Erase the past by creating a new future

Rating: 9/10 (21 June 2005)

Everyone knows about the previous incarnations of Batman, and if you don't, you're lucky. The Batman series of films has been sitting on the shelf since the terribly icy (ha-ha) "Batman & Robin" starring George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was pretty much a kick in the face to any fan of comic superheroes, although just a teeny, tiny bit better than the Captain America movie.
But the new series of Batman (I say that because it's planned to have a three part series) has something the earlier versions (save the first film) did not. They were made for grown up audiences, with a good script, a fantastic director, and a landscape for Gotham that had never been introduced before. Many things about this movie are comparable to previous incarnations, and yet more than anything differ. Present are the always corny lines that pop up in every single comic book to movie ever made, but they work here, because there's not as much emphasis on trying to make them stand out jokes. Here they're placed gracefully and said with conviction.
And what I mean by that is that this is the best casting of any Batman film. You might not like Bale's Batman, or Katie Holmes' Rachel (rumors are rampant she won't be in the next one because of all the Cruise etcetera), but with the rest of the stellar cast, they make it easy to forget (even Liam Neeson's terrible mustache!). Extra credit to Michael Caine's Alfred, whose character, as always played like a sidekick/father to Bruce.
The film follows Bruce Wayne dealing with the death of his parents (as always), and how he came to be Batman, kind of like a "Year one" nod from the comics, only done well enough so as not to throw off the non dorky comic people like myself. It's a fetchingly dark movie that does not let up and has a strong plot as well, which isn't surprising from the director of Memento and The Following. The graphic shots of flying, and the fantastic effects that have to do with the Scarecrow are awesome, showing the viewer that you don't need too much CGI, just bits and pieces enough to make it look better, and I'm not even going to talk about the gawking Batmobile Scenes. Whoa.
The one faith I have in these new Batman movies is that they (please, can you?) restore the sanity in Batman and it's character where the two of four had previously stripped (yes, I'm talking to you Val and George), as well as the Bane character that was ruined in Batman & Robin. A character from the comics who was so strong and smart that he'd broken Batman's back and pretty much reigned Gotham for a short time was lowered to shitty sidekick for Poison Ivy and it makes me more angry about that than any other terribly made comic - movie I've ever seen.
Batman Begins is a movie that could be considered a normal movie with a strong lead character to some, in the same way with Spiderman. It takes a super-hero and brings a struggle to get a sense of normalcy back into a person who is so far down at one point that it makes Bruce Wayne easy to identify with. It's the ups and downs in the life of a regular person who's just trying to do the right thing that makes this movie such a winner.