The Batman movie I've been waiting for.

Rating: 10/10 (14 July 2005)

It's about time.
I've been reading and collecting Batman comic books pretty much my entire life, intrigued by the plausibility of this dark hero: no radioactive spiders, no alien orphans, no magic. Just a guy (yeah, a really, really rich guy) who decides to discipline himself and dedicate his considerable resources to fighting crime and corruption, and hoping in vain to somehow fill the horrible void left by the murder of his own parents. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood I stopped believing that with the right training I could be Batman, and started believing that with the right vision, Hollywood could make a believable Batman movie.
Sure, I have a not-so-secret affinity for the campy nostalgia of the Adam West/Burt Ward TV series (although for sheer goofiness, I really love watching the two serials from the 1940s). And I was thrilled when Michael Keaton finally brought the Batman to the big screen, but dismayed as thrill morphed into embarrassment as each successive Batman film got farther off the mark. When George Clooney got done with the franchise, I was pretty sure it was dead.
And may it rest in peace. Because Batman Begins threw all that out the window and went back to the roots, the core of the character, and gave us real insight into the conflicted heart of a reluctant hero. What separates this film from previous attempts is that we genuinely care about Bruce Wayne as a violently orphaned child, we sympathize with his natural desire to kill the man who killed his parents, we understand his retreat from the familiar, his global wanderings, his lack of focus, his willing apprenticeship, and the reawakened sense of his own ingrained morality. We see the boy become a man, we see the victim become the protector, we see the coward become the fearless hero. And we really care about him, about his family, about his obsessive drive to purge the demons of his own soul, and his gnawing need to protect the city Gotham from itself.
Yes, there are interesting villains trying kill people and destroy Gotham City. Yes, there are pretty woman and fast cars and some clever one liners. But mostly there is Bruce Wayne becoming the Batman, and coming to terms with his own dual identity. There is the broken boy grieving the loss of loving parents, and there is the man who finds peace in preserving their memory, and justice in preserving the peace.
Batman Begins is not without its flaws, but they are few and forgivable. It is a well-told tale, great direction, and superb acting. I, for one, can't wait for the next installment.