Batman Begins (2005)

“I seek the means… to fight injustice. To turn fear… against those who prey on the fearful.”

Kyle’s rating: Now here’s a midnight show I can get excited about!

Kyle’s review: In the weeks prior to the release of Batman Begins, I joked that to me, this new Batman film was like The Passion of the Christ to others.

I was only half-kidding.

There are few other fictional characters that have resonated for me like Batman. It’s the clothes, it’s the car, it’s the bat motif, it’s the extraordinary example of the human mind and body being pushed to the pinnacle of possibility: all used to further justice and usher in a finer world. Of course he’s fictional; no one can really do everything he can. But we can try to do our best at what we can, and live up to his example and the examples of other real-life heroes, and do what is good. What is right. What is just.

When reviews of Batman Begins started popping up, I read them. Across the positive and the negative reviews (and I must gladly say there are more of the former than the latter) there was a common twinge of regret that the promise of the film’s first half, where Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) confronts and overcomes his fear to become… something else, loses some of its energy when Wayne returns to Gotham City and becomes a punch-happy gadget-laden Batman.

There are lofty ideas and themes that are presented during the training sequences, where beatings and philosophy foster Wayne’s desire and ability to become greater than himself. Then he is forced to choose his destiny, and as we know he is our hero he chooses the most righteous path, which of course leads him back to Gotham City, back to his home, back to the cave beneath Wayne Manor. Don’t be fooled into thinking those ideas and themes vanish into the background. They’re there, but at the same time we want some Batman action. And Batman action we receive.

I ended up liking both halves of the film. Which is to say: I loved Batman Begins, beginning to end. There’s nary a weak spot to be found, and the blending of comic book continuity (dreaded in some hardcore fanboy circles) with (reel) reality astonished me. I’ve been reading comic books since my mom trusted me enough not to tear up her beloved Batman comic books if she put them in front of me, and it’s pretty clear from details minor and major that the creators of this film didn’t just try to emulate what was on the illustrated page: they loved it, too. Loved it enough to recreate rather stunningly on-screen, with enough precision and expertise to amuse and/or escape the notice of the average audience member, and bring a bemused smile to the face of comic junkies.

Most importantly, the forces behind Batman Begins recognized more so than pretty anyone involved with the prior Batman blockbusters that Bruce Wayne is just as complex and interesting as the villains he faces, and that given the room to breathe he can be just as powerful a story as Jack Nicholson’s Joker or Danny Devito’s Penguin.

Bale is an excellent actor to bear the brunt of increased focus on Wayne; I won’t say he’s a perfect Batman because we’re all thinking a lot now about dealing in absolutes, but he’s really really great. I’d love to say he’s better than all the rest, as he definitely surpasses nearly all those who’ve come before in live-action Batman films… but I have to tie him with Michael Keaton. It sounds sacrilegious, yes, but Keaton’s portrayal tapped more purely into a vein of nearly-manic determination and destiny, where I truly believed he was and only could be Batman, and Bruce Wayne just served surface purposes. In Batman Begins, spending so much time with an incredibly-realized Bruce Wayne seems to strongly argue that it is Wayne, not Batman, who is forged into a stronger man who knows the usefulness of masks and symbols to achieve his destiny. So much so that when a character states that Bruce Wayne is the mask, and Batman is the true identity, it seems like a mistaken presumption. If anything, they’re well-balanced halves. When is Two-Face going to show up to really put the spotlight on that element? I can’t wait!

Because I’m only delving into the deep stuff because, wow, everything else is fantastic. I’m slightly concerned that at least 60% of this film being totally unlike any other Batman film might throw off audiences and send the wrong kind of signal to Hollywood. Simultaneously, I’m already planning my next trip to see it, to really appreciate the long stretches of character development, expertly-crafted information-laden dialogue blocks, and careful editing to squeeze what felt like two movies into one. It’s not as action-packed as you might think or hope, but there’s enough to keep you satisfied. The rest is beautiful stuff to make you think, laugh, and be entertained. If the thought of less action makes you afraid, that’s good, because fear is a central element to the film. And to make sure you realize it, the word “fear” gets repeated about a thousand times. I sincerely doubt you’ll mind, though.

