Good, but just not good enough

Rating: 6/10 (24 November 2005)

Christopher Nolan. A good, ex-indie director. Christian Bale. Besides Johnny Depp (and maybe Leo DiCaprio), possibly one of the best actors of the newer generation (The Machinist, USA Psycho anyone!?!). Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Rade Serbedzija( plays the bum, I'm a local patriotist, what can I say), Liam Neeson. A whole lot of outstanding actors. Katie Holmes. Hmmmm... Don't know whose idea THAT was... I have only seen the film once, in a lousy, sub-standard cinema so my opinion might not do much justice to BB, but...The overall directing and photography is way above average, Bale and Caine are more than adequate to their roles, the Scarecrow has definite potential...So, what's wrong with this movie? Screenplay. I mean,either Goyer had a frontal lobotomy prior to writing this awful scenario, or he just isn't the man for the job. Austin Powers is a Shakespearian playwright in comparison. Furthermore,Lian Neeson is reduced to a "No Mr Bond, I expect you to die" kind of villain, and looks like he and Goyer went on a group lobotomy course. Guess there was a discount or sth. Katie Holmes? I stand before you, speechless. This is NOT to be taken in a good way.And last, but not least, what happened to the Batman theme intro? I understand Nolan's tendency to completely re-invent the series on celluloid, but leaving out Danny Elfman was a grave mistake. I hope they'll rectify it in the next Dark Knight. And put the Joker in it (as hinted in the end), and make lil' Katie die a most gruesome death, and evolve Scarecrow (know I'm boooring, but he has potential),and get Goyer a fresh brain (the one he has is,well, used, chewed and spat up). Rushing into things, aren't I? What to say at the end?All in all, I found BB to be a refreshment to the series. Sure, it's full of flaws (Nolan is not to blame, Warner is), but which Hollywood film of recent production isn't? Sure, the screenplay is a half-witted "look daddy,I know all 20 letters of the alphabet" piece of brain-bleach ( I'm referring to the dialogues, not the whole thing), but it's still better than the Billy? Rachel? crescendo in The Ring 2.Nonetheless, when you watch and perceive Batman Begins as a whole, you just might take a sincere liking to it. At the end, it's Batman! *No latex nipples included