Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Batman Begins, worth a second and third look, at least

The third time I watched Batman Begins, I loved it even more. There should be a rule: only Christopher Nolan can direct Batman movies. Tim Burton was great, but it was always Tim Burton, with a heavy dose of Jack Nicholson. Batman Begins is really about Bruce Wayne and Batman. Christopher Nolan gets this. He takes the story, takes the true source material, and makes it real.

After watching this movie, we understand how and why a good-looking young man with a pretty girlfriend and lots of advantages manages to become a dark, angry icon, wearing black costume and talking in a harsh, deep voice. Maybe we should expand the rule: only Christopher Nolan should be allowed to direct Batman movies and Star Wars sequels.

A really great story can be read many times. Though the plot turns are no longer surprising, they are still wrenching if well done. And each moment, each scene, resonates with the weight of the movie as a whole. The early scenes are darker when we understand all the meaning therein. This movie holds up under that kind of reading. It isn’t just about action, good guys and bad guys, it is about anger and futility, the power to act, the thin line between being strong for yourself and destroying others with your strength.

Yes, the end of Bruce Wayne’s transformation is a man in a batsuit, running around at night beating up criminals. But after watching Nolan’s version, we see this is what really has to happen. A word about the actors: perfect. List out the cast and you’ll find twenty really good performances. Even Katie Holmes, generally described as the weak link, bothered me very little after the first time. If she hadn’t been over-exposed so much, I think I might not have noticed the weakness of her role.

The authenticness of this movie comes out best in the way that it solves not only the internal questions, but all those nagging questions we’ve had about the Batman character all these years. Why is his world so theatrical? Why bats? Where does the style of sneaking around and fighting come from? What kind of billionaire runs around at night jumping off buildings and beating up criminals? Can’t you hire someone to do that for you? After watching this movie those questions can’t even be asked. Of course, the answers are inherent in the figure himself.

As one friend said, “I knew it, Batman knows F^%$*ing Ninjitsu!” The movie hadn’t just explained the answer, it had brought him to an epiphany in which he realized the answer had always been there.


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