Movie Review: Batman Begins

DUDE.

Dude...This movie is no joke.

Burton's 1989 incarnation was cartoonishly solid. His follow-up was decent, but not without its flaws. Once Joel Schumacher got ahold of it, everyone knew things were going downhill, but that didn't stop fans from being alienated by Batman Forever, and made them completely ambivalent to Batman and Robin. Many people, from fans, to non-fans, to bloated studio execs, saw the franchise as finished.

Then along comes Christopher Nolan, who breathes new life into the bat with Batman Begins, an origin story that succeeds where so many origin stories fail. Out of respect for those who haven't seen it, we here at Nothing Terribly Grandiose will refrain from spoiling ANY of the plot points of this film, but let us at least bask in some film-student-grade babble for a moment...

The main reason this film resonates so deeply is that every detail is grounded in reality. Think about it...what can the Batman formula be boiled down to? You have this rich dude, whose parents are murdered, so he dresses up like a giant bat to fight crime as a means for indirect vengeance and an outlet for his anger. He has absolutely no superhuman powers. This basically means that he's vulnerable and could likely be killed by the first gun-wielding bad guy that got the jump on him.

Batman Begins sweeps all blind acceptance of this guy as "Batman" aside and substantiates EVERY reason for his acting the way he does. If he's got no super powers, how does he survive these brutal fights? That's explained. How does he know how to fight so well and virtually disappear at will? That's explained. If he's human, how the hell does he fly? That's explained. How did Alfred come to be his knowing guardian and father figure? How did Bruce Wayne become such a master of technological gadgetry? Why is Gotham City in such shambles? Why the symbolism of a bat? How did Commissioner Gordon come to be Batman's unwitting ally? The questions stack up higher and higher, and this film makes all the answers cohere. After a short time engrossed in the world of this film, these questions cease being relevant because the logic and clarity with which Batman's story is told is airtight.

Even deeper than that, at the heart of this story is a layered exploration of the psychology of fear. Bruce Wayne's humanity is never more apparent than when he must face his own crippling terror. It is not until he masters his own feelings that he can strike fear into the hearts of the truly evil. This weapon of fear, however, can not be concentrated only against the evil...which eventually fosters widespread mistrust on the part of the very people Batman protects.

All the baggage from previous incarnations is put to rest, and Batman Begins recenters the story on a solid foundation of humanism. Nolan's Batman is a superhero in a world that truly needs one, a world that runs frighteningly parallel to our own. Nothing Terribly Grandiose grants this movie the coveted 4 Stars out of 4 ranking.

I will say four final words about this film, and anyone reading these four words has no recourse but to see the film. There is no disputing this. Those four words are:

THE LEAGUE OF SHADOWS.

That is all.


*****N*T*G*****