Second Time Review: Batman Begins

The first time I saw Batman Begins, I immediately declared it the best 'comic book movie,' and when I saw The Dark Night, I was forced to slide Batman Begins down to the second best 'comic book movie' ever. Yesterday Isaw Batman Begins again, and it suddenly dawned on me that this new Christopher Nolan "Batman" franchise of films may be the definitive portrait of good versus evil in modern cinema. Now, hold on - I realize it's "just" a comic book at it's heart, but we're talking universal, deep themes about the meaning of real justice and what happens to those who persue it. Batman Begins gives birth to this franchise audaciously; tackling the epic themes that the previous Batman films couldn't take "a comic book" seriously enough to tackle, and does so with fucking Liam Neeson being a total badass as Ra's al Ghul. Amazing.

One Paragraph Review: Batman Begins

Batman Begins returns to the most simple and important idea behind the franchise: Fundamentally, Batman is a messed up guy. The film embraces this fact, showing us Bruce Wayne's fears and how he channels his own terror into the Batman. The plot is complex, with many moving parts and particulars, but never feels heavy or forced. The small pieces fit together like a puzzle. This speaks to the incredible skill behind the director, Christopher Nolan. The villains in this movie have something significant to say. So often a comic book movie reduces a villain into a caricature. Batman Begins treats every character with a level of respect that all comic book movies should emulate. Writing, art direction, action sequences, it's all top notch and all works to support the story and development of these complex and interesting characters. I really could go on and on about how great this movie is. Hell, I'll say it: Batman Begins might be the best comic book movie ever made.