Author: crisn

Marcus is big fan of Batman and I’m a big fan of movies for kids with strong messages for adults.  This weekend, The Lego Batman Movie (2017) satisfied both choices. DC and Lego made sure this film sets itself apart from the previous Batman films. These guys behind the production did their best that the movie entertains both kids and parents alike. For one, playing Cutting Crew’s I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight while Batman ogles Barbara Gordon made my day. Our caped crusader watching Jerry Maguire in the Batcave’s personal cinema surely tickled wifey.

I have to admit though I was in dreamland just almost the same time when Batman got zapped into the Phantom Zone. For a sec I felt like being scanned by the brick and my bad credit records being projected on the screen. No thanks to the Saturday night shift I rendered to cover for the vacation I would have this week. But trust me this movie is worth watching again.

The first part of the movie shows Batman foil an attempt by Joker and company to send Gotham City into oblivion. It was like all in a day’s work, like it’s no big deal. True to his nature, despite everything, Batman dismisses Joker as his worthy opponent. Crime takes a hiatus while Joker tries another way to claim his spot as Batman’s archnemesis. During this time, without admitting it, Batman loses steam and his life as a crime fighter drags on.

In most fictional stories, a hero needs a villain, a villain who would strike unspeakable fear to the masses. Without fear, the role of a hero is downplayed. There must be conflict of some sort. This is why our children, however innocent their minds are, understand such simple logic: their hero needs someone to fight with. So it’s no wonder they beg that their Batman figure needs a Joker, a Bane, a Penguin, or an unsuspecting Iron Man to smash before the victory of their games becomes worthy of the celebration.

Yes, no fear, no hero. Simple as that. Shamelessly, this is very same concept used by some of our leaders nowadays. They want to be seen as heroes no matter what it takes and for that to happen they sell fear at the expense of innocent lives. Their irrational means would justify their fantasized end.

It is a fact that evil exists. Most of us recognize it. We don’t like illegal drugs. We despise all forms of terrorism. We hate the bad guys. This, however, is not an excuse to disregard the rights of others in the fight to eradicate it. We cannot start killing people just because they happen to live in the same slums suspected to be a haven of drug pushers. We cannot hate a race just because a deranged group exists in their midst. We must all remember that we are dealing with someone made of flesh and blood. That when we discriminate and hate, the victims are children of parents, parents of children. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. They are not Lego blocks we could assemble back to original form once we realized we made a snafu.

As one line of Lego Batman Movie goes “Always be yourself unless you can be Batman.” Lost in their dreams and fantasies, children become their own Batman and they would snap out of it without any damage done maybe except for a short tantrum because they were awakened when they’re about to drive away with the Batmobile. But our leaders aren’t children anymore. And definitely not Batman. They could be real heroes only when they stop acting like self-centered children who want nothing done but their own ways.

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The Lego Batman Movie to our surprise deals with adoption. A character named Dick (of all names) successfully gets adopted by the then distracted Bruce Wayne. He is designated by Batman as his sidekick in the guise of being exploited to retrieve Superman’s gun that sends bad guys to the Phantom zone. This is also when I faded into sleep zone. According to wifey, Dick soon discovered that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person he has been looking up to has his fathers. I now wonder if Marcus went to bed last night dreaming to be Dick.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (The wheelchair travels again this week.)