Rivaled only by the original, "Batman Begins" excels.

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 2005)

The Batman cinematic entries began as dark, industrial-era stylized films that portrayed the Dark Knight saving the depressed city of Gotham. Successes by Tim Burton to be sure, they stood out not just as awesome comic-book portrayals but as well-done, dark and serious films. Then Joel Schumacher came around and ruined it all by turning the whole damn thing into fireworks and neon glow, evoking a reaction from real Batman fans that was not unlike retching and vomiting. But, as Thomas Wayne says in the movie, we fall so that we can learn to pick ourselves back up.
This movie certainly picks the series back up. Batman Begins is an absolute triumph. It's different than the Tim Burton iterations, but not in the way that the Schumacher light shows were. It's based on the Year One comic series, and further, the industrial Hudsucker Proxy-esquire motif is gone. The Gotham City of Batman Begins is much more... "normal". That's not to say boring, but rather it resembles cities that you and I may be more familiar with. It's dark, but not nearly as dark as before. And Christian Bale certainly paints a different Batman picture than did Michael Keaton.
But all the Batman elements are still there. As mentioned, it *is* dark. The crime in the city has created a depressed, dingy, dirty world - not a whacky hallucinogen-induced one. Batman's character is properly developed and presented to show what makes him such an interesting study - a "super" hero who isn't super at all. A steely-eyed man who toes the line between vigilante kook and bringer of true justice, a man who relies on his wits and ability to cause fear rather than super strength or eye beams. A man who has inner demons to contend with and at times appears no more than just a man, not a savior. All this is wrapped up in an environment where things are slightly fantastic but plausible and grounded in reality.
This time around, since we are dealing with an origin tale of course, we're given a look into how Batman / Bruce Wayne developed his sense of justice and morality, and his motivations. We see how all the cool crap that he's collected into his arsenal was developed. We see a re-telling of his parents' death, and we see the threat to Gotham revealed with an interesting twist. The fighting is much more intense and brutal as well - giving us a grittier feel that more resembles an actual street-fight than a fake-looking ballet.
The cast and acting was well put together as well. Christian Bale pulls off a magnificent rendition of both identities, Bruce Wayne and Batman. As Bruce, he convincingly portrays a lost young man who finds himself and develops a fair sense of justice, while putting the smiling rich-boy face on when the time calls for it. As Batman, his rumbling growl of a voice succeeds at intimidating his victims. It replaces the throaty, hoarse but merely sinister Batman voices that Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney used - and I like this one much better. Morgan Freeman does nothing different than usual, tossing in a quality performance. Michael Caine is a joy to watch as a deeper, more developed and compassionate Alfred. Cillian Murphy pleases as Dr. Crane (whose Scarecrow character admittedly wasn't used as much as I would have liked) with his sinister eyes and voice. Linus Roache does a great job playing Bruce's endearing father - his performance is touching and heartfelt.
If there's one non-positive that I have to leave you with, it's Katie Holmes' relatively wooden delivery - and that's in relation to the rest of the cast. She does well enough to get the point across but, I would have definitely enjoyed a better talent. That crooked smile of hers that favors the right side of her face simply irritates me, and I really think someone should have done her the favor of asking her if she felt - er - a bit chilly on the set, if you know what I mean.
All in all, Batman Begins - for me - is the best Batman film produced yet. Others will definitely differ in opinion, but I'm not so sure that anyone can disagree that - better or worse - Batman Begins is just as worthy of the Batman name as was the Tim Burton films. It overshadows the monumental failures that the Schumacher films were, takes what makes the Batman saga so great, and differentiates itself from the first films while maintaining their high quality. It also handily trumps every other other super hero movie that I've gone ga-ga about - the excellent X-Men 2 and Spiderman 2 included. I'll definitely be seeing this again, and again, and again.