STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM “Batman Begins”

When your city is filled with crime and corruption, it’s time to become a symbol for the innocent and take it back.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, screenplay by Nolan and David S. Goyer, story by Goyer, and based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, Batman Begins is the origin of story of Bruce Wayne. After witnessing his parents get murdered, and being intimidated by Gotham City’s top mafia boss, Bruce travels the world to train in combat and learning about the criminal underworld.

After learning to fight and control his fear by the League of Shadows, he travels back to Gotham City to take back his father’s company, Wayne Enterprises, and arms himself with weapons and technology built by the company.

Thus starts his path to becoming a vigilante to fight the corruption within Gotham, and confronting enemies of his past.

The film has since become an influence for how comic book films are viewed by a mainstream audience, and (for better or worse) an influence of how to reboot a franchise. Heck, it’s even overshadowed by its sequel, The Dark Knight. But much like how Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back wouldn’t exist without Star Wars: A New Hope, it’s important to see how this film set a standard for cinema and storytelling.

First off: obviously, the film isn’t the first to do an origin story for superheroes. But this is probably the first to do an origin story where even the origin is just as engaging. It’s also the fact that the film is unapologetically dark and realistic, which is appropriate for a character like Batman, which is probably why is resonated so well with audiences.

It also helps that Nolan doesn’t treat the material as kid’s stuff. Batman is a complex character, so it deserves to be treated as serious as any serious crime drama, which is ultimately what the film is. Even all of the actors portray their respective characters with respect, and it’s appropriate for the tone.

Gotham looks like a city that’s been neglected, and filled with rampant crime. It’s a comic book city that looks authentic in real life. Even the technology that Bruce uses to arm himself to become Batman looks realistically built and believable to exist.

As with every common criticism with this film, the fight scenes in the film are much to be desired. Never mind how they’re shot; they’re just not choreographed well, and the characters aren’t agile. Maybe that’s in keeping with the characters, and this is Batman in his first outing, but if you’re being trained by literal ninjas, I expect fight scenes as great as The Matrix or The Raid.

Oh, but what about the Batman voice, and how ridiculous it is? If you find it distracting and don’t find it intimidating at all, fine, I won’t argue with that. Personally, I don’t mind it because it fits Batman. It would’ve probably helped if he didn’t talk much. Otherwise, it becomes difficult to understand him.

I was aware of the film through the trailer, but I didn’t watch it in theaters. I finally got to watch it when it was on T.V., and even then I found it boring. I knew it was an origin story, but I underestimated how long it would take for Batman to finally show up. As the years went by, especially after the release of The Dark Knight, I’ve gained a new appreciation for it.

Batman Begins appeared as just another comic book film, but became something more because of how the source material was treated. It’s a compelling origin story that became a standard of how filmmakers and creators should treat their franchise properties.