Most critics are all praises for the documentary film "Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around The World," which earned $23,000 when it debuted in four theaters in San Francisco over the weekend, according to various entertainment news sources.
The film revolves around the story of Miles Scott, a boy suffering from leukemia who gets his wish to play Batman for a day in a San Francisco that has been restyled for the purpose as Gotham City.
The Make A Wish Foundation, Facebook, Apple, Lamborghini and the San Francisco Opera, among others, contributed to making the event happen, and more than 25,000 people cheered on the BatKid who, accompanied by an adult Batman, beat up his favorite super hero's archenemies, rescued people in distress and received the key to the city from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.
Award-winning documentary filmaker Dana Nachman wrote, produced and directed the film. "This outpouring of generosity turns 'BatKid Begins' into a steamroller of goodwill," said Jeanette Catsoulis of the New York Times. She described the film as an "awestruck documentary about the overwhelming response to a child's simple wish."
According to Catsoulis, Nachman "whips up a heady brew of sickness, sentiment and superhero adulation" by combining "previously shot footage from other sources with breathlessly upbeat interviews."
According to Tim Appelo of The Wrap, the film "is a lot better than you think it would be: the editing is ruthlessly efficient, and some of the talking-heads scenes are dramatized via lively comic-book renditions that lend panache. All the characters grab you, not just the kid."
Keith Uhlich of A.V. Club calls it "a shamelessly manipulative secular-spiritual infomercial to which the term 'all the feels' most definitely applies." But he adds: "The worst scenes come at the beginning and the end ... but .. in between these bookending sugar rushes is quite a compelling movie, and much of this has to do with the ceaselessly adorable Miles himself."
Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema have released the film for showing in various theaters in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Film star Julia Roberts is planning to produce and star in a remake.
Scott, who has been suffering from leukemia since he was 18 months, was five years old when his day as Batman took place on November 15, 2013. His cancer is now in remission.
