Batman on an epic scale

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2008)

This is the most incredible Batman movie I have ever seen, when you consider both the Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney series and the Bale series. I think I like this film just a hair better than The Dark Knight. There is perfection in how the filmmakers tell the story of Batman's origins. I'm not speaking of faithfulness to the comics, because I don't bother reading the comics. I'm speaking of pure film-making quality, cinematography, acting, music, and directing. The pace of storytelling was perfect; there was a lot of story to tell in this film but they did not overload it. There were no slow parts, and no cramming of stuff into a short period of time like they had in Spider-Man 3. The placement and usage of flashbacks was done well too. I like how half of the film was devoted to Batman's training, and the other half devoted to his first major campaign against crime in Gotham City. It took me a couple viewings to completely understand all that was going on but I liked how they tied the League of Shadows to his training and then to being his ultimate enemy later in the film. Ra's al Guhl was awesomely played by Liam Neeson. The teamwork between him and Scarecrow, very well done. And of course there's the musical score, provided to us by the musical genius of Hans Zimmer. Although the soundtrack for The Dark Knight is superior, it largely contains the same music and is very, very good. The music really set the mood and the power of the film quite well. I also highly approve of the choices of Michael Caine to play Alfred, and Morgan Freeman is amazing in almost any movie he does. Any movie gets extra points just for having Morgan Freeman in it. While the Tim Burton films were enjoyable, I like that this movie was more realistic without over the top camp or art deco. It looked like real life, not fantasy. Not over-stylized like the Joel Schumaker ones. Simply perfect. I can't even find anybody in the film that needs a punch in the face!
The filmmakers have set the bar really, really high for the new Batman series with Batman begins. Miraculously, equaled their success with their release of The Dark Knight. Because of these two films, the 3rd Batman movie has two tough acts to follow. Let us hope the series is not ruined.
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