I’m writing this at 3:30 a.m., a half hour after getting out of the midnight showing, and I’m still in awe. Everyone involved in this film did a wonderful job. The sets and visuals are amazing, from ninja training grounds amid frozen tundras to the exalted highs and crumbling lows of Gotham City. The story is strong: grounded enough in reality to satisfy the high-brows, yet willing to explore the fringes where a Batman is possible along with superweapons and doomsday schemes hatched by worldwide crime organizations. I thought the dialogue was great, even if a few snatches here and there were lost in the sound and quick edits. And that cast: wow. Bale is terrific. Gary Oldman shines as honest cop James Gordon. Michael Caine is a tremendous Alfred, Morgan Freeman is a sneaky-smart Lucius Fox, Katie Holmes is a fetching Rachel Dawes, and all the rest inhabit their roles flawlessly. Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Richard Brake… all provide complex layers of villainy. No one resorts to caricatures of violence and mustache-twirling. It’s amazing. Bruce’s parents (Linus Roache and Sara Stewart) are living, breathing folks who make such an impression in their few minutes of screen life that we feel their haunting presence along with Bruce. We understand and empathize with his loss and pain. Did I anticipate that? Not at all!

I’m saving special mention for one certain actor in this film. Because as great as Bale is, and he’s amazing, one actor threatens to steal it all away: Cillian Murphy. While I can see how his portrayal of Dr. Jonathon Crane (who plays at and later fully transforms into the Scarecrow) could be viewed as over-the-top and more in line with Burton’s or even Schumacher’s Bat-films, I have to say he was wonderful. He was the only character who, walking to the car afterwards, I was wishing I had seen more of. He was great reluctantly becoming a hero in 28 Days Later, but he strikes a perfect chord as an unrepentant and self-amused villain here. I enjoyed the potential global threat of Ra’s Al Ghul, and understood that the lanky Scarecrow wouldn’t have lasted more than 30 seconds against the ninja-trained devastating Dark Knight we have in this Batman, but I could have easily enjoyed an entire film with the Scarecrow as the only villain. Maybe next time!

I could go on and on, but I’m sure my colleagues will want to have a say. And I can easily sum up all the hyperbole I could spout off with by saying: I am fully satisfied. The source comics were honored, I believe in the crime-fighting machine that this Batman was built into, and I believe in Bale’s Bruce Wayne, who clearly has a journey ahead of him that will be trying but that he is ready to face. For once I don’t fear future sequels to a film I already love, because if Bale and the powers behind Batman Begins are involved, I have zero doubt that what’s to come will be just as richly entertaining as this film. Absolutely amazing.

Justin’s rating: So… he can fight crime WITHOUT his nipples? Absurd!

Justin’s review: It goes without saying — although I’ll say it anyway — that I would make a lousy superhero. Heck, let’s not even elevate me to the position of “hero,” where studly men with muscles bulging all expectedly are called upon to rescue drowning baby kitties from lakes of pure liquid fire. I have a hard time understanding many of my bill payment plans, not to mention the confusion that comes with each morning’s question of “Is this the day I shave, or tomorrow?” I’m lacking the time or talents to perform in the superhero arena.

It’s what I like about Batman, because here’s an atypical superhero character — a guy with no superpowers, no mutant abilities, no special webbing shooting from his nether regions — who, through the sheer force of will and discipline and a very large trust fund was able to elevate himself into a masked weirdo who caught criminals with all sorts of goofy gadgets. He’s such an everyman, much like you and me, provided that you too have billions of dollars, a perfectly toned set of abs, and an unhealthy fixation for the fumes of guano. But maybe that elite status is what makes him so lovable, that a member of the upper class would care so much for the well-being of us shmoes that he’d put life, limb and wing on the line to protect us from crime.

Batman Begins is a success. I’m not talking about box office, because that’s never an accurate measurement of whether something really succeeded in its intentions or not. No, this movie succeeds because it not only met our base expectations and hopes for the fifth (or sixth, or whatever) Batman movie — number one on the hopes list was “No Bat-Nipples” — but then did us seven better by delivering a wonderfully reimagined Gotham City, a darker and more human Batman, thrilling action, and… brace yourself, because we’re talking about a summer event movie here… a thoughtful story that invokes a great exploration of the theme of fear and how we either succumb to it or overcome it.

