Great Film and Adaptation

Rating: 7/10 (15 July 2005)

Was this the perfect movie? By all means no. But this was a different take on the Batman Franchise and was a wonderful beginning to a storyline that many of us comic fans find familiar.
Too many reviewers pointed out that there was no villain development. If I am not mistaken, this movie is "BATMAN Begins," not Villains of Batman Begins. The Burton films, while fantastic, made Batman take a back seat to the villains. Burton liked creating characters and villains and just use Batman as the backdrop to do it in. Again, wonderful films, but way too over the top, not very believable, and left the viewer wishing for a little more of the title character. There was no development for Bruce Wayne in the first Batman film because Jack Napier took over the story and we watched HIS development instead. In THIS film, we DO get to see Bruce Wayne, his human vulnerabilities, and how his anger and need for closure drives him to become just as crazy as the villains he fights! We will NOT go into what Schumacher did to Batman, because that man does not deserve the space.
On to the actors and portrayals. Christian Bale captures the darkness and torture of Bruce Wayne perfectly. It also helped casting a man young enough to actually be Batman in his first year, unlike Keaton who was tiny and already looked 40. (I think he was a great Batman, but I had to say it...) Oldman is a great Lt. Gordon, but doesn't have the personal trauma he had in Batman: Year One. Still, he is an excellent addition. Michael Cane portrays Alfred as a wonderful father figure to Bruce and also provides some comic moments. Cillian Murphy and Liam Nieson are their usual fantastic selves. The only problem I saw was Katie Holmes whose character suffered from bad lines and Katie's lame, bland acting.
The production design for the movie was great, but they didn't need to show the mono-rail so much. My only problem was some of the action scenes. Did anyone else feel like they were too close? That made the editing bad as well. Oh well, can't be perfect I guess.
My last comment is to those who complain about "faithfulness" to the comic books and then applaud Tim Burton's movies. HYPOCRITES! Burton destroyed all we knew about Batman. The Joker didn't kill Bruce's parents and the Penguin was not a horribly disfigured man! But we enjoyed those movies nonetheless for what they were: great comic book films with excellent acting, wonderful design, and a dark edge that Batman needs. Batman Begins goes one step further by actually bringing in a much more vulnerable and believable Batman, a more believable story (except for the Ra's Al Ghul's plot), and a movie that CONCENTRATES ON THE CENTRAL CHARACTER. All in all, a great action movie with some very moving parts, emotional characters, and a feeling that one day, perhaps this Batman COULD happen...
Enjoy the movie folks. When you saw it, were you looking for a 12 Oscar winner? No, just a great spin on a comic book legend. And you got it.