Film Review #1 - Batman Begins

If humanity had a personal and appropriate response to life's evils and insanity then surely it is Batman.  I don't make this statement sarcastically or without qualification.  Batman is by far the greatest and most accurate personification of what humanity's struggle against its own nature is.  The first thing that distinguishes Batman from every other member of the original Justice League is his ordinariness and humanity.  There is nothing that is inherent in his birth that makes him Batman.  Rather he's molded and established out of a series of life events which places him at a crossroads, but before we get there, let us discuss what makes, "The Bat".  Bruce Wayne is easily on a path leading to a carefree and easy life when his parents are shot dead in front of him by a thief.  Now, young Bruce is officially scared for life by this event and initially he does handle it in manner consistent with someone needing some anger management and grief therapy.  He uses his anger and agression to attempt to kill someone and justify it via his anger, but Carmaine Falcone sees through that, "people from your world have so *much* to lose. Now, you think because your mommy and your daddy got shot, you know about the ugly side of life, but you don't.  You've never tasted desperate. You're, uh, you're Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham; you'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who didn't know your name. So, don't-don't come down here with your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you'll never understand. And you always fear what you don't understand. Alright."  After running away to find a deeper and more profound understanding of his pain and struggle against the darkness in the world, Bruce determines that something greater than himself is needed, "  People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can't do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man, I'm flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed; but as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting."  The rest of this movie is spent establishing Batman as this symbol of hope for the city.  As with most superhero origin stories there is a fair amount of correlation between this story and the story of Jesus because much if not all of the story of Jesus fits within the modern superhero archetype.  We need heroes.  We recognize to the core of our being that the world is false and corrupted.  Even the "secular" viewpoint of the world recognizes this need.  How awesome would it be to answer as my son did one time to the question of "Who is you're favorite superhero?" and say, "Jesus is my favorite superhero!".