Mike's movie guide: "Batman Begins"

It is that time of the week again, when an EMU student that you may or may not know reviews a movie that you might care about. So the question is, why read any further?

I have a simple answer for you, dear reader--this week you should read further because the movie, "Batman Begins," just so happens to be amazing. The word I chose is by no means a mistake, nor is it supposed to lead you on like a pretty girl with no personality. This was one of the best movies I saw this summer and could be one of the best movies you see this fall.

Let me give you some comparisons to help clarify. "Batman Begins" is as dark, plot-driven, and entertaining as "Wedding Crashers" is outright hilarious, or as "Crash" is disturbingly thought-provoking. It may be difficult to muster up the courage to watch another superhero movie, thanks in part to such recent Hollywood "classics" as "Hulk," "Daredevil," or "Elektra," but this one is different. "Batman Begins" tells the whole back story the way "Spiderman" did, thus allowing the audience to get to know and understand the troubled protagonist as a person prior to being a kick (insert bad word) hero.

Here is a quick rundown of the basic plot for this weekend's movie. The movie follows the origins of the legend that is Batman from his childhood to his future legacy as a doer of justice. Before Batman was the Dark Knight, he was a young boy who witnessed his parents' murder. He heads to the East to hone his skills with a dangerous ninja cult leader and returns to Gotham to find it decaying under the rule of organized crime. With the help of his butler and an armored suit, Batman seeks to strike fear into the hearts of men who do wrong.

What makes this movie special is its realism. I do understand that a movie about a man in a black rubber suit is not real; the point is that the story seems somewhat believable. Bruce Wayne can become Batman due to his experience overseas where he was trained to fight, his inexhaustible amount of money, and his constant quest for justice that stems from the unjust murder of his parents. Even the classic villains like Scarecrow or the Joker are humanized, more so than, say, Jack Nicholson in the old Batman movie.

The cast itself is another reason to see the movie. In "Batman Begins" there is finally a Batman, played by Christian Bale ("Reign of Fire," "Equilibrium"), who can act and do the action scenes himself. To put it bluntly, he is no George Clooney. The cast also includes Liam Neeson ("Star Wars: Episode I"), Katie Holmes ("Dawson's Creek"), Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later") and Michael Caine ("The Quiet American").

"Batman Begins" is showing in Science Center 106 on Friday and Saturday (10 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively) and hopefully you will be there for one of those showings. It is worth your time, energy (to get there), and money.