Come so far....and worth the wait!

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2005)

Believe me when I first heard they were remaking my favorite and possibly one of the greatest franchises in history, I thought to myself, "Can't beat Burtons '89 version...no way!" Boy was I wrong. Even though it does have it's flaws (rarely is a movie based on a literary/comic book/ legendary character without them), it excelled my expectations to the nth degree. Chris Nolan was trying to make this Batman in the style of "Blade Runner-a movie worth checking out, EVEN if only to see the comparison in style which is successfully achieved by Nolan's masterful eye.
Now onto the nitty: It starts off in true Nolan-style...surprise! I won't reveal the unfolding of events, but they really explain why Bruce Wayne flees home in search of a "path"-wink wink. And of course we all know the story, a rich boy watches the murder of his parents when he is real young, and this triggers in him the whole "it's my fault.." syndrome, having his father's company run till he's old enough, the family butler Alfred now being surrogate dad/mom to Bruce-which the scene with young Bruce and Alfred after the funeral is a tear jerker! The events twist together and then funnel into where Bruce is ready to "confront his fears".
Now the movie is not all action, but the actions scenes are genuinely better than the '89 version, due to higher budget I'm sure and better stunts performed. Also to note that the acting is not carried solely by the lead actors (Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson held down the '89 version). Katie Holmes is a worthy co-star for Bale as the love interest/childhood friend, and I've been saying Michael Cane for years would be the best choice for Alfred the butler...man he fit the part perfectly-good balance of humor, insight and emotion. Now Gary Oldman, an unlikely choice, though I like his acting, did an excellent job as the pre-commissh Gordon, the straight cop amidst the crooked GCPD. Now the villains: Cillian Murphy gave me chills as Dr. Crane-creepy, cold and unsympathetic, but then as Scarecrow, man those scenes of "terror" cling to every membrane in me. Ra's Al Ghul played very authentically by Ken Watanabe, as well as Liam Neeson's "Ducard was nice touch to the franchise. Last but not least, Tom Wilkinson gives an awesome old-school gangster performance as Carmine Falcone and some of the best dialog happens between him and Bale.
Truthfully, I did notice a few, count them FEW, misdemeanors with the storyline, but in all honestly...WHO CARES?!?!?!?! This movie is definitely a breath of fresh air amidst the CGI-heavy hitters of today (very limited CGI-effects, mostly stunt men on location). Solid story, dark-yet, pinholes of light stylism, good acting/cast, and explosive action-Batman is action and they got it right. If this is the future of Batman, then it's far from the BEGINning of the end.