Vastly overrated

Rating: 4/10 (26 July 2005)

Liam Neeson as a zen-spouting Asian crimelord (who has told Batman he's a master criminal, but yet Batman continues to trust him)? Katie Holmes remains typecast. A romance to forget. However, Morgan Freeman is excellent. I liked the idea of his revelation of how Batman's gadgets worked. And Michael Caine could not have been better cast as Alfred. However, again, the Neeson spectacle. Neeson with a Fu Manchu moustache.....yet curiously, speaking English devoid of the rough N. Ireland accent.....and then lecturing Batman about how he was unready for the challenge of fighting the evils of....what? Especially since Neeson had already told him, when they first met, that he was to be initiated into some sort of elite criminal organization. Yeesh. And all that Zen stuff Liam was spouting. I think Liam was perhaps stuck in character from the Star Wars flic. Oyyy. I think the days of Irish people passing for Chinese, simply by virtue of sporting Fu Manchu moustaches, should be long over. If you really wish to see Liam at his best, check out Rob Roy or Michael Collins or Gangs of NY or of course Schindler's List. This really isn't one he should promote notably on his resume. I really didn't see any advice that he gave to Batman that might have been convincing in transforming him into some sort of fearless warrior. A lot of the most pat psychobabble. And really, claiming his father didn't do all he could seemed a lame and illegitimate effort. Besides, the kid was of the age that he would have known what was going on-you'd certainly remember an event like that and I think if anyone calls out your dead father in such an insulting manner, you'd tear them limb from limb. Anyway....and lovely insensitive comment from the hospital staff in writing off his parents in front of the little kid. That was truly a special touch. And the pat romance was truly nauseating. So supposedly the Katie Holmes character has yearned for Batman for seven years. However, when they meet, can you say anti-climax? I've met friends after such a length of time and it's hard for either of us to avoid tripping over the words of the other, we're so eager to speak. Yet she basically just speaks of a bit of regret of what might have been. She doesn't even find out what he's been doing. To his credit, Christian Bale was excellent. Only Val Kilmer has not been that good as Batman. I think Bale is very good. Kilmer wasn't very good. Keaton was terrific and understated. Still, it's unfair to compare this film to the first two Batman flics and Michael Keaton and Tim Burton. This is a total sell-out in the sense that it offers a pat romantic relationship to supposedly fill the void and some nonsensical "mentoring" by the leader of some sort of underworld organization. And the action scene at the end is a serious anti-climax. I tried sleeping through the last 20 minutes of the obligatory fight but the theater was too loud. Nevertheless, some good ideas. Ultimately very disappointing attempt to capitalize on the big-movie summer event sort of film when this really could have established Batman's backstory. Oh well, my brother and sis-in-law enjoyed it. Still, big step down for Chris Nolan after the vastly underrated Insomnia and terrific Memento.