A super-hero movie about a real hero

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2005)

Fans of the series rejoice in the truly awesome "Batman Begins".
Director Chris Nolan brings us an exciting and intense Batman movie that most of us have been waiting for since Batman Returns, and it is has revolutionized the series beyond leaps and bounds.
I will begin with that casting, Christian Bale is in my mind the new Batman without hesitation. He brings back the dark knight feel that Kilmer and Clooney lost. He also brings a genuine fear to the character that allows us to realize why the city might be afraid of its own shadow.
Michael Caine is an Alfred who is finally a character with some emotion and a real intensity behind all his lines, he no longer feels like a stock character. Master actor Liam Neeson commands the screen when ever he is on it, and does the film an unlimited number of wonders. It's difficult to imagine anyone else in his role. And finally, Cillian Murphy plays the perfect villain with an almost innocent sense of evil that is very difficult to put into words. There are also strong performances from Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Tom Wilkinson.
I was on the edge of my seat through out nearly the entire film, I was always wondering what was going to happen next or where Batman was going to pop out from, and when he did decide to the adrenalin rush that followed was worth seeing the movie for in itself.
My favorite aspect of this film was its feel of realism, it wasn't over done of fantasized in nearly any way, and we feel that we are watching a man who is doing what we feels he must, and that what we are watching may all possibly be happening in some dark city right now. We are able to see eye to eye with the caped crusader in many ways because we have all experienced loss, and have often done nothing about it. But it is the fact that Batman takes the law into his own hands for justice that makes him the hero we love to watch.
The only thing I could complain about in this film is that there was perhaps not quite enough of Batman on the screen, and maybe a little too much Bruce Wayen. However this is justified by the fact that it is a prequel and it isn't until somewhere in the half point that the Black Knight makes his triumphant appearance.
All and all it is nice to see a film that wasn't afraid to say "all right, this is the way everything happened and you're going to like it", but this this film does, and it might have been considered a gamble, but it pays off in the end, because we now have fresh start to the Batman legacy.