It’s not the Batman of Tim Burton, which was certainly great in its own way, was far too brooding (what, are we super-teenagers now Bruce?) and off-kilter weird to be the full successor of the comic book legend. It’s certainly not (thank you God!) the Batman of Joel Schumacher, which was flat-out ridiculous and had Bats starring in the center of some brightly-colored clown show. It’s maybe not as dark as fans of Frank Miller’s graphic novels, nor as witty as Adam West (did I just say that?), but ultimately this might be the best Batman ever to hit the screen since Batman Fights Dracula. I’m still trying to find a copy of that one. It does actually exist somewhere.

Most superhero films begin with an “origin” story, the backstory of how so-and-so got such-and-such power to become Captain Whatsit. Not surprisingly, most of those origins eat up a good hour or more of film time and keep the audience hovering on the verge of boredom until finally yanking them back when the real fun begins.

What is surprising is that the origin tale in Batman Begins is just as watchable and enjoyable as the post-I’m-Batman era. It’s enthralling to see how a scared, spoiled and hurt kid reacted to his parents’ death in believable ways, rolling around in selfish depression until finally realizing that there are more people out there hurting than just himself. The first part of the film is essential in that it sets up a vulnerable Bruce Wayne instead of instantly giving us an invincible, omnipresent Batman. I’ve never really felt that Gotham was a real place in any of the previous Bat flicks, nor did I really care about its citizens when evildoers came a-knockin’; I do here. Reminded me a lot of the cheery urban decay in The Crow. It’s a crummy place where the small voices of justice and goodness are squashed like so much cockroaches, and where McDonald’s offers no value meal selections whatsoever.

The key conflict in the movie is actually Gotham itself, instead of Batman, which is a bit of a welcome relief. It’s a place that’s scummy and utterly corrupt, and the one villain’s justification for eradicating the entire town is that it’s better to wipe out a mistake completely, even if there’s a few cute puppies around. Batman (angular-cheeked Christian Bale) disagrees; instead of taking the easy way out, if somewhat extreme, he’d rather hang around and fight for the redemption of the city. This movie changes the relationship between Gotham and Batman from previous flicks. In the other Batmans, Gotham sort of sponsored Batman as a mascot, and Batman lorded as the king of the prom. Here, Batman clearly adopts Gotham as his own troubled child, sure, in need of a few spankings, but seeing the hope of a redeemed end product. Gotham in return doesn’t necessarily support him, but its citizens need him nevertheless.

As I said, it’s refreshing — like a bath of cold diet cola that you dive into completely nude — to have a non-nippular Batflick with more than just sham action and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bosom to sell tickets. Batman Begins was all about little things that added up to make me extremely happy: the excellent soundtrack (both effects and score), the growling ferocity of Batman’s nature, the secondary characters such as Alfred and Scarecrow who all have their moment in Gotham’s dusky sun, the freaky-freaky effects of the psychotic gas, and the almost down-to-earth explanations for how Batman began. How he found the Batcave (although the film certainly avoids labeling anything with the Bat- prefix), how he stumbled upon his suit and car, why he picked the bat as a symbol for criminals to fear, and how he became both a master fighter and a somewhat clever detective.

Director Christopher Nolan (Memento) only stumbles a bit with the shaky-cam action sequences. It’s not a huge detraction to miss out seeing every little detail of how Batman fights — in fact, him working from the shadows did add a lot to his legend — but coming away from the film, I really can’t pick out any one great punchfest to promote. Actually, the best action sequence has to be the chase scene with the Batmobile/Tumbler, a machine which is as brutal as Batman is graceful. It’s to Nolan’s credit that I can really overlook the less-than-average action because everything surrounding it is so well-done and thrilling. I certainly didn’t feel cheated in the least once the end credits arrived.

Oh, and Spider-Man? Yeah, you’re nifty and all, but leave the real crime fighting to the professionals. Bats has you covered.

Sue’s rating: If I owned the Batmobile, I wouldn’t be afraid to drive in Chicago any more. Well, not quite as afraid anyway.

Sue’s review: I think I’m madly in love with Batman. No, not the Adam West Batman, or the Michael, Val or George Batman. I have just a little too much self-respect to fall for schlocky Batman — of which all the preceding are incarnations. (Has anyone ever heard of an outcarnation? Just wondering.)

