Film: Batman Begins
By Anthony Anamelechi
July 2005
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It has been seven years since Batman & Robin, the last cinematic Batman movie;
hit the big screen; leaving a void for all Batman fans empty and craving
another adventure for the ‘Caped Crusader.’ This time around actor Christian
Beale dawns the cape. Director Christopher Nolan attempts to settle our
restless hearts with the release of Batman Begins, the latest spin on the
Batman mythology. Unfortunately, his take drains out most of Batman’s appeal.
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Many viewers’ expectations for Batman Begins were basically the same: his parents
die, he wants to fight crime because of his loss, he learns how to fight, a bad guy
threatens the safety of Gotham City, and Batman comes and saves the day. Simple yet
sweet! But much to the chagrin of those viewers, Christopher Nolan had a more
in-depth approach of the Bat’s persona, which caused us to rethink the myth as a whole.
The movie starts off with a young Bruce Wayne at age eight. Upon the death of his parents,
Bruce becomes distant to everyone and everything around him, wanting only to learn to
fight injustice. He goes into seclusion to try and study criminals. During his excursion,
he stumbles into a secret society which trains him with all the techniques which he hones
to ultimately become Batman.
With addition of a personality of Thomas Wayne (Linus Roache), Bruce’s father, and Bruce’s
childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes); Christopher Nolan goes deeper into the
persona of Bruce Wayne than any other director has, and this hurts the story. Though there
was a mild gratification to see how Bruce Wayne learned all his skills, the appeal of
Batman, is the fact the he is a mystery. His alias the ‘Dark Knight’ sums the comic character
up. Fans knew the simple story behind the mask and were satisfied. We just wanted to see
Batman ‘woop some butt.’ Unfortunately, it is nearly an hour before we actually see him. The
movie should have been called Bruce Begins, because his alter ego barely had any airtime.
And when he did appear he seemed so bland. This Batman lost the cool and dark personality
that we have come to love.
Director Christopher Nolan also drenched the movie with too much emotion. From Bruce’s love
interest, to his internal conflicts, and the theme of ‘fear’ repeated over and over to the
point of nausea; Batman Begins gives ‘too much information.’
All and all Batman Begins comes at you with a plot that lacks substance, a villain, who was
not intriguing enough to begin this new saga, the introduction and development of characters
and information that does not bring any added thrill but bereaves this beloved myth of its
appeal. Though it was great to see the Bat on the big screen again, it was definitely at a cost.
Though this movie was dawned Batman Begins, I could not wait until Batman Ended.
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