Batman the Psycho

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2005)

The best part of this movie is they finally got the correct casting for Batman this time. They finally chose Christian Bale the man who played "American Psycho" and another Orwell kind of movie, "Equilibrium".
It makes me think they finally got it right for once! Val Kilmer looks like a comedian rather than Batman, George Clooney looked too cool to be a Batman, and others who played the role just doesn't have that chemistry. Michael Keaton as Batman looks too coward and not dark enough and not even close to being athletic.
This is the first in a series that finally concentrate on Batman as the real actor instead of the villain. There were many twists and surprises in the casting and this added a great dimension. I mean Morgan Freeman who played Seven, is great in dark horror movie films that required serious tone, while Liam Neeson played well from his Star Wars Episode I. The big surprise that was Gary Oldman playing the good guy for once, really difficult viewing him because you are so use to him playing "Dracula" or some guy to destroy earth in the movie "The Fifth Element". Go this Oldman, I don't know if I should cheer him or be careful of him. He is the nervous element in the movie.
The movie is somewhat good in tone, but could have improved on the theme of "Big Brother", which is a big serious topic in the internet world of New World Order. So the crime scene, the Mafia thing is a bit overdone, but I can take it. The fight sequences were too dark and could not see who is fighting who. The beginning sequences was sloppily done somewhat and the story was a bit too broken with flashback while he is training in the Himalayans. Because of some touches in the movie to New World Order, it would not be surprising that the mainstream media won't like the movie anyway, but most viewers will.
Other than this the movie has a great display of realism and special effects was done well enough to believe that it was real enough for the general viewing. The psycho element and realism of Batman is done better than all the previous Batman because all the previous ones were over-the-top.
The terrorism of destroying Gotham just doesn't add as to the realism of motive. Most motives in reality is that terrorism is either state- sponsored or a major corporation or consortium is behind the economic gains rather than some wild-eyed crazy religious (or philosophy) as this movie would indicate. Well, who am I to blame? Newspapers been doing that all the time and blaming on the patsy like Lee Harvey Oswald.
However, it would have been much more realistic if economic gains were behind the destroying Gotham. An example is the series of James Bond 007 such as the movie Goldfinger.
The writers did a good job however in showing the Wayne Enterprises' President were somehow behind the entire "terrorist act". Yes, you need TONS of money to finance terrorism and only corporate or state funding is needed for this kind of scale of terrorism.
It is somehow eerily portrayed to remind you that the World Trade Center, as the train goes to hit the Wayne Enterprise building for a massive blow up of the city's water supply center. The writing could have been much more interesting if there were a clearer tie up to the President of Wayne Enterprise to be behind the entire fiasco and corruption that Batman and the owner of Wayne Enterprises tries to defend. However, this is the best Batman movie I have ever watched and I can stand the slow and choppy beginning and this can be overlooked on the strength of Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman. I do not like the casting of Rachel, she looks like a child to play the part, but this again can be overlooked. Near perfect movie 10/10.