**1/2 out of ****

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2005)

i prefer using the 4 star rating system for this film because a 5 rating is not enough and a 6 is too much. i am definitely in the minority when it comes to "batman", having preferred the third and fourth movies to the first two. "batman begins" starts out very well , giving a good foundation to the batman saga. but it loses its way as it goes along , with the extraneous Morgan freeman character and too many villains. Christoper Nolan is a very good director when it comes to drama and atmosphere , but he is not an action director. the fight scenes are awful , with the climactic battle aboard a speeding elevated train a direct rip-off of - and not nearly as thrilling as - "spider-man 2". overall it doesn't deliver in the action department , and the revelation of the main villain's identity just didn't work. the film is also almost totally devoid of humor. i realize this was intentional and i respect the opinion of fans who prefer the darker tone. but i much prefer superman 1 and 2 and spider-man 2.