A spot of "life turbulence" has hit in the last few weeks but I wanted to share my (planned) first post on Substack. The idea is to combine a story analysis/review with a non-fiction idea. At the moment I’m standing by the side of the pool, deciding whether to dip a toe or dive into the platform...

Batman Begins And The Masks We Wear

When Nolan and David S. Goyer set out to reboot Batman in 2005, they weren’t simply trying to revive a sleepy franchise.

They wanted to tell a powerful story about trauma, reinvention and retribution.

Not through speeches. Not through good intentions. Through what you do.

Even if you’re wearing a mask.

That idea sits front and centre in Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne.

The entire philosophy is seemingly captured in one line:

Rewatching with Liv nearly twenty years on, the film still lands and the lesson seems apt.

Perhaps because it reminds us of something slightly uncomfortable.

Talk is ultimately cheap.

Right action and integrity define you.

Time away from this story gave me a fresh appreciation for what Nolan was really doing with the character.

Read on for my rewatch rating… and the score from our special guest.

The Philosophy Behind The Lens

Nolan was hired by Warner Bros in 2003 and his vision was clear.

He wanted to rebuild the character… and the franchise… from the ground up.

Instead of starting the action with a ready-made superhero, he asked a more interesting question:

‘How does someone become a superhero in the first place?’

To answer it, the writing team drew heavily from several comics including The Man Who Falls by Denny O’Neil and Dick Giordano, Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, and Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One.

These stories emphasised something earlier Batman films often skipped.

Bruce Wayne’s years of preparation.

Before the city of Gotham ever sees Batman, Bruce disappears for years, travelling the world in search of something…

Purpose?

Discipline?

Direction.

The Temple Scene: Hardened By Fire

One of the clearest examples of his identity taking shape occurs during Bruce’s training with Ra’s al Ghul, played expertly by Liam Neeson.

High up in the mountains Bruce is acquainted with the formidable “League of Shadows”, learning how to master fear and channel his anger.

Eventually he faces a final test.

He is ordered to execute a prisoner.

A murderer.

Bruce refuses.

But he does not simply deliver a moral speech and walk away.

Bruce ignites the temple, fights his way out, and rescues Ra’s al Ghul milliseconds before the entire building collapses.

In that moment he offers a clear sign of who he really is.

Not someone who runs away.

Someone who acts.

Inside Ra’s al Ghul’s Temple

The Invisible Work Behind Transformation

One of Nolan’s smartest choices was refusing to skip the uncomfortable process of change.

Bruce Wayne spends years preparing in obscurity before returning to Gotham.

Training. Testing. Learning.

No one sees it. No one applauds it. Apart from perhaps dear Alfred, Michael Caine.

But that invisible work is what makes this Batman possible.

And plausible.

Within Nolan’s career the film sits at a fascinating moment. After the breakout success of Memento, this was the film that proved he could take a huge studio IP and reshape it on his own terms.

Nolan has often been drawn to characters wrestling with fractured identities. Leonard in Memento, Cobb in Inception (a personal favourite of mine), the rival magicians in The Prestige all construct versions of themselves for the world to see.

Eye-catching masks.

Why Bruce Chooses The Bat 🦇

There is also a more visual metaphor running quietly through the film.

In older versions of the Batman story, Bruce watches a Zorro film with his parents before they are murdered.

Nolan deliberately tweaks that element.

The symbol comes from somewhere more personal.

Through a flashback we see Bruce as a child falling down a well, surrounded by bats. The experience terrifies him.

Not much older he is then at the theatre with his parents and becomes visibly uncomfortable at the sight of bats. His father suggests they leave early…

And we know what happens next in the alley outside.

Years later Bruce returns to Wayne Manor, stands in the cave beneath the house, and allows the bats to swarm around him.

At that moment he makes a decision.

If criminals are ruled by fear, he will become something they fear.

The symbol of the bat is consciously chosen.

His mask.

The Masks We Choose

Bruce pretends to be a careless, callous billionaire so no one suspects the man behind the cowl.

It’s only his lifelong friend and love interest, Rachel, who sees through the veneer.

Even Gotham hides behind a respectable façade while corruption runs through the city.

And yet, in the final moments of the film, Jim Gordon shows Batman a new calling card left at a crime scene.

A 🃏

A small hint of what’s to come.

A mask without morality.

The introduction of a darker reflection on identity.

If Batman uses a mask for good…

What about someone who uses one for the opposite?

Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Roll on The Dark Night rewatch.

Final Rating

On IMDb, Batman Begins currently sits at 8.2.

Personally, I think that’s about right, so would give it an 8.0.

An obvious strength is the cast where alongside Bale, Cillian Murphy and Katie Holmes you have the formidable presence of Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman, two superb British actors who bring a gravity the earlier Batman films rarely had. There’s even a small appearance from a very young Jack Gleeson, long before audiences would meet him as Prince Joffrey in Game of Thrones.
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The drawbacks were probably I didn’t love Bale in this. The Dark Knight is superior for me. More recently, I enjoyed the latest Batman, directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson. It leans even further into noir and shadows, capturing a bleak, rainy Gotham. That film currently has an IMDb rating of 7.9.
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Thanks to Hans Zimmer the film is a 'Symphonic journey as much as a narrative one' - Tom van der Linden, Like Stories Of Old. I’ve used the Batman Begins ambiences on YouTuve for my own deep work sessions. I think that gives a real resonance to the film.

Liv was more generous with an 8.9.

I think she has slight nostalgia goggles on but I can’t knock that when I think of how I'd rate some of my favourite films.

Right, Mother's Day garden tasks are calling!

Hang Comfy,
Jim
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​P.S. Shout if there's a film you'd love me to explore for a Substack piece.