Batman Begins

I just got back from seeing Batman Begins, and it's just as excellent as everyone has said. I saw Tim Burton's first film in the college theater last year, and his second on cable just the other week, but Nolan and Goyer put both to shame.

Of course, I kept ears tuned for potential subjects to mention here. And two caught my eye, one substantially more trivial than the other.

*spoiler warning* Nothing significant, but I thought it best to give notice.

First, and far less significant, is the reference during the chase scene to Interstate 17. Not surprisingly, this is a real highway...but it's in Arizona. Personally, I would have picked an interstate in New Jersey.

Second, when Bruce returns to Gotham for the parole hearing, Rachel Dawes is already an assistant district attorney for Gotham. The film's credits state that Bruce and Rachel were both 8 when the Waynes were murdered, and the hearing is fourteen years later (14 years, incidentally, is commonly the first parole opportunity for defendants sentenced to life in prison). This makes Rachel 22 at the time. That's the age most students finish undergraduate, and law school takes another three years. I, for instance, was almost 26 after going straight through seven years of higher education. Ms. Dawes, it would seem, was on a very accelerated track.

Now if only I could find a prosecutor's office so willing to hire a fresh graduate...