Massive disappointment

Rating: 3/10 (3 July 2005)

Christopher Nolan blows the opportunity to make a definitive Batman movie by delivering a tepid, poorly structured effort that wastes the impressive acting talent assembled to re-tell the origins of the Dark Knight. It all starts reasonably well with a decently thought out, if a little rushed, origin story, but the film quickly unravels upon Bruce Wayne's return to Gotham. What awaits him (and us) is a dull, contrived tale with weak villains handled by a director whose talents obviously do not stretch to handling this kind of material. The action scenes in particular have you crying out for someone who knows what they're doing, while the character development and story (Nolan's supposed strengths) lack cohesion. Watching the film you have to assume its massive budget was spent on paying the actors, because it's certainly not up there in terms of design, settings or effects. It all adds up to a terrible waste of talent. Unfortunately, returns speak volumes and I'm sure Warner Bros. are already rubbing their hands at the prospect of equally banal, box-office conquering sequels. I only hope Superman Returns delivers a more satisfying, better quality effort and that one day someone will make a movie that truly captures the essence of the Batman of Dark Knight Returns & The Long Halloween.