Dark & Delicious

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2005)

It took George Lucas three attempts to make a prequel that was worthy of its franchise but Christopher Nolan struck gold in his first attempt. Batman Begins lives up to the vision of Tim Burton when he made Batman 1 and 2. The star cast of this movie, with the exception of Katie Holmes, is stunning and although it takes a few minutes to get used to Christian Bale as Batman, it's easy to see why he was chosen for the lead role once those minutes have passed. His acting, as we have seen in 'American Psycho', is intense and dark just like the movie and he steals the show from veteran actors such as Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman.
Michael Caine, as usual, was great as he brought life into Bruce Wayne's father figure and butler, Alfred. His character is witty and stern and no one could have pulled it off better. We do not get much of Morgan Freeman in the movie although I do hope that changes in the next installment. Morgan Freeman plays Lucius Fox, the inventor and scientist who made Batman's suit and his gadgets.
The story blends very well between the childhood memories of Bruce Wayne and his present life (in the movie), helping us understand what really created the anger within Bruce Wayne. The movie walks us through the trial and error experiences of Batman which helps Bruce Wayne, Luscious Fox and Alfred create the Bat gadgets. The movie also answers all the questions we had about Batman's past like how did he train to become Batman, how did the Bat symbol come about and how did he get the ideas for his Bat Tools. Overall, a great experience.