Dark Knight, but in a cluttered script

Rating: 4/10 (22 June 2005)

I liked the idea of bringing Batman back to a vigilante style character and in a darker realistic setting. And I like the background as to the origins of Bruce Wayne: the boy whose parents were killed in a random act of violence as he watched. Now he wants retribution. So the basics are there, but too many other sub-plots and conflicts slow the momentum of the movie. I venture to say that the film could have done WITHOUT Liam Neeson and the whole cliché of "learning to fight in a monastery from the great Ninja master". (Yawn) And if that isn't annoying enough, Liam Neeson returns later as a devil incarnate who leads an evil brotherhood, complete with a WMD. Add to the mix a corrupt psychiatrist; an attractive heroine; Bruce's contempt for bourgeoise lifestyle and for corporate America, and there is a VERY busy movie. The local "drug smuggling crime lord" as well as the man who killed the Waynes are put out of commission early in the movie. The script should have kept these themes and built on them. Alfred the Butler (Michael Caine) is the best developed character in the whole movie. Unfortunately, other characters were not as developed. Great acting by Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Technical questions I pondered: Why isn't Batman's hight tech body armored bat-suit not flame resistant?? Why doesn't the bat-suit even protect him from Liam Neeson's fists in a fistfight? Why is Batman's voice identical from the voice of "Hank" in "Me Myself and Irene"? Bring on the Joker and the next time, don't try to do too much.