After realizing the corruption that exists within his home city, billionaire Bruce Wayne decides to become a mysterious vigilante

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2014)

He's a billionaire. He is the heir to a very successful private enterprise, and he is devastatingly terrified of bats. Ever since falling down into a bat-infested cave, the bat has been the symbol of his dread. Following the murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne went in search of a way to stand up and fight the injustice in his city, living among criminals in Asia. While in prison, he meets a mysterious man named Rah's Al Guhl, who offers him a way to fight the world's corruption through a special type of training. When he realizes that the brand of justice is not the same as his own, Wayne returns to Gotham, and he does not like what he finds. Utilizing the training he had received, as well as the resources from Wayne Enterprise's Applied Sciences division, Bruce puts on the cowl and cape that we know and love, and he sets out to defend the city that his father worked so hard to preserve. The Caped Crusader has appeared in comic books and other mediums for decades, and the quest for a permanent success in a film portrayal was very elusive. Though Batman (1984) was a relative success, the failure in the projects that followed were enough to drown out this spark of triumph. The infamous Bat-nipples and such were too much for comic book geeks and the general public to handle. Thankfully, a new director named Christopher Nolan, who had just come off of a successful project called Memento (2000), took up the reins of the DC Comics icon. With the release of Batman Begins, the once depressingly faulty franchise was up to par with a more contemporary success, Sam Raimi's Spiderman. In contrast to what the previous films in the Batman franchise brought to the screen, this installation brought some major pieces: great themes, realistic action sequences, and depth to the main character(s). With a notably darker portrayal of Gotham's hero, this movie was a breakthrough for superhero flicks, and it has been a heavy influence on those hero movies that followed it. The only aspect of the film that the Academy recognized was the cinematography, which definitely deserved such attention. It was the sequel, The Dark Knight, which grabbed the most attention for Oscar categories. The biggest difference in this Batman movie is the themes. While the previous films tried to capture the cartoonish, comic book essence of the character, this one was as realistic as a fictional hero story can be. Tackling deep themes like redemption, rebirth, and standing up for one's beliefs, Batman Begins is much more than men in tights saying "POW" and "BAM". On a negative note, the acting is not quite up to par with the rest of the film's quality. Though it is not the worst acting in a Batman movie (see Batman & Robin), it is not the most well performed film either. Though this is the predecessor to the best superhero movie of all time, The Dark Knight, I strongly suggest that any interested viewer see this film first, as each of Nolan's trilogy plays off of the other films. Just make sure that you keep in mind that this isn't really as family-oriented as the Marvel movies (Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.). This is the grownup's turn to appreciate the Caped Crusader.