Better than I thought it would be

Rating: 6/10 (4 August 2006)

I have a strange relationship with the Batman franchise - I never really *want* to see the movies, but when I do, I generally enjoy them. I even like "Batman and Robin", but that is probably because it has stylistic links to the "Batman" TV series of my childhood (campy and played for laughs). Before anyone writes hate mail to me - yes, Clooney was wrong for the role, and the film strays way away from the story as set in the first two films, but I'm not a rabid Batman fan, and taken on its own merits (?), it is no worse than a lot of other films.
So, to "Batman Begins" - sheer apathy made me buy it on DVD. I wanted something to watch that evening, and I recognised the title, so I bought it. I knew nothing about any of the younger members of the cast (Christian Bale, Katie Holmes - who?), and expected nothing but brainless entertainment. In many ways I was not disappointed, especially in the first twenty or so minutes - all that washed-out rubbish in China or Tibet or wherever, and the thoroughly lousy acting of Liam Neeson reprising his thoroughly lousy acting in "Star Wars Episode 1" - that man is going downhill fast! However, I began to buy into the Bruce Wayne character as a result of Bale's acting. He was a nice amalgam of the Keaton and Kilmer versions of Wayne/Batman - there is a strand running through the roles that makes for some sort of coherence.
Beyond that, I saw a fairly pathetic supporting cast (Katie Holmes - nice breasts, but can she act?; Michael Caine - "I always wanted Geilgud's role in "Arthur""; Rutger Hauer - "I don't care what I'm in as long as I'm paid"), a weak story that seems to have been written by committee, and so little light that you can miss whole chunks of action, but I still enjoyed it far more than I expected. Christian Bale may turn out to be a great actor - he certainly carried this film on his own.
In general, I have now watched it a couple of times. It could have been better made, the director could have tried to get stronger acting out of the supporting cast, and the story could have been better, but on the whole it is a thumbs up.