The Franchise has been re-born!

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2017)

At the end of the 1990's and into the early 2000's the Batman franchise was in a terrible place, the incredibly campy and awful Batman & Robin had dented Warner bros and the fans confidence in the franchise. Multiple attempts to re-boot the franchise had been made in that time however nothing had come of those scripts or stories, enter Christopher Nolan and David S Goyer.
Christopher Nolan has pulled something off that is incredibly hard to accomplish, that is bringing a franchise into the modern day whilst still keeping the comic book foundations in tacked. This is made in a new darker and more realistic take on the character that have never been portrayed before on the screen, this is even beyond Burton/Keaton's Batman run. Not only is this a fantastic original film of the character, that again had never been done before, but it sets the ground work for a interesting world. Batman is no longer this stupid and campy character left over from the Clooney disaster, it is now OK to say you like Batman and not hide in shame (we've all been there). Nolan had gone from a great indie director to a blockbuster god, almost over night, OK actually over a couple of years. Anyway his name will now go down in history as the forefront of bringing the character back into the light and into a fantastic modern day version.
The cast is out of this world, we can say that today however at the time the casting of Christian Bale was a interesting one to say the least. He wasn't the type of actor that you really thought of when thinking of Batman, didn't he prove us wrong for doubting. Bale is the best version of Bruce Wayne and Batman on screen to this date absolutely unforgettable especially with his voice for Batman which is mesmerising. The other cast members are big names like Caine, Freeman, Oldman and Neeson. All of which give perfect performances in their respective roles. Caine is now the Alfred to beat, sorry Michael Gough but you have been tip at the post. Oldman makes the character of Jim Gordon relatable and a stupid floundering cop which he was in the Burton films. Lastly Neeson who is the start and the end of the darkness in this film with the help of one Cillian Murphy, these two are superbly frightening in this film which is fantastic. There characters make this film dip in and out of a little horror now and then which is an interesting angle on the Batman world.
Batman himself is also frightening which fantastic and brutal to see especially during fight sequences which are beautifully shot. His fighting style is also grounded in the world and is not as "comic booky" or flashy as they are in any of the previous films, this is a huge step up. The gadgets are also brilliant and are one of the most important things for the character as well as his vehicles. The tumbler is again like many things in this film the gold standard for the franchise, menacing and with a grounded and realistic back story/ technology behind only makes it that more realistic.
The score of this film by Hans Zimmer is truly groundbreaking and is easily recognisable now with the franchise, it one of those scores that is unforgettable. Brilliant at tension building and magical in other respects absolutely brilliant without any fault and is never jarring.
There are a couple of negatives with the film, firstly Katie Holmes. Maybe I'm being a little harsh but every scene she is in is a bore and bland, she is the complete 180 degrees opposite of her other cast members and is real shame, especially due to the fact she is a main character. Arkham Asylum just doesn't work, as in the little island within the city it just looks out of place. However I do understand why it is the way it is for the story and the locking off on the island.
This film is defining in bringing back the character of Batman from such as terrible state. Dark, realistic and grounded all make the characters relatable and interesting a far cry from the Clooney Batman phew! 90% of out 100 an brilliant film in directing, acting, story telling and world building. This is one of the best interpretations of a comic book character ever and is the reason for my passion in the genre, also one of the best origin films as well. Oh by the way a great hint at the sequel at the end.