Batman is Back

Rating: 9/10 (15 June 2005)

The story of the angst-filled millionaire playboy who can't get over seeing his parents death... finally make sense. David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan go back and show us how Batman became Batman. How he learned to fight and how he got all of his cool gadgets. Not only that but we get a brief glimpse of the Scarecrow (one of my favorite Batman Villains). Now, I am not going to compare this film to the Burton films but I will say, Nolan and Goyer did a superb job of steering clear of Batman Forever and Batman and Robin (what we all like to call the dark days of Batman).
Christian Bale pulls off the Dark Knight without a hitch. The caring, compassionate Wayne, the comedic playboy "Brucie" and the deep brooding Batman all are just some of the levels of the character that Bale portrays.
And Bale is not alone in his depth. Katie Holmes has grown out of Dawson's Creek and into a woman of refined character and taste. Her performance proves that she will NOT be type cast. Also, Liam Neeson is true to form in his presentation of an original character Ra's Al Ghul. But that is not all; Caine (Alfred), Murphy (Scarecrow), Oldman (Gordon), Wilkinson (Falcone) and Freeman (Fox) all come through with stellar performances. This film is truly an acting tour de force.
However... there are a few blemishes on Batman's cape. Much like the haphazard camera work from the Borne Supremacy, this film's fight scenes are very hard to see. There are a number of scenes where we just have to take Nolan's word that Batman got the best of the bad guys... mostly because the camera was moving so fast and in such an incoherent pattern that it was nearly impossible to see or understand any of the fights.
Also, the music of this film was absolutely amazing. For those of you who know me, you know I would rarely commend Hans Zimmer but this was over and above any of the work he has done in the past. I truly feel he should team up with co-composer James Newton Howard more often.
Unfortunately, a lot of their work is for naught due to the horrible sound editing. There are several points during the film where (for some reason of other) the sound editor decided it was more important to hear the sound fx than the dialogue. The good news is that usually, its only at the end of important lines.
Overall Nolan and Goyer wrote a fantastic script and story, Bale gave an amazing performance, Zimmer and Howard came through with great music. Oh and don't forget the breathe-taking location shots, Gotham's dark run-down streets and the Gothic Wayne Manor all of which were... well I am out of words for how excellent they were. Definitely a film of Lord of the Rings caliber! 9.5 out of 10!