Perfect Batman

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2005)

This is truly the correct incarnation of Batman. There is so much happening in this film, and yet none of it seems rushed in any way. It is a true comic book film, yet it never seems campy or even very unrealistic.
The strongest point is easily the cast. Christian Bale portrays Batman and Bruce Wayne both with such realism. Perhaps a key point is that Bale avoids trying to make Batman look like Bruce Wayne in a batsuit. Bale realizes that to a degree they are different personalities, and he conveys this in just the right way. Cillian Murphy is wonderful as Jonathan Crane, and even Katie Holmes, who is way too young to be a lawyer, manages to perform her role with excellence. The real treats are Michael Caine, who is truly the perfect Alfred, Morgan Freeman, who adds a bit of down to earthness, and Gary Oldman, who makes Jim Gordon a likable guy who grounds Gotham in a sense of reality (after all, not EVERY cop can be corrupt!) Batman Begins really succeeds when it is explaining how things come together. You can actually start to understand the mysterious (and previously silly) aspects of the character. And Bale does such an excellent job of creating the character through real emotions that real people feel.
And of course, the direction of Christopher Nolan has brought it all together so well. This is a great film. To call it the best Batman movie is to simply not do it justice. I have always believed Batman was the purist, most praiseworthy superhero. Now we have a film that does that ideal justice.