Well duh, Sue, I can hear you all saying. It’s not exactly a state secret that you have the hots for Christian Bale. In fact, you’ve got the hots for any number of actors, none of which will ever even know you exist, you pathetic woman. Isn’t it time you pulled your head out of the clouds and got a life? Man, you guys are nosy. Who asked you anyway? Why can’t you just lay off, fer criminy’s sake! You sound like my mother! Besides, I never said I thought I was madly in love with Christian Bale. (Not in this review anyway). I said Batman!

Actually the version of Batman I really love is the Kevin Conroy Animated Justice League Alumni Batman. Dark, brooding, smart, anti-social, fallible but supremely confident Batman. That’s what I’m talking about! Uff da hey! But in all seriousness, and I think resident uber-expert Drew would agree, Conroy is not only the longest running actor in the role, he’s the definitive on-screen persona of Batman. Even if he is just a voice.

Bale, however, runs an impressively close second. The seriousness, darkness and vulnerability he brings to the role is what makes this version of Batman far and away my top pick of the recent clan of cinematic superheroes… yes, even outranking everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. (Spider-Man, I mean. Not Kyle.)

But even with Bale wearing the (mercifully non-nippled) batsuit, the story might have floundered without an exceptional group of supporting characters — Mega-gansta Falcone, Scarecrow, Qui-Gon Ducard… even Lucius Fox (a very cool Morgan Freeman) and good old Alfred (an even cooler Michael Caine.) Not only are they well acted roles, but almost all of the main characters share a trait that, for me, adds a lot of fuel to an already decently simmering plot. Arrogance.

With the exception of Someday-Commissioner-Currently-Wet-Hen Gordon (I was so disappointed with Gary Oldman) and the obligatory rent-a-thug back up band, there doesn’t seem to be a single person in the movie who isn’t absolutely convinced that they’ve got the world by the tail and the answers to all of life’s little questions in the palms of their hands. Ra’s Al Ghul believes he defines justice. So does Bruce Wayne. So does whatserface, the Assistant D.A. that Tom Cruise bounces on sofas for. Crime Boss Falcone doesn’t care what anyone thinks because as far as he’s concerned, he’s top dog of Gotham and lifts his leg on the entire concept of justice anyway. Uh, metaphorically speaking of course. Probably. Scarecrow might be a bit of an underling, but clearly thinks he’s the smartest and coolest dude to ever wear a sack over his head. (In this respect, he’s probably right.) Even longsuffering and patient Alfred has big enough man-bits to act decisively and subversively as he sees fit. Heck, even Lucius Fox and Earle, the Chairman of Wayne Industries, trade “I’m smarter’n you and you don’t know it. Neener-neener-neener!” smirks throughout. If Gotham was set in Canada, the casting director could have screentested bull moose instead of actors.

Granted, if I saw these attitudes in my household, humble pie would be dished out in heaping spoonfuls. In a movie, especially this movie, I like it! And hey, there’s something very, very cool about a superhero who doesn’t have any radioactive, planet-of-origin, mutant aberration powers — and has the bruises to prove it. Well, okay, there’s something very, very cool about a shirtless Christian Bale too, but that’s entirely beside the point. Almost entirely.

Yeah, I think I love Batman. Can’t wait for the sequel!

Mike’s rating: The tagline for this should’ve read “Warner Brother’s Apology for Batman and Robin”

Mike’s review: FLASHBACK!

1989: Warner Brothers, (owner of all things looney tune, and all screen versions of DC comics characters), releases Batman, setting off a merchandizing frenzy that would put Spaceballs to shame, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since (seriously, the Bat-logo was on EVERYTHING! I myself at the age of twelve owned two Batman T-shirts, a Batman sippy-cup, and the novelization of the movie). Directed by friggin’ Genius Tim Burton, and owing more to the “Dark Knight Returns” series by Frank Miller than the campy 60’s TV show (and let us all say “amen”), the movie breathed new life into a character that had been languishing for years on screen, and it seemed comics in general, and Batman in particular would never again be plagued with the cheesy “Holy Spleen, Batman” camp mentality.

