsuitable for younger viewers.
Batman Begins is dark, gritty, and proud of it. Nolan intended it to be that way, and he did an excellent job of it. This is a violent movie (although not as violent or disturbing as Star Wars: RotS), and this too makes the film unsuited for young children. Drugs play a significant part in Batman Begins, as well. Drug smuggling is a lucrative business in Gotham, and drugs are used as both training tools and weapons. I won’t say much more on the subject, because I don’t want to give away the plot.

Superhero movies used to be corny and uninspiring. Now we have an excellent modern collection of heroes of all kinds, but until recently, they have all come from Marvel Comics. X-Men, Spiderman, Daredevil, Hulk, and the upcoming Fantastic 4 movie all come from Marvel’s house. DC Comics now has a contender in the fight, and I am more than satisfied with the effort. People will be comparing Batman Begins to Spiderman for months to come, so here’s my two cents on the matter: Bats eat spiders. Batman has indeed Begun.

See the scene the opening quote is taken from here.

Keith Ross

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“Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

Batman Begins
Running Time: 141 minutes
Rated PG-13 (Rated PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements)
Starring Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Five stars (out of five)

I hate Batman. I really do. This particular superhero has never interested me in the least bit. Spidey and all the others always seemed more human and believable. The cheesy movie adaptations didn’t help that impression. In short, I never sympathized with him.

Well, buck up everyone. This Batman (played by Christian Bale, whose performance in Equilibrium I simply adored) is an entirely different creature indeed. Noted for its dark tone (Horrors, it’s a PG-13!), Batman Begins is, presumably, the introduction to a whole new life for the Caped Crusader.

Perfect films are hard to come by. Signs, Return of the King, and a few others stand out in my mind here. The Spidey adaptation, while undeniably powerful, failed to take maximum advantage of its source material, forcing it to fall ever so short of its full potential.

Batman Begins, directed by cult icon Nolan, is a masterpiece. Future writers of all stripes, take note of this film. Considering the size of the Batman fan following, this film was no light endeavor. As with all comics, there are some basic portions of the character that all of the fans will be looking for. If I could list three characteristics of Batman, they would be, in no particular order: His dark persona, along with that black cape, and, finally (and this is more of a question), why choose bats in the first place? Every one of these things are explained so well in the movie that even the most demanding Batman purist should be pleased. And the sense of humor this movie picks up is timeless.

The movie begins in an Asian labor camp. Bruce Wayne is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, yet he wants to be there. He is essentially a bitter vigilante who wants revenge, after having lost his parents to a gun-wielding assailant back in Gotham. After seeing his multibillionaire father fail to restore order to Gotham during its own Great Depression, Wayne, in a fit of hopelessness, frames himself for robbery in an Asian country so he can be imprisoned in the camp to exact his own justice on those criminals trapped there with him. A sort of petty fulfillment, if you will.

Then, a mysterious mentor (Liam Neeson) enters his life. He tells Wayne that misguided hatred is not the key to fulfillment or social order. Apparently, this guy has sway around town, since the prison camp officials release Wayne to the mentor’s secret base in the mountains soon after their first meeting. A link to a childhood trauma incident involving a fall down an abandoned well shaft and the bats living in the cavern below explains the bat persona. Bruce Wayne fears bats because he relates them to terror, darkness, and pain when he was young. Therefore, he will become one himself, to, in his own words, “allow the enemy to share my terror.” This is the first of several key moral tent poles that exist in Batman Begins- that we have nothing to fear except fear itself. Only by becoming what he fears most is Wayne able to become super.

Another major theme of Batman Begins is the nature of justice and revenge, as well as the difference between the two. The entire film, with its two-and-a-half hour run time, is essentially a dissertation on the topic. Fortunately, this Batman arrives at all of the right conclusions about justice. “Justice is all about harmony. Revenge is about satisfying your personal feelings,” one of the characters observes. Although I won’t spoil the related plot twist that ultimately expounds on this, I will say that the fate of Gotham as a city comes to hang in the balance between false justice and genuine order.

Production values are refreshingly high, especially after having sat through the insanity-inducing Batman Forever with George Clooney. Director Nolan’s skill really shines throughout the movie, whether we are watching Bruce Wayne act the part of a multibillionaire playboy, struggle up a desolate mountain in Asia, or fighting for justice.

Batman’s dark persona is logically explained as well. It exercises a psychological power over his enemies, who are quite often scared out of their wits when one of their number vanishes. Batman hides in the shadows, just out of sight, striking when his opponents are facing away from him or are otherwise unawares. After a short time, he gains a reputation among the mob of Gotham, which makes his pre-strike mind games of “Where’d Bill go?” or “What was that noise?” only the more enjoyable to watch. In this sense, the combat in the movie is intellectual. Ten men can slaughter one, but not if the one separates, frightens, and confuses his opponents into helpless little cells. And rest assured, the bad guys have mind tricks of their own, too. As for the purpose of the cape, I wouldn’t dare spoiling such a creative explanation in mere words. The car chase (and by car chase, I mean picturesque views of Batman’s armored… tank creating its own path through Gotham) was equally worthy of the honor of being in this film.

The violence is bloodless, most notable is the shooting death of Wayne’s parents, and mostly restricted to martial arts and explosions, although those with bat phobias might want to skip this one. Everything here makes sense. Even the Bat Cave and Bat Tumbler are made realistic. For me, it really was that logical aspect that drove this movie to perfection. There were no gaps in the story, and once those gaps were filled in with sturdy material, I really did like this Batman fellow. From zero to hero, indeed, considering this one takes the Christmas goose for the best superhero movie in my book. Even the reflexive Bruckheimer-like ending, which could’ve been a real pain to watch elevates Batman Begins beyond the masterpiece it already was. At the very end, it became sublime.

It’s very interesting that superhero movies are becoming such a hot commodity in America and other places in the world as well. Perhaps it is the narrative of the ordinary person transcending the limitations of society to become a legend that draws crowds. Let’s see, in 2007 it will be Spiderman 3. This summer is Batman Begins and Fantastic Four. And for the summer of 2006, we will be treated to the return of Superman in, uh, Superman Returns. And I’m just positive we’ll get to see X-Men 3 sometime in the coming century or two. All I have to say is that as long as these superhero movies keep dishing up interesting stories, strong morals, and engaging action, I hope they remain the amazing kryptonite they are for years to come.

Jarret Mock