Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Batman the Ninja!
A dark and forboding film with a serious Noir twist, as Gotham tends to be. For Me, some of the most profound scenes commenced in the beginning sequences of the movie during the temple scenes, wherein it is established that the caped crusader did indeed train with Ninjas, and is in fact, a Ninja himself, which explains much of his exploits from agility to ingenuity, amazing strength to stamina and boundless energy, the skill and the training, the expertise in weaponry, the self-discipline and determination, the psychological projections and invisibility - all of these and more, taught through Ninjutsu. Here, Ninjas represent a balancing force in nature, the "legion of shadows" who go forth into human civilization when excesses are reached. Ra's Al Ghul {Ken Watanabe} is present here, the veritable Shidoshi, and Ducard {Liam Neeson}, Wayne's mentor and sensei who rescued him from the clutches of a filthy prison, which was the result of his own fiece self-exploration.For those familiar with the origins of the Batman chronicles, we know how The Dark Knight originates, through unfortunate and tragic events concerning the rotten dregs of the underbelly of society - and this adversity caused the inspired greatness of this tenebrious form, eventually leading him upon a personal journey to find his place within nature and to plunge the darkest recesses of his own shadow side, as Shadowmancy is accessed and utilized, one's inner monsters employed towards beneficial endeavors.His primary foe herein is The Scarecrow, a mental health professional who has developed a psychotropic narcotic in aerosol form, which bestowes hallucinogenic torment upon those so afflicted, combined with his fear mask, essentially, a blank slate, a veritable canvas for the victims to paint the gruesome forms of their own horrors. Quite ingenious, actually.The ever-carnal Bruce Wayne arrays himself with fleshly pleasures when not in his alter-ego, indulging in superb women, and finery of all sorts. He surprised the residents in his own company when he one day returned from the frozen tundras of Tibet to Gotham City, feeding his demonic appetite when opportunity allowed. He does have somewhat of a love interest in Rachel Dawes {Katie Holmes} , a childhood sweetheart, yet their extreme professions frequently take them in sweeping dramatic directions.There is a clue at the film's conclusion which opens for the idea of a sequal, and even the probable character...I found the film's primary focus to be that of a shadowmantic nature - that is, accessing the primal fears buried in the subconscious and surfacing them to either terrify or edify, according to the fortitude of the subject.Batman Begins is a welcomed evolution in the Batman Saga, considering the former two jokes previously produced which obviously catered to the slovenly herd; and although this chraracter is one of comic book legendry, the personality absolutely displays de-facto qualities of the Satanic mindset, and has remained a prototypal Devil throughout.