FLASHBACK 2: Electric Boogaloo

Fast forward to 1997. Someone at Warner Brothers, apparently suffering from severe dementia, or perhaps massive head trauma, or maybe just hatred of movie-goers, greenlit a steaming pile of human waste called Batman and Robin. Filled with horrid production design, cringe-worthy dialog, and putrid performances (yes, I’m looking at you, Ahnold), it went down in history as the flick that screwed up some really good villains, ruined the Bat-franchise, discredited Warner Brothers and proved you can’t just slap the Batman name on any piece of crap and expect it to make millions (for a recent example of how WB has yet to learn this lesson, see Catwoman). So years went by, and only the Bruce Timm animated universe gave us a decent Bat-fix.

Then, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere (but really from Marvel), comic book properties skyrocketed like a Kryptonian infant sent to earth (I know, I’m a geek, but you got the reference — so shut up). Properties like Blade, X-Men and Spider-Man hit it huge at the box-office and studios started snatching up every comic book they could get their hands on. Amidst all this, Batman was nowhere to be seen. Project after project, script after script was scrapped. It seemed that a good Batman movie was too much to hope for. The stink of Batman and Robin would remain, like so much ketchup stains on khaki pants that you didn’t notice were there until it was too late and you’d ran it through the dryer.

Then it happened, slowly at first: with internet rumors. The guy who directed Memento and Insomnia has signed up for a Batman movie? Christian Bale is starring? It’s gonna be based on Frank Miller’s “Year One”? Names started to form: Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine (Caine/Hackman theory alert!), Morgan Freeman. It all started to gel. WB was going to release a Batman movie, and it was either going to send the franchise further down the scummy drains of fanboy’s disappointment, or be the revitalizing of a timeless-much-loved character.

Let’s just say I have yet to talk to anyone who was disappointed.

This is it, finally. The Dark Knight as he was meant to be. All the pathos, the darkness, the complex villains and, best of all, NO BAT NIPPLES! The story takes us back to a younger Bruce Wayne before he took to dressing up like a flying rodent to scare purse-snatchers. We get a first-hand glimpse of Bruce near the end of his travels as he is studying the criminal mind and training his body for his mission which has not fully formed in his mind. As we meet him, he’s landed himself in prison, just so he can practice beating up on criminals. Without missing a beat, Henri Ducard shows up (Liam Neeson in full Qui-gon mode), and takes Bruce to have some tea and crumpets with Ra’s Al Ghul. Bruce goes through a grueling training montage, Ducard talks about fear… a lot… while Bruce gets high on psychotropic flowers and swings a sword at him. This is all very deep.

It’s all cool until they ask him to execute a criminal they have locked up, at which point he blows everything up. So then it’s back to sunny Gotham, and Bruce is spray-painting high-tech body armor and scaring the crap out of criminals, including mob boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson being delightfully smug) and freelance psycho the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy, who you can tell is having all kinds of fun here).

Visually this movie gets points just for not giving us seizures like Batman and Robin, but also the scenery is at at the same time dazzling and understated. The mountains of Tibet, shot during the early training sequences are gorgeous. The shots of Gotham are not the usual Batman fare — it looks less like the full city version of Castlevania, and more like an actual city. This is a good choice which goes along nicely with the director’s decision to place Batman in a grounded, realistic setting, and making Bruce’s evolution into a costumed crimefighter feasible without taking it too seriously. The action is great. Bale is brutal as Batman whether he’s taking out a thug or just scaring the living crap out someone he needs information out of (the Flass interrogation scene is so spot-on it gave me chills).

I only have two minor gripes about the film. First there’s the undeniable feeling that I wasn’t really watching Batman. The decision of the director to place this into a real world setting and not strain suspension of disbelief is a good one, but it feels like they might have taken a step or two away from the source material. The writers decision to reveal the identity of Bruce’s parent’s killer was bad enough, but to have Bruce contemplate shooting the killer outside his arraignment hearing is just not something I can reconcile with the character of Batman, who really doesn’t like guns. I realize movies and comics are two different mediums, but this just seemed to me like going too far.

Second, there’s Katie Holmes. She plays the love interest in this movie, and her characterization is clichéd and insipid, but that could’ve been saved had not her performance been so weak. I kept waiting for some emotion to be displayed here, but all for naught. She’s eye-candy and that’s about it. The writers did attempt to make her the voice of reason for Bruce, a voice of reason that slaps him twice and gives him a crappy arrow-head for his birthday. The only scenes I found her convincing in were the ones where she was drugged out on Scarecrow’s fear toxin, and it’s too bad because ordinarily she offers up some good performances.

