[MADRUCKIS]

One of the best scenes from Kill Bill vol 2 would have to be the character Bill explaining why his most favorite comic book hero, of all time, would be Superman. To put it simply, he enjoyed the story of Superman the best; his mythology:

When Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne get up in the morning, they're still just Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne. Its when they put on the costume that they become SpiderMan and Batman, respectfully. But Superman is always Superman. Clark Kent is his disguise not to be recognized, not the other way around.

Bill believed this alone made Superman great, but I disagree. Whereas most super heroes are made in accidents and such, Batman is different. Bruce Wayne creates this person in a cape, not only just for kicks and S&M, but because he becomes something different.

And here is where Batman Begins, the first movie starring Christian Bale under the mask, gets things right. Why would a man go to these lengths to do things? Why the symbol? What keeps him from being like the criminals he tries to stop? Like a true prequal, the movie takes it all and we get more Bruce Wayne than Batman...but its not a bad thing. Why? Because Bill was wrong in Kill Bill. Bruce Wayne makes himself into Batman because of the weakness of Bruce Wayne. The movie deals with Bale (just as good as Keatons Batman) struggling with not wanting to be Wayne any longer....the truth being that Batman is the person he feels more comfortable as. The movie based on Batman Year One comic book and though it takes its liberties with the story, its all there. Who invents Bats' toys, who teaches him to fight, even where the bat signal originated from. Unlike the first couple of Batmans....I mean, the only two......because we all know that there were only two Batman movies, 3 if you include the Adam West one...but thats it....yea..thats it. The movie isnt villian oriented and though I felt slightly worried that it wouldnt work if there were no foes for Batman to fight, the two present are enough and moved the story where it had to go. Katie Holmes is ok as a love interest, though anyone else with some experience might've done the small part some justice.
A critic called this the movie of the "Dark Knight" and its evident why. Its dark and mental, but without Tim Burtons wit and distortion (however great they were). This movie easily ressurected a dead franchise and my friend related it to the old Batman cartoon once given on Fox some 10 years ago..........good stories with dark overtones and pleasing to the eye.

this movie gets an easy A with a slight hope that the other movies after this will be better. With the same director and Bale at the helm, Batman shows too much promise not to be successful. Two hours of Batman were well spent and I'm glad I could prove Bill wrong.