Adorable Pap: A Review of ‘BatKid Begins’

Posted in Movies, Theatrical by - July 10, 2015

It’s a slippery slope, when a feel good socially conscience story gets mistaken for good filmmaking.  Make no mistake, Batkid Begins is a sweet story that deserves to be shared with the world but it is a sloppy film that doesn’t touch on any of the salient issues or getting the interesting elements of the story that it is trying to tell.

The world bore witness to one of the more inspirational and heartwarming stories known in our modern times as a young boy with his Leukemia in remission had a unique make-a-wish like no other, he wanted to be Batman and help people.  What started off as simple little stunt in the streets of San Francisco, ballooned in a world wide phenomenon that thousands in the city streets and millions across the globe latched on to with all of there might.  However the Make-A-Wish foundation grants wishes for countless children across the globe, this film examines what it was about this particular story that made it all so special.

BatKid Begins

Ultimately a sweet and inspiring story, Batkid Begins doesn’t get a pass based on a issues of quality or filmmaking skill but on the fact that it is just a nice story that reminds us about the good we as individuals and people on this earth can do for other people.

Producer/Co-Writer/Director Dana Nachman does have a couple of films under her belt but so much of the focus is on this remarkable young man and this special day (and deservedly so) it could have made for so much more of an interesting piece had we gotten a look at the actually logistics and a view inside the Make-A Wish foundation who make these days happen it could have really made for a fascinating look inside what makes these organizations ticks.  However, we still get drawn in thanks to raw emotion.  Sadly it isn’t a unique story but the need to play and feel like you are a part of something larger then yourself is why people gravitate to religion and why people gravitated to this kid.  It wasn’t an overly contrived moment and it speaks to the very origins of social media and why people go on Facebook and Tweet in the first place.

Young Miles Scott and his family make for wonderful protagonists and following him on his special day feels like it would have been impossible as one of the people who followed this event in real time on Twitter when it happened.  We get to relive the magic all over again for this young man and along with him we get to relive the joie de vivre of just playing around and being a kid.

Ultimately, that’s what Batkid Begins is all about, we’re not supposed to over think it, we are supposed to get swept up in the joy that we forget about when we get older.  That joy of imagination, adventure and fun that we so desperately need to get through our day to day lives.

Bat Kid

  • Release Date: 7/10/2015
This post was written by
David Voigt is a Toronto based writer with a problem and a passion for the moving image and all things cinema. Having moved from production to the critical side of the aisle for well over 10 years now at outlets like Examiner.com, Criticize This, Dork Shelf (Now That Shelf), to.Night Newspaper he’s been all across his city, the country and the continent in search of all the news and reviews that are fit to print from the world of cinema.
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