Batman Begins Better

I walked up to the movie theater more excited to spend time with my friend than to watch the movie Batman Begins. I went anyway. A little more exciting was that it was playing on IMAX, and we got to see the movie on a screen six stories tall by eight stories wide.

As we watched the movie, it was easily the best movie in the Batman series so far, and easily was better than the whole Spiderman series to date. As I said to my friend as we left, "All the other superhero movies seem cartoonish compared to this one."

Here is what was right about the movie:

Complexity: The characters were complex, especially as the movie begins. Even more the ideas were complex that the movie spoke about.

Ideas: There were a few good ideas and hooks that the movie hung on. First the quote, "Its not inside that counts, its what you do that matters". A countercultural idea to be sure, and a thought that deserves more thought in our therapuetic age. Also, the discussion of the difference between mercy and justice.
And, how Batman takes many of the strengths of his instructors, while denying their overall ideals.

Storyline: excellent.

This is easily the best movie that has come out this year, and for me the biggest surprise.