Batman Begins and Me · 4:12am Jan 20th, 2019

I was in fifth grade when the first of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies came out.

And at the time, I didn't give a hoot about the world of the Dark Knight.

I really couldn't say why. I had been a Marvel kid from the time I first discovered comic-books; Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four and the other icons of the House That Stan, Steve and Jack Built were my four-color champions. But that didn't meant that I hated or disliked the DC Universe or anything of that sort. For whatever reason, Batman was just there for me as a kid. I wouldn't become a true Bat-fan until I was thirteen, thanks to my dad introducing me to the Tim Burton Batman movies and then my discovering Batman: The Animated Series.

So anyway, when I saw the news of "Batman Begins" my ten-year-old self's overwhelming reaction at the time was a big fat "meh".

I'll come out and say it right now: I have never seen Batman Begins. My first exposure to the Dark Knight Trilogy was with TDK itself, again when I was thirteen.

And to be perfectly honest, I've never been tempted to go back and look at this movie, to see it on its own.

You can say then that it's hypocritical of me, or that it's bullshit for me to talk about the failings of a movie that I've never seen. And I would understand that point completely.

But again, this is my own opinion here, and after reading about the plot of this movie, having studied the story of it (I played the tie-in game for PS2), I do know what goes on in this movie. The origin story, Bruce wants revenge, he trains with the League of Shadows, Liam Neeson is really Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, etc.

So then, let me share my points on this movie and why I don't have an interest in going back to it.

- One thing about this take on the Batman origin that really bothers me is the choice of what the Waynes went to the theater to see on the night that they were murdered. Because, to me, it really makes Thomas and Martha look like shitty parents to me. Why, why why WHY, after your child has been through the traumatic event of falling into a dark cave full of bats, would you EVER end up taking him to an opera performance of Mefistofele? Never mind the joke about opera, but why would any parent think that a story about devils trying to claim a man's soul would be a good thing to take their eight-year-old son to?! Yeah, I know that this is supposed to set up Bruce becoming a Bat, and how important his use of fear as a tool will be in his war on crime, but it just seems stupid on a parenting level, and rather on-the-nose too, even for a comic-book movie. (Also, the fact that Bruce asks to leave, and once they're outside, his parents are mugged and killed? Jesus, way to dump even more trauma on the poor kid. That's some Marvel Comics-level guilt tripping there, folks.)
- I've always raised my eyebrows a bit at the Rachel Dawes character. Yeah, I know she's played by Katie Holmes here and it was Maggie Gyllenhaal in TDK, but the fact that they make Bruce's romantic interest a completely original character with no prior basis from the comics kind of makes me wonder how interested Nolan was in actually adapting the world of Batman. And yes, I know that's a fanboyish complaint, very much an opinion that will vary... but in all honesty Rachel's personality has never done anything for me. She always struck me as a preachy character, and I NEVER understood Bruce's interest in her: in all honesty I think it's less an attraction to HER specifically and the IDEA of her as a key to a normal life, possibly.
- I suppose that they were trying to deconstruct Bruce Wayne's focus on taking revenge, but at the same time I can't help but think that he carries out a LOT of crimes in his pursuit of justice: namely arson (burning down the League of Shadows dojo) and manslaughter (the Ra's al Ghul who burned up in there, and who knows how many other people died there) and worst of all...
- "I don't have to kill you, but I don't have to save you either." Pretty sure that counts as murder by inaction, and it's a really shitty excuse from a hero who's primarily known for having a rule against killing. >_< Yeah yeah, you could say that Ra's forfeited his right to be saved by carrying out his plan to utterly destroy Gotham by driving it insane with Scarecrow's Fear Gas, but honestly it still seems really shitty of our so-called hero to leave him to die like that. (Plus, it makes his refusal to kill the Joker later look pretty weak to my eyes - uh Bruce, you already bullshitted your way into letting one bad guy die, why are you suddenly on such a high horse about it? Seems less like new perspective and more about covering your own ass.)
- Speaking of the League's plan... this is a meta-criticism, but honestly it really leaves a bad taste on my mouth, that apparently Christopher Nolan and David Goyer say that everything Ra's al Ghul said was true? I mean, what the fuck, Chris, you think that the guy trying to destroy an entire city by driving it into gibbering psychosis is RIGHT? Well, I already knew that Goyer was a total asshole, but I thought you had more class than that, Nolan...
- The destruction of Wayne Manor in this movie really rubs me the wrong way. Yeah, it's meant to be a major villainous act by the League of Shadows (and it is upsetting) but frankly, the character of Batman is so tied in with the old family estate that it feels wrong to take that away from him. When they tried to move Bruce out of the Manor to modernize him (in freaking 1969 I might add) they eventually brought him back to the manor because ultimately, that IS what the character's home is. (And I accept that again, this is more of a comics fanboy argument, and you're welcome to disagree with me on this. Me though, considering how much of Batman's character is driven by the memory of his family and his parents, I think that destroying Wayne Manor and then forgetting about it in the next movie is a serious mistake. And then bringing it back out of the blue in TDKR only compounds what an error that the whole "burn the manor" thing was.)

Anyway, that's it then.

Basically I missed this movie when it came out because I wasn't in the right age group for it, wasn't yet a fan of the material. And by the time I was able to give the movie a go, I'd already seen its sequel and found fault with it, which soured me on going back to the predecessor. *shrugs*

You all are welcome to tell me what you think. If I make any valid points, or if I'm just talking a load of hot air.

Up next, sometime I'll get into my thoughts on The Dark Knight, and I'm sure that will be something to talk about. XD Especially my thoughts on Heath Ledger's Joker. Hoo boy...

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