Batman--his humanity!

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2005)

The new Batman film is a more realistic take on the Batman myth. On the production side, the film avoids the triteness of doing a "comics-y" editing like other superhero movies. This time around, the director goes for a slow non-linear portrayal of Batman's history. The story includes the inner struggles of a hero caught in anger and how he redirects his emotions to save beloved Gotham city. It also allows us to see the science behind the powers of batman--his mobile, his ability to fly, his ninja-like movements, and his super strength. A hero is not really all extra-human; on the contrary, he banks on all his human potential to do something incredibly "un-human"! (Isn't that what our humanity is all about?) The film threads on something only movies can show us clearly, that is, the nuance, the gray areas in our search for justice. Feelings are ambivalent. Fear and power is something we can use either for the good or for its opposite. Batman is invited to lead Gotham's destruction but opts to save it instead with his position of influence and super-heroic powers. (I'm not sure if the director and writer intended this film to criticize and comment on foreign relations and governmental policies of nations. Is it doing a Michael Moore commentary on Bush's policies? If it does, it sure did hit the mark cunningly, subtly!) My vote: 8 out of 10. Hoping for a better performance from Katie Holmes and a better capturing and editing of the fight sequences (you can't seen anything at all!)