Batman Begins

تنبيه
كتبت مقدمة موضوع اليوم بأسلوب كاتب صحفي مشهور بسمنته، ذبحنا وهو يتشيحط بالدعوات اللي تجيله من كل مكان .. وحتى أمس كان معزوم

حضرت مساء أمس العرض الأول لفيلم الرجل الوطواط في سينما ليلى غاليري، وذلك تلبية لدعوة الأخ العزيز خالد ناصر الروضان رئيس شركة ام-نت راعية العرض. كان حفل العرض مريحاً جداً حيث سينما ليلى غاليري أنيقة للغاية وكراسيها في البلكون الأعلى مريحة ووثيرة تصلح لذوي الكروش وما أكثرهم في دولتنا. ذكرني الفيلم بأيام طفولتي ومجلات الوطواط المترجمة للعربية والتي كانت تطبع في لبنان أو مصر لا أذكر... أشكر الأخ خالد على دعوته الكريمة وأدعو إلى المزيد من هذه العروض الخاصة برعاية المؤسسات الكويتية الرائدة

And now for my review which I will do in English, because it's easier to spell the actors' names. And don't worry there will be no plot spoilers.

The new Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan of Memento and Insomnia fame (2 great movies), is my type of summer blockbuster: dark, brooding and intelligent. It tells the story of how Batman came to be (I said no spoilers!), which is just as thrilling as his life as a crime fighter.

Having grown up watching reruns of the campy - POW! BAM! - Batman TV series from the 1960's, and devouring the Batman DC Comics as a youngster, Batman has always had a special place in my heart. I loved the first two big productions with Michael Keaton, sort of liked Batman Forever with Val Kilmer (who I can't stand!), and just refused to see Batman & Robin and Catwoman.

As kids, most of us read comic books for the action, cool gadgets and incredible superpowers that we all wished we had so we could beat up the kids that we didn't like at school . But we forget that they are mainly written and created by adults and are therefore full of very grown-up themes dealing with life, love, loss, good vs. evil and a whole range of human emotions.

Batman Begins is a magnificent interpretation of these themes in the tradition of superior comic movies like X-Men and Spiderman, which resonated so much with audiences of all types because they didn't just focus on the action. It stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman and he brings just the right mix of charm, tension and seething revenge to the part. The mostly British cast, including Gary Oldman as - GASP! - a good guy, is superb... although I get the feeling Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are just playing themselves. And it must be Liam Neeson's year (after Kinsey and Kingdom of Heaven) because he totally lights up the screen with his presence.

In the film, Gotham City is in the grip of a depression, with poverty and crime everywhere. The city is held hostage by a group of thugs, and corruption is rampant. At one point I found myself wondering what would happen to Kuwait if - GOD FORBID!! - the oil ran out; would we sink to this level of decay? Well, we've got the corruption bit finessed to an art form... anyway, I digress.

My only quibble was with the new Batmobile, because it isn't as sleek and sexy as the original. The only people who will like it are Hummer drivers (click.. it's funny!)

Verdict: Do not miss it! The censors haven't touched a thing, except a chaste kiss at the very end which is more than I can say for the butchering of Mr. & Mrs. Smith last week. Oh, and we had the extra benefit of watching it last night without the distraction of badly translated subtitles in huge letters that eat up the screen!

Memo to KNCC: The Batman Begins website states that the film will be shown in IMAX theatres in the US and UK. Please surprise us by not blowing the opportunity to do the same here.