It's all very technical

Rating: 8/10 (19 June 2005)

Greetings again from the darkness. Fans of the Dark Knight (like me) have been waiting anxiously for this project. Anticipation built when Christopher Nolan ("Memento") was named director and suspense grew as many young bucks pursued the lead. "American Psycho" created many cries of "WHO?", but those in the know, were pleased and the anticipation grew. Slowly the supporting cast was put in place: Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkinson, the great Rutger Hauer and even Michael Caine! Then began the year long wait.
Although the final product disappoints on some fronts: Katie Holmes is bloody AWFUL, there is never a good clear shot of the batsuit and Bruce Wayne lacks the elegance that we would expect, we leave the theatre pretty satisfied. Christian Bale is a terrific Batman (even though he never gets Bruce quite right), the fight scenes are above average, the Gotham City set is truly impressive, seeing the progression from child to young adult is interesting and the film's sound is top notch.
What really sets this one apart is the multitude of film locations. Nolan took the show on the road to capture the right feel for Neeson's tutoring of Bale and the city shots are often spectacular. The biggest thing this one lacks is the colorful villain that the Batman comics were known for. Cillian Murphy is bone-chilliing as The Scarecrow, but we know immediately he is not THE bad guy. Many will complain that the film is too dark - both visually and emotionally. Visually speaking, this is Gotham at its absolute low point. Emotionally ... hey, at least its not "Batman and Robin"