The best...

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2005)

The first super-hero movie was released twenty-seven years ago, and it's taken twenty-six years to get the formula exactly right. That was last year, with "Spider-Man 2", which was a lot of fun. And now we have Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins", and the formula is perfected. I guess it took a more serious character like Batman to do so, and it does so.
Christian Bale plays the Dark Knight, and his counterpart Bruce Wayne. This is a Bruce unlike that of Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer or George Clooney; a Bruce Wayne far less glamorousa man who is most of the time consumed with only one thought: justice. This is the Bruce Wayne of the comics, and finally. The other Batman films focused more on the villains than Bruce or Batman, this one has more villains than any of those movies, and yet it manages to be foremost a character study of our hero.
The film begins where the first thoughts of Batman started circulating in Bruce's mind: when he accidentally falls into a large cave and is attacked by a swarm of frightening bats.
He then develops a phobia of them, and when he is reminded of this fear at an opera with his parents, he asks to leave. His father Thomas (Linus Roache), a kind, earnest man, with his wife, takes his son out into the alley to comfort him. Here they are assaulted by a thief, and in a moment both Bruce's parents have been murdered.
This event, along with the bat attack, changes Bruce forever. He loses interest in his multi-billion dollar company, and in the family heritage that his keeper Alfred (Michael Caine) tries so hard to polish. When he has reached his twenties, Bruce disappears to a small Asian country to learn about the nature of evil.
It is in a prison there that he is picked up by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), who takes Bruce to a mountainside temple to train in the ways of the ninja with him and the mysterious Rha's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). The two run the League of Shadows, an organization that has worked for centuries to bring justice to the Earth.
When Bruce has completed his training he returns to Gotham City, which was in even worse shape than when he left. It seems that Assistant DA Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) and police sergeant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) are the only ones willing to fight against the powerful underworld, headed by crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson with a surprising accent) and the corrupt Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy).
It is at this point that Batman begins. How he changes his mind his body and his assets into those of the Dark Knight is a delight that I will let you behold on your own. The movie is strangely philosophical, delving deep into the nature of fear and evil that reminds me of Lord of the Flies. A bizarre comparison, I know, but isn't it refreshing when a comic book movie is smart, and not afraid to ask questions about morality? I'd prefer that to any boyish "Daredevil" or "Hulk" any day.
As with all super-hero movies there are enemies, and those enemies have a menacing plot, but who those enemies are and what that plot is are all pieces in the puzzle that is this movie's thrilling plot, so I will not spoil it for you. But I will say that it is few things: exciting, intelligent, dark, humorous, deep, and lots of fun.
What's astonishing is how the movie is full of incredibly talented (and famed) actors  Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer and Ken Watanabe  and yet it is entirely about Bruce Wayne, and still we have enough allotted time for the other actors to make an impression. It's a feat in balance, Nolan and writer David S. Goyer should be proud. There is also not a bad performance in the movie  well, Katie Holmes could've brushed up a little, but she doesn't take away from the films greatness. There are some surprises; too, with Linus Roache for example, great as a man with a heart of gold, and Cillian Murphy, who is very creepy  especially for a psychiatrist.
One performance in particular I feel I should mention is Liam Neeson's, who is always a joy to watch, and shines here in a role not too unlike ones he's played before. But his Henri Ducard is unlike his Qui-Gon Jinn, Priest Vallon or Godfrey of Ibalin in that he is more fascistic, and like all movie fascists, he finds philosophies that he uses to justify himself, that are credible, and make us think. It is an impressive performance; I could see him getting some recognition for it.
Same goes for Christian Bale, who is more human than any of the super-hero protagonists before him  except Tobey Maguire, I guess. But hey, Bale is cooler too. And we never once see him as an actor trying to emulate that comic book gusto. He is Bruce Waynethe Bruce Wayne we've been waiting for, the one done right. His Batman is a convincing menace, too.
I mentioned that the movie is dark. Yes, quite. Not particularly violent, like "Batman Returns", but creepy and even frightening at times. Gotham is almost a character in itself, filmed perfectly, with all the layers of grime and corruption. The action that takes place there is quick and loud, unlike the highly choreographed bouts we see in "Daredevil" or "X-Men", the action scenes are instead a fury of fists and fog, and they are brilliant, in particular a chase scene with the Batmobile and the police.
This is one of the movies of the year, which might be denied because it's a comic book, but those who get rid of their inhibitions will be pleasantly surprised.
9/10