The Dark knight shines bright

Rating: Null/10 (23 June 2005)

I guess that by this time, a lot has been said about Batman Begins, a lot of rave, thumbs-up and good stuff that is. Well, I can't blame them, indie-oriented Christopher Nolan's version of the dark knight, was truly of one this summer's must-see, and knowing his films, I wondered how will his version be? I really liked Tim Burton's Batman and Batman returns, the dark, Gothic and bizarre touch he marked on the two films were classic, but in here, we see a fresh, original and innovative adaptation of the comic superhero. No one has ventured in this concept before, as to how Batman became the Batman. I believe Batman is one of the unique, if not the most, superheroes we have, for one, he doesn't have special powers, like Superman's super strength and flight, or the Flash's speed, etc, he is just like any normal human being, who had to endure rigorous and painstaking training to become the super fighter he is. All his super skills were learned and his state-of-the-art gadgets were a product of meticulous research and intelligence by him and his trusted friends. As like Christian Bale's character, Bruce Wayne said in the movie, "what kind of man dresses as a bat? He clearly has issues." Well, those issues were the main focal point of the movie, what's inside Bruce's psyche and how this influenced and developed his very dark alter ego, or was it vice-versa? And in this psychological approach where Chris Nolan triumphs, he is brilliant in this films, remember the mind-boggling Memento and the gripping Insomnia? Here, he takes us into a very familiar universe but made us look it into a totally different perspective. Even the recognizable characters in Batman, like loyal butler/father figure to Bruce, Alfred, Lt. Gordon (who will we know as Commissioner Gordon later), even Gotham city, were given new existence and I felt like I've encountered them for the first time. I also liked that he used Chicago as his Gotham, compared to previous films wherein they used New York. It fitted with the movie as well as to Bruce's development to Batman and as to why he evolved as a vigilante/superhero to wage war on crime and injustice. There is also a lot to be learned in this movie, I particularly like, and I must say it made me weepy, when Alfred said to Bruce. "why do we fall sir? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up." I have to commend Nolan and Goyer for the astounding screenplay, they truly created a masterpiece and I must say it deserves a recognition in the Oscars.