Cast, story, direction awesome: The best comic book movie ever!

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2005)

Batman is probably one of the most intriguing and interesting superheroes ever. He doesn't have any superpowers, but relies instead on his gadgets and, most importantly, his brainpower. He also has one of the most mysterious and thought-provoking origins, which have never been fully explored until now. In the past, Batman was chalked up to heroic rescues and exciting action sequences, but his reasons for doing his heroic deeds was never really shown. But in this film you get both.
The story is superb. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), in his twenties, disappears from Gotham City and is placed in an Asian prison. Time there causes him to dwell on his traumatic childhood, particularly a run-in with bats, which are his main fear, and the murder of his parents. A man named Ducard (Liam Neeson) trains him to join The League of Shadows, but when he learns more of the organization and disagrees with it, he flees back to Gotham City, which is now teeming with crime due to Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and his thugs, who slip through the fingers of the Gotham City Police Department thanks to Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), much to the chagrin of Brice's childhood pal Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). When Crane plots to make fear fully rule Gotham City, it is up to Wayne, in his dark disguise, with help from Dawes, mechanical genius Luscious Fox (Morgan Freeman), his trusty butler Alfred (Michael Caine), and the only just cop in Gotham, James Gordon (Gary Oldman), to put an end to the terror that threatens to destroy it.
The cast is excellent. Christian Bale takes on the dual role of Bruce Wayne and Batman skillfully and brilliantly. He simply is Bruce Wayne. He is the best Batman to ever grace the screen. Simply inspired casting. Michael Caine is the perfect Alfred, bringing much humor to many scenes. Caine's Alfred seems to care deeply for Bruce, and often guides him through difficult trouble. Many people have called Katie Holmes's Rachel "thankless," but I do not see that as the case. Sure, the Batman's love interests have been thankless in the past: brainless, damsel-in-distress types, but (and it has been said here before) Holmes's Rachel is strong (wielding off Gotham's bad guys with her taser) and sexy, yet sweet enough that we see why Bruce loves her. She is his conscience, teaching him the difference between revenge and justice, a very important foundation to Batman's beginnings. Holmes, a very capable actress, brings weight to this slightly underwritten role. She makes Dawes a person with heart and one who also provides guidance to the lost Bruce. Holmes and Bale are a good match, though their chemistry is never fully explored, since Rachel decides that Bruce is hiding behind the mask of flippant playboy and needs him to take off that "mask" and let his real self (Batman) shine through. I really hope that she does not disappear like Batman's love interests in earlier movies. Freeman, Wilkinson, Oldman, and Murphy turn in excellent supporting roles, particularly Murphy whose turn as Crane is quite creepy.
The atmosphere is great too. Gotham looks a little futuristic, with a monorail that bisects the huge city, but it is believable and seems real. It is very gritty, just as a city full of crime should look. It is not slick, like Spiderman, but dark and soulful and is really great. Nolan's hit gold here. 10/10