A thoroughly 21st century film

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2005)

Unless you have an unsinkable po-faced belief that cinema should shun spectacle in favour of Afghan kitchen sink dramas or documentaries about primary school children in rural France then you will not be disappointed by Batman Begins.
It is a genre-topping example of a comic book superhero action extravaganza; an excellently blended torrent of a film that delivers on all fronts.
It is intelligent, exhilarating, characterful, funny and eardrum-perforatingly loud.
And best of all, unlike other comic book actioners such as Spiderman 2, the non-CGI scenes feel like more than just fillers to pad out the film until the next action sequence. Christian Bale is a magnificent hero who manages to make Bruce Wayne and Batman dark in a way that is more than just looking through his eyebrows and having a deep voice. When he's administering justice he has a righteous anger that borders on the unhinged.
But the film's real strength is the backbone provided by the smart script and wonderful supporting cast. When actors talk about enjoying working together on the film it is frequently just publicity guff, but here there is a tangible sense of actors giving their all. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman could have played their roles in their sleep, but they do not. And Cillian Murphy has built the foundations for a sparkling Hollywood career.
Some might criticise Batman Begins for following the comic book formula (it does, but much more satisfyingly than its peers) or for not being as quirkily conceived as Tim Burton's Batman of 16 years ago, but that is a killjoy speaking.
And anyway, Burton has had his chance. Even if you adored the 1989 Batman, Batman Returns was a lesser successor. The model Burton created withered under Joel Schumacher's direction in Batman Forever and dropped stone dead in Batman and Robin.
Tim Burton's Batman is dead. Long live Christopher Nolan's.