After 40 Years as a Fan, I Finally Know Batman

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2005)

Forty years ago, when reading the DC Comic and watching the TV Show, I would always be consumed by the questions..."Who helped build the Batcave? How did he make the utility belt? Who taught him how to fight?
Finally, my Batman mysteries are spectacularly solved in the most stunning film adaption of any comic book ever. Batman Begins puts many mysteries to rest and provides the viewer with new ones. It is the smartest and most brutally touching Batman movie and has forced me to reevaluate everything that has been done with the hero to date.
While I previously acknowledged the first Batman to be ground breaking, it is now 15 years later and Christopher Nolan seems poised to be the name that will be associated with Batman in film lore. His take on The Dark Knight is so powerful and emotional, it had me in awe of the action and near tears from the trauma that is Bruce Wayne's life.
Burton's Gotham was a dark futuristic metropolis; Nolan, on the other hand, has created a city that is timeless, mixing the futuristic elevated transportation system with shadowy backgrounds that make you think of eras past. It is a setting and backdrop that will help this Batman's story be every bit as relevant in fifteen years as it is today.
And what a story it is! Powerfully written to uncover more of the Batman's mask than any comic book or movie ever has, this is a movie that draws you in with brilliant characters, smart dialog and pure heart. And just as it has you in its emotional grasp, the action becomes intense. Fast and blinding, and very tightly shot, we never know where and how the Batman is attacking and this contributes to the mystery.
As for Christian Bale, he is Batman and this is his movie. Looking back at the first two Burton efforts (which I still love in a now different way) I realize that they belonged to Nicholson's Joker and Devito's Penguin. Nolan has the confidence not to be seduced by comic book characterizations of villains to drive this movie. By using non- costumed heroes, he makes them more real and more frightening then the earlier versions. Liam Neeson's Ducard is more complex than earlier villains and his intense knowledge of Batman's history and psychology makes him especially intriguing.
The rest of the cast is top rate, especially Gary Oldman as a surprisingly sedate pre-commissioner Gordon and Michael Caine as Alfred. The latter's relationship with Bruce Wayne was heartening and lent appropriate humor that never detracted from the tone of the film. I originally thought Katie Holmes was a little too bland for Bruce's love interest, but her final scene with Bruce revealed much depth to their relationship and it was wise to have the female lead be understated.
In reading my comments, I don't want to be disrespectful to Keaton's Caped Crusader or Burton's directing efforts, but just as Tim Burton is rediscovering and reinventing an icon in Willie Wonka this summer, so too are Christopher Nolan and Christian Bales in Batman. And just as nothing will ever replace Adam West's campy Batman for me, I will still continue to watch the first two Burton Batman movies whenever they appear on cable, being amazed at their wit, action, and style. I don't think the jump could have been made from Bat-TV to Batman begins. There was a tremondous role for Burotn's Batman and it paved the way for a new genre. But Batman Begins peels the onion that is Batman in a different way still and this will be the one that forever touches my heart.