a stunning return to form...

Rating: 9/10 (29 June 2005)

Hands down, Batman Begins is the best movie of 2005 so far. What a surprise! When I went in, I'd read about the amazing cast and had seen a trailer, so I thought it would be entertaining. At the same time though, I couldn't forget the horrendous Batman and Robin, (which had a double-take-worthy cast yet was a real stinker) so I was worried as well.
But, wow...
For a few minutes after I walked out, all I could say or think was 'wow...' I'm amazed at how great a job they did with this movie. Christopher Nolan's direction was perfect, and the cast completely lived up to its hype. (All except Tom Wilkinson, who in my opinion is about as believable as an Italian mobster as Stephen Hawking would be as an opera singer.) Christian Bale was perfectly cast and rivals Michael Keaton as the best Batman ever. Another favorite for me was Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon.
Which leads me to another thing about this movie that I loved. It really is the starting point. Not just for Batman, but for Gordon, who when the movie starts out is just a captain or a lieutenant, (I forget what rank he was...) and for The Scarecrow (Big ups to Cillian Murphy here) and finally (though he does not actually make any appearance in the movie and his existence is only hinted at in the end) the Joker.
The best thing about this movie is that it takes the Batman series and helps it rise from the depths of the Joel Schumacher era. Rather than focusing on big stars playing villains, Christopher Nolan reserved the strongest performance in this movie for the only character who should have it - Batman. But then, this movie is supposed to be about Batman...so it all fits.
An easy 10 out of 10.