But, all things told, this is the best Batman offering since the 1989 outing and it delivers the goods. With a terrific sequel set-up, we may be looking towards a new era for Bat-Flicks… so long as they avoid the Bat-Nipples.

Dark. And brooding. Brooding. And dark. Eat THAT, gothies!

Intermission!

• The new Batmobile (never referred to as such) looks more like a tank (see: The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel) but it’s a lot more believable as a superhero’s vehicle than some of the earlier films’ models.
• A great many details, especially the arrival of the SWAT team at Arkham Asylum and Batman’s method of distracting them to get away, are taken pretty much directly from Frank Miller’s seminal Batman: Year One comic book story.
• Scarecrow’s fear toxin is one drug that doesn’t look like a whole lot of fun to be on, and the way we get to see what the infecteds’ hallucinations are like is pretty cool.
• Gee, I wonder which villain they’re setting up for a sequel?
• That’s a cool initial Bat-symbol. The scene with the dedicated model is even better.
• I don’t mind the Waynes viewing an opera on that fatal night, because thematically it makes more sense than a Zorro film.
• Apparently no one, not even ninjas, are invulnerable to the threat of golf clubs.
• It sounds like every generation of the Wayne family has been fairly heroic, one way or the other!
• Before Christopher Nolan took over, director Darren Aronofsky was attached to make a Batman movie based on the graphic novel “Batman: Year One” and have the author Frank Miller write the screenplay. By 2003 there was a first draft screenplay with story boards, which are properties of AOL Time Warner. Warner’s decision for not producing the film is unknown, but based on the details that have since leaked out, it would probably have to do with the screenplay, which strayed a considerable amount from the source material, making Alfred an African-American mechanic named “Big Al,” the Batmobile being a suped-up Lincoln Towncar, and Bruce Wayne being homeless, among other things. This is all detailed in ‘David Hughes’ ‘ book “Tales from Development Hell.”
• This Batmobile was built from the ground up, not based on any existing cars.
• Ra’s Al Ghul is Arabic for “The Demon’s Head”. This refers to his position at the height of the Brotherhood of the Demon, also called the League of Assassins.
• The crime boss Carmine “The Roman” Falcone was a character from the comics. He was Gotham City’s last “old school” gangster. He was killed, and his empire wiped out, when Batman’s familiar rogue’s gallery came into prominence.
• Christian Bale’s trailer didn’t have his name on the door but said “Bruce Wayne” instead.
• Before the shooting began, Christopher Nolan invited the whole film crew to a private screening of Blade Runner. After the film he said to the whole crew, “This is how we’re going to make Batman.”
• This is the first Batman film to be shot in 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
• At $100 million, the film’s marketing costs were the most ever for a single film in history.

Groovy Quotes

Henri Ducard: You traveled the world… Now you must journey inwards… to what you really fear… it’s inside you… there is no turning back. Your parents’ death was not your fault. Your training is nothing. The will is everything. If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely. Are you ready to begin?

[After driving in the Tumbler, which will become the Batmobile]
Lucius Fox: So what you do you think?
Bruce Wayne: Does it come in black?

Bruce Wayne: A guy dresses up like a bat clearly has issues.

Rachel Dawes: What chance does Gotham have, when the good people do nothing?

Alfred: (to Bruce Wayne) You said you were in this for good, and not for theatrics. (pointing to television screen where news footage of the police chasing the Batmobile is playing) What do you call that?
Bruce: Damn good television.

Dr. Crane: It’s him!
Goon: Who?
Dr. Crane: The Bat-Man!

Batman: I’m not going to kill you. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to save you.

James Gordon: I never got to thank you!
Batman: And you’ll never have to.

Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall, sir? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up.

Bruce Wayne: I didn’t come here to thank you. I came here to show you that not everyone in Gotham is afraid of you.
Carmine Falcone: Only those who know me, kid. Look around you. You’ll see two councilmen, a union official, a couple of off-duty cops, and a judge. Now you think, just 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 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 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.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Batman
• Batman Returns
• Equilibrium