Good with a few bumps

Rating: 7/10 (28 June 2005)

Without getting into the whole comic book Batman vs. real world Batman argument or even comparing this film to any other existing source, I have to say that overall, I enjoyed this movie. Do I think it's the best comic book movie to date? No. Do I think it's better than the original four movies? Yes, but only slightly better than "Batman Returns".
Having said that, I think a couple of my problems with the movie stem from its borrowing from and then mixing around elements from different source materials.
If you remember the movie "The Shadow" (with Alec Baldwin), this film borrows heavily from that storyline: a wealthy socialite, fed up with society, flees to the far east where he receives training from a mysterious master only to return to fight evil with his new training, then someone from his past surfaces to fight him.
It also borrows from the graphic novel "Batman: Year One", as well as from an original script idea for this movie, "Batman: DarKnight". In the prior, Batman's origins unfold, as does his relationship with Gordon, his fight against Loeb and Falcone, and his use of the bat homing device and escape through a cloud of bats. In the latter, Scarecrow plays an integral part, including riding on a horse, attacking someone in an elevator, and consigning his victims to his personal care in Arkham.
Regarding Scarecrow, I was supremely disappointed in his character. He came out of no where with no explanation as to who or why he was, and like every other incarnation of him, he was just a weak pawn. Additionally, who didn't laugh (or hang their head in shame) when he resurfaced toward the end, only to be quickly (and conveniently) brought down by a tazer. Not to mention how sad his departure was.
The fight scenes, as most people have mentioned, were shot very poorly. I might as well have been watching "The Blair Witch Project", and I hope no one spent a huge amount of time choreographing them; otherwise, they wasted their time. Also, the dialogue in several places was indistinguishable from the sound effects and music; this better not get nominated for audio because the mixing was bad.
Beyond these things, I did enjoy the movie. The cast was superb, and with one exception, so was the acting. That exception is Christian Bale's voice (and scrunched up face) as Batman. The editing was nice, as were the lighting and art direction, and I did appreciate their lack of CG effects.
The script is actually better than the movie, but if you want to read a better characterization of the Scarecrow, as well as another surprise villain, then get your hands on "Batman: DarKnight".