They finally got Batman right!

Rating: 9/10 (3 August 2005)

At first, I wasn't that excited about BATMAN BEGINS. I was even worried. I really like Batman, but all of his movies had something wrong with them. Let's review.
BATMAN: Was real good back in its day, but Micheal Keaton was looked like a wimp out of costume and Jack Nicholson's over the top Joker stole the show (but not in a good way)
BATMAN RETURNS: Gave us Michelle Phiffer's near perfect Catwoman and the love/hate relationship between her and our hero. But was held down by a kinda mean, disturbing plot and Danny Devito's gross Pengiun.
BATMAN FOREVER: Suffers from some silly sets and props and the villains (Jim Carrey's Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face) were ridiculous, but is picked up some by the relationship between Batman and Robin. And Val Kilmer deserved an Oscar for doing a good job both in and out of costume AND keeping a straight face during the sillier parts.
BATMAN AND ROBIN: Everything that could have gone wrong with "Batman" did. The plot was bad, the acting and dialog were terrible, the costumes uninentionally hilarious, Gotham City became Garish City, and they ruined FOUR classic characters in one movie; villains Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane were made laughable and what they to Batgirl was sacrilege.
So I took BATMAN BEGINS and its hype cautiously. But then I read some good critic reviews and saw some clips that intrigued me. I went into the theater keeping my expectations in check.
And you know what? It was better than I had ever hoped.
For starters, they did the smart thing and retold Batman's origin from the ground up. We've been told or reminded why Bruce Wayne decided to dress up as a bat a hundred times before, but here they do in way that shows Batman's origins in a whole new light. Having him trained to be a ninja by a vigilante/terrorist group actually make some sense. The only thing that would have made those training scenes perfect was if the guy training Bruce had said that old comic quote that "criminals are a superstitious,cowardly lot."
It also doesn't hurt that the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne is (finally) done in a way that makes even casual fans more sympathetic toward young Bruce's plight.
Villainy is finally done without the bad guys acting like buffoons from a Seventies cartoon. When I heard the Scarecrow was going to be the villain, I thought "Oh no!". I've never been able to take him seriously, even if his fear toxins get the job done. Afterall, how many times have you seen one of those over-sized rag-dolls actually work? I was even more nonplussed when I heard that Ra' Al Ghul, one the all time great BM villains was going to be involved too. While Ra's Al Ghul didn't get a big a role as I would have liked, he's done very well. But I was amazed at how great the Scarecrow turned out to be. Even before he puts on his costume, Dr. Jonathon Crane is one creepy guy. He's even man enough to admit his scarecrow mask isn't much to look at, but the hallucination inducing fear toxin he sprays at people really helps make him very menacing.
What also helps is that several "Batman" supporting characters are finally given their due. Commissioner Gordon (or here, DETECTIVE Gordon) is the hard hitting "good cop" out catching crooks he's supposed to be. Micheal Cane is perfect as Alfred the butler. And Morgan Freeman is Batman's Q, supplying him with high tech gadgets, the stuff for the Bat costume, and even a souped up Batmobile.
The worst part of the movie? Katie Holmes You don't believe for minute she'd be a good District Atorney, assistant or the real thing. She's more "whiny" than "rightous". And the romance angle doesn't work at all.
But everything else is done pretty good. From the exciting action scenes to the moody, Gothic look to the best looking Batsuit ever, this the way Batman should be done.