is that really you, Gary???

Rating: 8/10 (25 October 2005)

so do i think this is the best batman yet? well, this film provided me with some surprises:
1) some of the best shots of the "city" i've seen, rivaling BLADE RUNNER, which for me is saying a lot.
2) Bruce Wayne actually smiled once or twice. after the first hour or so, i didn't think he was going to (great smile, Mr. Bale!).
3) an area 51-ish explanation of batman's technology!
4) another Liam mentor role but with questionable ethics! Has he Ever played a villain before?
and the biggest surprise of all: 5) a normal Gary Oldman!
to blame ms Holmes' relationship with Tom Cruise as having a negative impact on this film is ludicrous. Leave her alone. now, her character as a taser-wielding district attorney of Gotham is something else altogether. how does she find the time DA'-ing between cheer-leading practice? what this film lacked that the original one with Keaton didn't was a strong villain. but then few can do it like Jack can. Tom Wilkinson, arguably an actor with the greatest range of all working actors today, left the film all too early. i loved his performance and missed him when his character exited the film. the ever great Michael Caine was also good to see and i think his character picked up steam as it went along. and the screen play? this is the person who gave us Memento? At least he was true to the original comic books. sorry if Scorsese beat you to the punch with a Howard Hughes biopic. this film did a good job of demonstrating why Bruce Wayne became the "bat" he was. but humour of any sort (intentional) was largely missing here. i didn't expect a comedy, don't get me wrong. but the Bruce Wayne character was so serious! have a little fun flying around why don't you... i didn't enjoy this version as much as the first one, although i think this latest one was better constructed. the filming and art direction were simply great, and Christian Bale makes a Great bat, arguably the best one so far. will i miss Katie Holmes in the next one? ah, NO. her credibility as a DA was non-existent. it was good to see Ken Watanabe again too. funny how there's a link here with Tom Cruise.
will i watch this film again? absolutely! it was good in many respects, but if someone asked me what it was about, i don't think i could tell them much other than the obvious. i suspect that this film will resurrect the Batman franchise, which is a good thing. a great thing, actually. now that this superbly produced film has set the grounds for cave-dwellers who were unfamiliar with Bruce Wayne's background, the next one has everything going for it.