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Batman Begins by Benjamin Donne
There comes a time in a film when you decide where it falls in your long list of films you have watched, whether it’s in the top half or bottom half, you decide how good it really is. For me this is either the second time I watch it or some point near the end. This either leaves me begging for a sequel, or throwing into a large pile of films that will be quickly forgotten. I watched The Dark Knight without seeing Batman Begins and after watching the former I craved to know the background to this mysterious character, this left me with only one option: to watch it as soon as possible. At the end of the experience I was caught in a dilemma… which was better? On a technical side it has to be The Dark Knight. But on a more personal level I did prefer the prequel. Both films are firmly in my top 10.
For me Batman has always been a prominent figure in my somewhat small knowledge of superheroes. When I was a child I used to look at Superman and think Batman was a much more relatable figure. He hasn’t got a gift, he is a man who has decided to fight evil in Gotham, and he is a man that wants to complete a mission that his Father never finished. This hints that he is used to figure looking over the city of Gotham.
The object of the first film in a series is to re-establish the main characters – which are Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale), Alfred (Michael Caine), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). These are the characters that run through to the next film; they therefore need to set the characters up to further develop in the sequel. The way Bruce Wayne is developed into Batman is, for me, very clever. Before in previous superheroes the way in which they achieve their powers is complicated, and mostly by chance. In Batman he is chosen for having the most potential, and trained (for what seems like a long period of time) to become a fighter. He then turns to his fear of bats, which is derived from his childhood experience and so begins the genesis of our favourite caped crime fighter. An interesting choice from the director is to keep Bruce Wayne a celebrity in the real world, and a hero in the Batman costume. This brings another factor to the film which highlights how; the return of Bruce Wayne is good for the public to see, but the rise of Batman gives the Public of Gotham two heroes to look up to.
I have to admit, I Love this film. It more than just a good film, the director has taken it from the bottom and taken it to the top – something I admire.
Special thanks: Mr Wheatley
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