Okay, so there are several essays, blog posts, twitter streaks and people at comic-con talking about how Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy is a feat of cinema that ‘will never be matched.’ And everyone is aware of a certain incarnation of a clown by the sadly late Heath Ledger, that caused for the first Oscar nomination and win for a comic book character. However, I am not here to talk about the trilogy, or The Dark Knight, instead I am here to discuss why I think the best ‘Batman film’ out of the three is in fact Batman Begins.
I can feel the fingers of people who disagree ready at their keyboards to ‘inform’ me about how my opinion is wrong because of course The Dark Knight is the best film. I’m not denying this, on almost every level it is the superior film. However, it is a film about opposites, with Batman and Joker being order and chaos respectively and then having this duality of a film being incarnated in the form of Harvey Dents transformation into Two Face by the end. This is where the comparison begins, The Dark Knight is as much Joker’s film as it is Batman’s, some would argue even more so. Where as Batman Begins is inarguably Batman’s film.
Now, a lot of this is due to it being his origin story and so as an audience we follow Bruce Wayne go from a kid falling into bat caves into the best known nocturnal comic character. The film is even able to boast the use of three major comic villains, Falcone, Scarecrow, and Ra’s Al Ghul, without feeling crammed full of evil doers for the sake of toy sales (for a bad example, see Spider-Man 3). This is done with one simple step, the motivation the villains share is the same, or at least their method of gaining power. This method is also the one thing Batman struggles with to concur, fear, from start to finish Batman Begins focuses of Bruce’s battle against the feeling of fear.
Let’s go one by one, Falcone first. The ruler of the drug underworld of Gotham City, as Bruce goes to question him about the murder of Joe Chill (The Wayne’s family mugger/murderer). Bruce goes in, searched and sat in front of Falcone himself where he is treated to a pep talk by Falcone while staring down the barrel of a gun. Now, this whole speech is about how he could kill one of the wealthiest men in the world in front of judges, police officers, etc. Because of one thing. That thing, being fear, and the power that fear buys.
Then there’s Scarecrow, now fear is quite obviously the thing that Scarecrow has, its sort of his whole demeanour. With the first time Batman comes across him face to face he is sprayed and his fears start to manifest themselves in front of him. Not only does the crazed doctor use this serum on Batman but also on inmates at Arkham to keep his experiments going. Using it on Falcone himself, sealing off the end of his arc starting with him in control of fear and ending with Scarecrow using fear against him.
Finally, Ra’s, the one and only Liam Neeson. Now, the use of fear by Ra’s is not the same as the others use. Instead he and his followers focus on the one thing Bruce also wishes to do himself, to concur fear itself and only once that has been done can they continue to ‘right the world’s wrongs.’ With their initial end goal being, with the help of Scarecrow, to fill the streets of Gotham City with the fear toxin and watch as the city tears itself apart. Although, their biggest mistake is training Batman themselves as they created their own worst enemy.
It’s not only the villains that focus on fear, it’s the rest of the film as well, Bruce is told on several occasions that good people are scared to act. How even the police are scared to step out of line due to fear of being a rat or being killed anyway. Or the reason they had to leave the theatre that would cause the death of his parents, Bruce’s fear of bats. The reason this film, in my opinion, is the best ‘Batman film’ of the trilogy is because the whole film is focused on Batman going up against fear. Whether its his own, the people of Gotham City or the villains who actively oppose him, all three have one outcome.
This is why I see Batman Begins to be the better ‘Batman film’ out of the three, even though The Dark Knight is the better film. Since it is a story of him against fear itself, if we were talking about the best Batman film that currently exists then that title to me would go to Lego Batman, but there’s one of my previous posts to explain that one.
The Nerdy Bartender 