What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that this movie features hard and fast
violence, martial arts and shootings conveyed through dark,
abrupt, sometimes scary imagery. Less cartoonish than the
Spiderman and
X-Men movies, these scenes are loud and rough. The caped
crusader's origin story includes the murders of his parents,
his ensuing depression and attempt to shoot the shooter,
martial arts training and fighting, frightening subjective
images brought on by hallucinogenic drugs, brief debauchery
(drinking, smoking, and swimming-in-a-hotel-fountain with
vacuous starlet-types), an even briefer kiss with his romantic
interest, a faux drunken speech, and some raucous driving in a
seriously armored Batmobile.
Families might discuss Bruce Wayne's relationships with various father figures, including his biological father (who is murdered), his martial arts trainer, his butler, and his gadgets-maker. They might also consider the distinction the film sets up between vengeance and justice. How does Bruce put his anger to use for the "public good"? How does the film differentiate between "good" and "bad" uses of violence?
Common Sense Media Review
A meditation on the different motivations for violence,
BATMAN BEGINS is smart and entertaining, with some harsh action
scenes. The movie begins as Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is
beset with traumatic memories, from a childhood fall into a
bat-swarmed well to the loss of a childhood friend to the
murder of his parents by a mugger. This brief reverie gives way
to his present incarceration in China. Here, he faces more
potential trauma, in the form of a looming fellow inmate who
proclaims, "You're in hell, and I'm the devil." Bruce is not
impressed. Oh no, he grimaces, "You're not the devil. You're
practice."
This snarky retort sets up Bruce's grit and fury, a well as his grim arrogance and sense of comedy. From here, he starts training with martial arts experts Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) and Ra's Al Ghul (a criminally underused Ken Watanabe), who invite him to join the League of Shadows, a group of vigilantes who are determined to clean up Gotham City.
Bruce, however, is disinclined to burn down places in order to save them. As Christopher Nolan's much-anticipated prequel has it, he's got a humanistic heart beating beneath his angry exterior. He returns to Wayne Manor, where he enlists the help of butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and Wayne Enterprises gadgets-maker Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) in order to create the "image" of Batman. Intended to intimidate villains, the new hero wears an elaborate Bat-costume and drives a frankly awesome Batmobile, a futuristic all-terrain military vehicle painted bat-black and capable of all manner of vehicular acrobatics.
Bruce seeks personal vengeance for his parents' murder, but turns this into justice for all criminals, an opposition conveniently named by his romantic combination romantic interest/moral conscience, Rachel (lackluster Katie Holmes), his childhood friend returned as earnest Assistant District Attorney. Batman's assaults on thugs working for kingpin Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) are rendered with thrilling smash-up spasticity: blows and edits combine with whomping and whooshing sound effects. The other major villain is Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), who devises a weaponized hallucinogen, to disperse via Gotham's water supply.
Self-righteous, flagrantly emotional as well as coldly rational, Batman's sense of mission aligns him with last good cop Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman). It also means his methods aren't always so distinct from the criminals', but he is effective, as deterrent and as what Gordon calls "escalation." Both villains and Batman can only do more.
Families who like this movie will enjoy Sam Raimi's Spiderman movies, Tim Burton's Batman (1989), and Alex Proyas' The Crow (a darker, R-rated film, starring the late Brandon Lee).
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
