The greatest superhero film ever made.

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2005)

I'd been excited for this movie before I ever saw a single trailer; Before I knew anything about the story, and before I knew of any of the cast save one member: Christian Bale, who along with Ewan Macgregor, happens to be my favourite actor. As a child, Batman was always my favourite super hero. He always seemed, to me, so Human. Much more believable than a teenager being bitten by a radioactive spider (Don't get me wrong, I love Spidey, he's my favourite next to The Caped Crusader). I was rather obsessive when I was young, and must have had just about every action figure and vehicle for the Batman: The Animated Series line from Kenner. I also have two favourite Supervillains: Venom, and of course, The Scarecrow. Something about a villain who destroys people by exposing them to their deepest fears to the point of insanity or mental breakdown just appeals to me. It seems the most sinister form of evil. Going into the movie, I admit, I already had (possibly unfairly) high expectations; something about my favourite actor portraying my favourite superhero just simply appealed to me, I suppose. All throughout, and at the end, I realized that the film far surpassed even my highest expectations. Bale perfectly captured the darkness, the barely-checked fury that I've always viewed as a defining element of The Dark Knight. The many small subtleties did wonders, as well, such as Bale subtly altering the tone and depth of his voice when he was behind the cowl. The action scenes were frenetic and beautifully choreographed. The small dash of humour contained in the movie was simply perfect, coming at just the right moments. One of my only qualms with the movie was Michael Caine's portrayal of Alfred. Not knocking his excellent (as always) performance, his acting was superb, and his wit very welcome. He just did not fit my ideal of Alfred, but that's entirely a matter of personal preferences. I found the acting to be superb in itself, which is all too uncommon in superhero movies. Bale, of course, was perfect as the dark, brooding, angry Bruce Wayne, and his alter ego. Cillian Murphy was perfectly unsettling in his portrayal of the outwardly calm, cool, intelligent Dr. Jonathan Crane, and even better as the creepy, psychotic scarecrow. Which brings me to my second qualm. My memory of The Scarecrow (which may not be precisely correct) was of a slightly more deranged, slightly more homicidal person. Perhaps in the future, if he recurs in the next films, he may be so. But I kept expecting to see him wearing the full straw-man ensemble, not just the burlap mask, and was a bit disappointed when it never happened. It didn't really detract from the experience, however, as Cillian's performance kept me more than appeased. Liam Neeson's performance was awe-inspiring, as always, though I can't say too much about it without giving the story away. Even the usually cringe-worthy Holmes wasn't completely unbearable or childish. The CG was tastefully done and not overused, thus making the movie a prime example of how CG effects can enhance a movie and make it more enjoyable. Gotham City was as dark and distopian as I've ever imagined it to be, and the Kowloon-inspired slums were a perfect touch. Here's to hoping Nolan and Bale stick together and make a few sequels, and even more so, here's to hoping they maintain a consistent level of perfection. 10/10.