And My Desires Are Fulfilled

I saw the midnight screening of Batman Begins and I will say this: My desires are fulfilled.

This is the best Batman film ever and will stand as a monument to the ability of good writers and good directors to faithfully and purposefully adapt what many consider to be a bastard form of adolescent literature into a movie that is both emotionally powerful, thoughtfully constructed and id-satisfying.

As Vanessa stated, "It's the thinking man's Batman."

The drive to create a realistic character inside of the expensive armor is readily apparent and plays out very well over the course of the first hour of the film. Those seeking the intensity of cool melee combat may be slightly disappointed by Nolan's up-close, blurred motion fight scenes - but may feel redeemed by his amazing execution of one of the film's finer points: the Batmobile chase.

As a long-time fan of the Batman comics (they were my bedtime stories - and these were Batman comics out of the 80's ... those who read Batman comics understand why this fact is important), I was extremely pleased with how well the main protagonist of the film - Ra's Al Ghul - was handled. Typically relegated to second- or third-class status as a villain, this originally supernatural villain was slickly portrayed by a very skilled actor. (In a week's time, when you've seen the film, this comment will make more sense)

References to rather unknown - though important - characters, and casual references to obscure villains created in Batman's darker, more brutal days from the 80's can be found sporadically throughout the film. I found that Goyer and Nolan were most worthy of my (relatively unimportant) praise when they introduced Dr. Crane at an indictment hearing for the killer known as Zsasz, a brutal serial killer who marks his skin with tallies after each kill. These types of fanboy-only references serve to remind those wary comic-faithful that this franchise is indeed in good hands. This is a good thought to have planted in your mind as you leave the theatre because the setup at the end of the film begs to be played out by this same talented cast and crew.

There is more than just an open-ended transition into the second film (in what is assumed to be a trilogy of films) left on the line here:

If people don't respond warmly to this "thinking man's Batman," the belief and faith of the executives at Warner Brothers might be shaken to the point where they question their decision to put someone as skilled as Nolan in charge of such a monumental franchise. If this indeed becomes the case, then the fans of the comic books will be the ones hurt most as this film represents what all comic book-based films should be - a creatively original, yet faithful, adaptation of a beloved universe of characters.

I can only hope that Chris Nolan, David Goyer, Christian Bale, Alan Horn and all the other major players involved in Batman Begins realize how perfectly this film achieves the task of including all the things that comic book fans really want to see on the big screen ... and then some.

As an encore, I will be seeing the film again tomorrow at an IMAX theatre. I can only hope that my film school brethren will be as pleased as I am with this film. As it stands, I almost don't want to see it with them because this first viewing was just so amazing.

Thank you much, Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, for doing what many claimed was impossible - faithfully adapting Batman to the big screen. And thanks to the cast whose devotion to their characters was apparent in their performances - you all captured the hearts of your characters perfectly. May the second film move quickly into pre-production so that we can see the Chris Nolan's Batman equivalent of Bryan Singer's X-Men 2.