Review of Batman Begins (2005) by Trevor M — 07 Jun 2015

Not the greatest Batman movie of all time, but it definitely sets itself apart from all other to come before it. Nolan's Batman is iconic and without a doubt the best film version of Batman we have seen so far.

While The Dark Knight series will go on to do bigger things later in the series, Batman Begins still remains an important cornerstone of that series and gives an excellent origins story. A lot of other superhero movies are all about how some random person got some cool ability and now they will do good things with said ability.

Nolan's Batman is about far more than just a cool character doing good things. Batman Begins is far deeper than most since it is all about fear, whether it be conquering it, embracing it, or spreading it.

Bruce and Crane actually have extremely similar objectives, which is what makes the pairing work so well. Batman wants to use fear to force criminals into the light and run for the hills and in doing so, take back control of Gotham.

Crane wants to use fear to control Gotham for his own ends and create a new regime in Gotham. They both use a combination of trickery and brute force to further their goals, their main difference being in their underlying morals and plan for the city.

There are very few other superhero movies that have as much introspection and emotional purpose as Batman Begins and while it may not be as high adrenaline as the rest of the series, it remains a solid foundation for the others to stand upon.