Batman Begins

My friend Aaron is so jazzed for The Dark Knight that he already has his reserved seat at the Arclight on opening night. He reminded me how this story was really about the nature of good and evil, the question of whether one could be defined without the other, and the journey of finding where one fits within its spectrum. While I will probably wait until week two to see the latest installment, I thought I would at least get myself ready for this new adventure by re-watching Batman Begins, looking specifically for these themes.

To start, let me just identify the similar plot attempt between Batman Begins and Wanted. Both have thousand year old secret societies (the League of Shadows and the Weavers Guild) who have self identified as the "keepers of balance" in civilization. Apparently, these societies have decided that God made the wrong promise when he told Noah he would no longer destroy the world even if evil was rampant. So they have taken it upon themselves. At least in Batman, the players take ownership for their decisions, and don't transfer power to a "Loom of Fate". The two societies also hang desperately on to power and ideals when things don't quite go right (e.g. the Loom names its leaders or Thomas Wayne's methods actually begin to work).

In Batman Begins, the questions of the difference between good and evil are prominent. At different times, the ideas proposed are that 'compassion' is the difference, the 'willingness to stand between', 'protection of the innocent', and 'justice is not only revenge'. On this last, I take issue with the 'only', since it suggests that a portion of justice is revenge. And we at least are setting up the debate about tactics. Does flying around in the night and instilling fear constitute good? Even if the fear instilled is in "bad people"?

I can only hope that Batman struggles with these issues in The Dark Knight and truly finds another way. What would happen if Bruce Wayne would try the tactics of his father, instead of those taught by the League of Shadows? More discussion after the next installment.
4-stars