BATMAN BEGINS short review (no spoilers)

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2005)

I saw a pre-release screening of BATMAN BEGINS on the big screen this past Sunday. When I say, big... I mean LARGE as in Large format aka IMAX.
The Film was directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) who took great liberties retelling the Bob Kane's BATMAN story with the help of David S. Goyer. Sadly, Bob Kane passed away 6 years ago and will never be able to see this new adaptation of his baby Bruce Wayne/ Batman. David S. Goyer has had success in the past writing such screenplays as BLADE and DARK CITY as well as some of the the cheese induced PUPPETMASTER films, so I was quite curious to see his perspective. I know he is also slated for his pen on more comics turned film like THE FLASH and GHOSTRIDER which stars good ole Nicolas Cage.
The film began with a good breath of air and Hans Zimmers score fit the film well with the exception of a few over the top selections that were so overdone that they immediately took me out of the film's reality/ environment. The cinematography was exceptional and the effects were seamless apart from one scene where you could literally tell miniature models were being used for a city scene.
The characters were Phenomenal!!! Christian Bale was a majorly convincing Bruce Wayne in a way that we have not seen before. This story was not about recreating Michael Keaton's version nor the Tim Burton world but a new set of people in a different Gotham City. Michael Caine played was a great Alfred and everyone from Rutger Hauer to Morgan Freeman to Liam Neeson and an aging Gary Oldman were spectacular. Katie Holmes was fine... and Ken Watanabe's part was decent as was Cillian Murphy who was quite scary... you may recall him from 28 Days Later, etc....
I enjoyed the new bat mobile as well as other new gadgets. The new story of Bruce Wayne/ Batman follows suit with other more recent comic turned films where the heroes are more of near rebellious characters or shall I say those seeking answers and finding darker truths.
With the exceptions of a few minor points such as the fact that the film could have been edited down a bit to help the overall pace, it was a fun ride! I recommend this film! Have a great day!