Move over Keaton, Bale's got you kickin' on this movie that's got everything that Batman is!!!

Rating: 9/10 (28 June 2005)

When I heard that they were making another Batman movie, I went "ANOTHER Batman movie??!!" Yes, I hated the idea of another blockbuster flop like the other 2 previous lackluster letdowns of a great ongoing comic-book series, especially when I heard that it was going to centralize Bruce Wayne's past. Then I thought to myself, "I would love to see how they're gonna screw this up..."
As time and coverage went on, I got the cast for the movie, then I became skeptical. Very skeptical. There were well-known actors in this movie, and quite a number of those who I would never expect to be in a "Batman movie". In fact, the only actors on the list who lowered my skepticality were Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. Bale gave me confidence enough for me to believe that he would be able to do it, what with his great previous roles in "The Machinst" and "American Psycho". And Gary Oldman was already so brilliant when he played "Leon" and other movies, so I had no doubts about him portraying Jim Gordon at all. So what happened was that I only initially wanted to see the film for Bale's and Oldman's performance.
What I didn't expect, was that the movie was brilliant itself. Because it was done RIGHT!!! It wasn't that fantasy-based linkage like Tim Burton's Batman films, although I still liked them. The film was based on what the Batman story was all about-----Fear. The entire movie was based on that premise, from the beginning of Bruce's 7-year pilgrimage to find something that will aid his fear and bring down injustice, to the Scarecrow and the return of his mentor Raz Al-ghul to strike fear into the hearts of every innocent and criminal being in Gotham and kill themselves in the process. This movie was far more personal than the previous films, and Bale had me right on my heels, because he was more than just great, he was perfect. He defeated the lasting reign of Micheal Keaton's popularity as Batman by proving himself to be able to play a millionaire playboy and the dark knight. He was able to delve into the character of Bruce Wayne well enough to place himself at #1 spot. Christian Bale is officially the best Batman now. And that also makes this film the BEST Batman film of all the Batman films out there. Yes, it's official, this Batman film will forever be remembered as the best Batman film out of them all...unless Bale stars in yet another one where he may don the black cape and exceed his currently brilliant performance.
I'll tell you what I didn't like, and that was the Bat-mobile. Of course, I can understand that it was a very first car for Bruce, and that it will undergo changes as time goes on in the story. However, I still didn't like how it looked; a military box on big wheels. What saved it was the great car chase scenes.
This film is worth the money.