Best Batman Movie

Rating: 9/10 (19 June 2005)

Let me start by saying that I am not a comic-book (or graphic novel) fan, and so my knowledge of the Batman oeuvre is limited. I don't know if the comics address the subject matter of this movie, and I refuse to debate whether the Batman backstory developed in this film is true to the original.
That said, what most impressed me about the film was its very clean, believable storyline. From previews and magazine articles, I feared that the backstory would simply be Zen-this, Matrix-that. But the motivation behind the training sequences was very consistent with Bruce Wayne's known psyche, and the mutual attraction between the League of Shadows and Bruce Wayne was believable. In addition, Bruce Wayne's descent from tragically orphaned little boy to super-man followed a very sensible, linear path (if your sensibility is as skewed as Bruce Wayne's). Throughout the film, Bruce's and Batman's motivations and decisions consistently looped back to the mentality formed in Bruce Wayne's childhood, creating a compelling, focused character that was born in childhood and developed through experiences we were able to see on film.
I would be remiss if I left out the casting and performance of Christian Bale. What a truly inspired choice! He comes into the film with a reputation and history of playing anti-social characters, and that reputation enhances our belief in Bruce Wayne's sociopathy. He is never properly adjusted to his surroundings: as young Bruce, he abandoned the mores of the society he was born into; as a trainee, he does not proceed in lockstep with his savior; as Bruce Wayne, he exhibits a certain disaffect if not disdain for his station in life; and as Batman, he is more evil than good.
Christopher Nolan's Gotham remains dark without the surreal aspects of Tim Burton's or the goofiness of Joel Schumacher's.
I consider this easily the best Batman movie I've seen and I am looking forward to the next installment.