The Story of the Dark Knight's birth the way it should be told

Rating: 9/10 (8 July 2005)

Finally, a movie that reaffirms my faith in the Batman movie franchise again. This Batman is a lot darker, grittier, personal, and involving than i would have come to expect.
The best thing about this movie is, everything is so hauntingly believable - the trauma faced by Bruce Wayne, the motivation he faces to seek 'justice', heck, even the villains have a logical motivation, perhaps one of the smartest plot i've seen in "comic book" movies in recent memory (save for X-Men 2). The torment endured by Bruce Wayne absorbs us in, and gives a sense that he truly is a hero - or Dark Knight, well done Christian Bale! And of course, the all-star cast helps. Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and especially Michael Caine - give superb performances, all further enforcing character and personality into Batman. The only thing i have to complain (which makes me give a 9 instead of 10) is the fact that in the earlier part of the movie, the alternating flashbacks can get in the way of things, even interrupting the momentum of the movie at times, but sometimes it is done to good effect, so it never really ruins the film.
All in all, great acting, great plot, great atmosphere - i dare say this is perhaps one of the best movies of the year i've seen so far.