batman begins here...

Rating: 7/10 (2 October 2005)

Batman begins: slowly but it does pick up. There is so much batman out there from the comics to the cartoons and from Burton to where we are now, Christopher Nolan (of memento fame). We are promised a much darker batman far removed from the silly campness of the last few films that have graced our screens and yes this is a darker film but not that dark. It still has the unfunny one-liners like the kind we used to get in old Arnie films from the eighties (Remember 'stick around') and it still has the sickly sweet love interest in the form of Katie 'am I only getting work because I'm seeing tom cruise' Holmes. Aside from her terrible performance and Christian bales need to suddenly put on a pantomime baddie voice every time he dons the bat costume, there is some good acting here. Michael Cane especially as Alfred the smart English butler and Morgan freeman as the weapons expert both take to the roles like ducks to water. Gary Oldman regardless of dodgy tash also adds to the ambiance. The enemies are also quite weak but lets wait until batman 2 with the joker to comment on them. But I have to say the cars the star. The new half tank, half all terrain vehicle that is the new bat mobile is brilliant and steals the show in some awesome jumps and chases that feature as some of the better set pieces in the film. Nolan is no action director and this shows slightly towards the end where as Rami in Spiderman 2 kept the action fast but clear, here it becomes muddled and sloppy. Don't get me wrong this is a far better film than say star wars (got my dig in) but not as stylish as Sin City. If you like super hero action films that you don't really have to think about and you can't wait for Spiderman or x-men 3 then this is the film for you.