Captures the true spirit of Batman!

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2005)

I give this 8 out of 10! I hardly give this high score to movies but this movie deserves an 8! I have been waiting for so long for someone to make a true adaptation of my comic heroes that I literally gave up.
Why is this movie so great and why should it deserve a 9? Let's look at the origins of Batman. Batman was a creation of Bob Kane who created this during the Great Depression of United States. Poverty, unemployment, and hopelessness was prevalent during this time. Using this as his backdrop, Bob Kane delivered a hero portraying the realities of the time.
The character appealed to readers because Batman had no special powers like Superman who appealed to the fantasy side of people. Batman was realistic. He was simply a man with conviction to do justice against criminals. This is what Batman was about.
During the 1960's, Batman appeared on TV as a children's show so Batman and his villains were made with comedic features and simple dialog. None of the realism of Batman ever materialized.
During the 1960's, 1970's, and the first half of 1980's, the general sales of comic books were on the decline, especially older characters like Batman. Batman comics mirrored the TV series by writing fluffy stories, thereby losing even more readers. However, good stories would appear now and then such as the arch villain Ra's Al Ghul in 1971.
In 1986, a highly talented Frank Miller took hold of the Batman series and created a fantagraphic story it called "The Dark Knight Returns." I remember purchasing this big bound book, which was very expensive, and just simply awe struck at the character development, story, and the art. He brought back the spirit of Batman again. It was truly a momentous moment because this fantagraphic novel brought back interest in Batman and Hollywood took notice of it. However, Hollywood never truly appreciated the character that was Batman and would create a trio of disappointing adaptation of Batman on the big screen.
In 1989, Tim Burton was the director of Batman, the story by Sam Hamm, screenplay by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren. The director, the story, and the screenplay all failed. Tim Burton tried to mesh the 1960's Batman series with the spirit of the original Batman comic series but failed. I like Michael Keaton and I think he is a great actor but he should have not been cast as Batman and Kim Basinger was simply annoying. The only thing that saved that movie was Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
In 1992, in Batman Returns, Tim Burton directs and the story is co-written by Daniel Waters and Sam Hamm, and screenplay is by Daniel Waters. Again it failed for the same reason above. However, there was a bit more substance into the movie with the story about the origins of Penguin but it was done so humorously that I simply could not get into the character. I mean, the scene where the Penguin, played by Danny De Vito dies and these giant penguins take his body away was so hilarious that I just laughed and shook my head in disbelief. The only thing I liked in this film was Michelle Pfeiffer's portrayal of Catwoman.
In 1995, Tim Burton is no longer directing (thank god) but now you have Joel Schumacher who is even worse! Story is by Lee Batchler and Janet Scott Batchler. Screenplay by Lee Batchler and Janet Scott Batchler and Akiva Goldsman. You had more people working on the story and it sucked, and this time it sucked big time! Val Kilmer played Batman! Oh my god, give me a break! I think he is a talented actor but bad casting. The studio must have known that this movie sucked because they just threw in all big name stars at the time and hoped that movie goers will not pay attention to the substance of this crappy movie!
In 2005, when I heard Hollywood was going to do another Batman movie, needless to say, I was highly skeptical and quite cynical given its past three movies which were all crap. That is the reason why I did not go and see the movie immediately but rather waited to see the reviews. I was surprised at the highly positive reaction of the movie critics and general movie viewers but I was still skeptical and waited until this weekend to this movie.
Whenever there is an adaptation from a book, comic book, video games or whatever to the movie screen, literal adaptation usually does not work. I was curious as I sat in the movie seat on how many thing they would change Batman in this movie.
First of all---WOW! What a fantastic movie! It really captured the spirit of Batman! There were some things I would have changed but this is as close to nirvana for someone who has been a Batman aficionado for a long time. No fluff, no inane story or dialog; only hard-edged-gritty story. Exactly what Batman is meant to be. I liked Christian Bale as Batman. He did not come off as cocky as Val Kilmer or as stilted as Michael Keaton. Katie Holmes was also good as an ancillary figure. She was not annoying like Kim Basinger.
I was worried when I saw so many movie stars in the movie because that means the story would suck but I was totally wrong. No one star upstage the true star of this movie---Batman.
I knew that the movie would change things but I was surprised that Ra's Al Ghul was portrayed as a good guy and that the young Bruce Wayne would go off to find himself for 7 years. Surprisingly though, it all worked. If you can make me like this movie, a true comic book Batman fan, then that says something about this movie.