Superb updating with slight retro back story elements

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2005)

I saw this in a multiplex audience and everyone gasped and cheered at the peaks of thrills and visual effects. The "history of Batman" is treated with respect and suffers none of the indignities of the 60s TV series. I was stymied a bit as to how the modern-day elements fitted with the "classic" setups of the Wayne family helping society overcome the "Depression" (1929- late 1930s); I guess the director/writer assumed we would make a "jump over the logical paradoxes" with him and the Ninja-fighting styles. Quite a super choice to offer this Director such a mega-budget when story is his predominant strength. I would recommend that parents leave the under-13 crowd at home and talk to the young teens about some disturbing imagery, like the attacking crowds who've been "poisoned" and the ethics of capital punishment. Well worth the trouble to get to a theater - - don't wait for it on the small screen! See it this June or July!