Excellent except for editing.

Rating: 7/10 (12 July 2006)

I'm kinda seeing this movie late in the game, having only watched it recently. I thought the movie was well acted and visually stunning. I'm a casual fan of Batman so what I knew of his origins was average. The sequence of his parent's being killed and his father's reaction to the killer was a beautiful character study. It's easy to let anger run rampant in the face of fear which was the lesson Bruce was supposed to learn from the Ninja master. His supression of his anger while in costume was well done and rare in today's action movies.
Two things bother me. One is the "library hushed" dialog. During most of the movie, I had to strain to hear the subtle conversations between the characters. Alfred was easiest to hear. Assuming this was a deliberate act of the producer, I'd have preferred it louder.
The second thing was the editing. I agree with the previous reviewer that the action sequences were too tightly shot and confusing in their rapid cuts. He makes a keen observation that we are in the theater to see the Batman use his skills. Extreme closeups don't allow for that. I felt cheated.
Overall, I liked the movie and recommend it.