The Dark Knight Returns...a more Mature Bat

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 2005)

With the recent stream of comic book to film adaptions it's nice to see a few truly breaking the mold and setting different standards. Sin City impressed the hell out of me this year, but this flick was a surprise for me.
*I am not here to make comparisons between this film and Batman, I love both of them equally and don't want to start a pissing contest*
I was expecting something different but nothing too special. Boy was I surprised. I had seen American Psycho so I was mainly going to see the great Christian Bale at work. He, along with Johnny Depp and Gary Oldman, can take a movie on their shoulders and make it into a living, breathing thing that grasps your emotions and doesn't let go until the credits start rolling. I also liked that someone finally gave Bale his chance to shine in a big time role instead of all his cultish-type roles in American Psycho and even Empire of the Sun. The acting was superb across the board. Michael Caine is a great Alfred, adding some charm and wit that actually reminded me of the butler in Arthur. Gary Oldman, who could have benefited from a little more screen time, played the part of Detective Gordon to perfection. Morgan Freeman was great as inventor Lucius Fox, and it's refreshing to see him in a role that doesn't require an impassioned speech from him, the father figure, to his peers, to see what I'm talking about see Glory or Shawshank Redemption. Liam Neeson in his usual Sage-like role was exceptional again. The only person I became a tad distracted by was Katie Holmes, with all of the recent Tom Cruise foolishness, but that isn't her fault. I would need to see the film again to more accurately critique her acting ability.
Now in terms of story, this film isn't so much darker as it is more serious and more importantly more mature. We get a character study of the man Bruce Wayne rather than the figure or the icon. This makes for a much different and deeper level of the hero Batman that we all know and love. We all know that Mr. Wayne saw his parents die, and that was his fuel for becoming Batman, but now we get to see exactly how this transition happens, and the method behind his madness. I think that these comic book films benefit from seeing the internal struggle of these people that entire cities depend on, and not focusing so much on the villain's attempt at world domination. This worked for Spider Man 1 and 2, having the villain's priorities second to the main characters own. By showing us that Bruce Wayne has a life to uphold and a name to respect and look up to, it shows us a person that we can all relate to. Seeing the new gadgets and utility belt is always a plus, and let me just say that at a first glance the new Batmobile may look like just another tank, but trust me, it fits the movie well.
Now, for the flaws. The biggest flaw I saw in this film was Christopher Nolan's lack of direction in the action scenes. They were far too quick and suggestive to be anything visible. I can respect that Batman moves quickly, but we need to at least see him moving in comparison to his enemies. Seeing a big motion blur for 5 minutes isn't that impressive. I can do that in my living room by spinning around for a while. I also thought that the character of Scarecrow could have been fleshed out a tad more, and that his screen time was a bit...well...sub par. You'll know what I mean when you see it.
Overall, I'm very impressed by Mr. Nolan's entry into the Batman series, very impressed. Bale is perfectly cast, as are all the main characters. The story is relevant and contains no real bad points. As I stated earlier this film only has one flaw, other than that, an excellent film. Highly recommended. 9/10