heavily overrated

Rating: 1/10 (21 June 2005)

quote. When I heard they were making another Batman movie that explored the origins of Batman with promises of a much better conceived portrayal of the dark knight, I was very excited. Then, when I heard that Christian Bale who's famous for his dark and sinister characters in "American Psycho" and "The Machinist", was going to play Batman, I got even more excited. Then, the announcement that Christopher Nolan of "Memento" fame was picked to direct it, and I was almost certain this film was to not only be the best Batman movie in the franchise, but the best film of the year! Then I saw it.
Needless to say, I was a little disappointed. The movies seemed to fall flat in a number of places. For starters, let's begin with direction. With Christopher Nolan in the drivers seat, I kind of expected a tight, clever plot with a less formulaic film style then what was presented. Sure, I mean Nolan had to stick with the script that was given to him and not tamper with the story of Batman. But I felt that the story could have been better displayed. The action scenes in the movie were too quick and flashy, leaving the characters on the screen virtually indistinguishable from one another. What I took away from the film was that it was loud and there were a lot of flashy action sequences where apparently something happened. The film seems to move too quick in some areas and too slow in others. I mean, was the entire process of becoming Batman completely necessary. At least the previous films left some sense of mystery of who Bruce Wayne was and where he got his bat gadgets. I mean, who really cares when it comes down to it? It took away from the plot of Batman Begins.
Let's talk about the acting - subpar at best. Hollywood actors should have to have licences to act then Katie Holmes should have hers revoked for her role as a Assistant DA. She was about as convincing as an attorney as Denise Richards was as a nuclear scientist in that stupid James Bond movie. She was supposed to play Bruce Wayne's (Bale) love interest but the on screen chemistry between the two is laughable. Bale's acting was OK, but not like anything we've seen him do in the past. I think if he portrayed Bruce Wayne more like his psychologically tormented character Trevor Reznik in "The Machinist", we would have had a better movie on our hands.
All in all, this movie wasn't anything special. It was your typical Hollywood formula, good guy versus bad guy, special effects extravaganza with no real value at all.
A very forgettable film with bad acting, unnecessary scenes, poor direction and a penchant for overkilling the point. Yes, we understand Bruce Wayne doesn't like bats, and he has to overcome his fear and bring justice to the city of Gotham and yadayada.....blahhhhhhhhh! This oversimplified account of the story of Batman should have been given a different title - "Batman for dummies and for people that like things that go vrooom and boooooom!" In its defense, however, it was better than that god awful "Batman and Robin". If you really want to watch a good Batman movie, watch the first one. end of quote. the best it can get is 5. I voted 1 just to try to make the result balanced a bit.