Despite Bale, perhaps the best Batman movie ever

Rating: 9/10 (23 September 2005)

I went into this movie not expecting a whole lot, it's not that I don't like Bale, I thought American Psycho was good, and Equilibrium was excellent and completely underrated and unknown, but I didn't see Bale as Bruce Wayne, especially a young Bruce Wayne. Well, I still don't really, but regardless, I thought the urban edge to the movie was a huge advancement over the Gothic to cartoon feel of the last 4 Batman movies. The primary villain was believable in that he used technology to create his alter ego, as opposed to falling into a vat of toxic waste or being horribly mutilated by some horrible wrong that was thrust upon him in his past. The Batmobile was amazing, and the car chase was right up there with some of the best on film. I immensely enjoyed the small yet important role Morgan Freeman played in the movie, and hope to see him again in the sequel. Michael Cane was awesome as Alfred as well. There were some variations from the classic Batman storyline, but most of the time, I preferred them to what came before. Liam Neeson was awesome, as always, and although I saw the twist a mile away, it was well developed and worked.
9/10, and I look forward to the next installment to the series, and hope they don't change a thing.