The best Batman movie ever made...

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2005)

FINALLY!!!! After Batman and Robin, I had all but given up on there ever being a great live-action Batman movie. Sure, the Burton ones weren't all that bad..but none reached the level of any of the animated shows. In fact, to date, the best Batman movie was 1993's animated Mask of the Phantasm.
That is until I saw Batman Begins last night...this is a fantastic movie. It's intelligent, it's fun, a little scary, exciting and it's the best Batman movie ever made.
Finally the debate as to "Who is the best Batman?" can finally be laid to rest. Christain Bale is terrific. With the exception of the animated voice-over work of Kevin Conroy, Bale is Batman, hands down. Watch for the scene where Batman dangles a dirty cop from the side of a building while he interrogates him ("SWEAR TO ME!!!")....the intensity in his eyes and the ferocity in his voice blows away anything from Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney era.
The rest of the cast is all top notch, which is really no surprise considering the resumes of the talent involved. Best of all is Freeman who turns in a fun performance as Luicus Fox, the man who provides Batman with all his wonderful toys and Gary Oldman, playing a good guy for the second movie in a row (first Sirius Black, now this). Even Katie Holmes is good.
David Goyer (who disappointed me with Blade 3) totally redeems himself with this script. He sets the mood just right. No puns, no silliness, just good stuff. It gets a little preachy in the beginning with Qui-Gon Neeson but by the second hour, it's all good.
The only downsides to the movie are minor. BB follows the Spider-man template (no costume for the first hour), Ken Watanabe's part is really limited, the music is not as memorable as Danny Elfman and the fight scenes are a little too tightly shot.
Other than that, this is well worth the $10 to see it. If you can see it in IMAX, all the better. Just bring your earplugs (it is LOUD) and enjoy.
Go see this movie....NOW!