At last, a Batman movie worthy of the character.

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2008)

I've always been more a DC fan as opposed to Marvel when it came to comics. And my favourite hero of them all was Batman. The reason for this is actually simple. He's one of the few that DOESN'T have super powers or is an alien. He's simply a man who was trained himself to avenge his parent's death and try to save Gotham from the criminals.
The TV series from the 60's was my first introduction to live-action Batman. And I have to say, that despite (or perhaps because of) the campness and silliness of it, I enjoyed it as a children's programme.
When the Tim Burton movie came out, it showed a truly dark and Gothic Gotham, and a Batman to go with it. I liked it, but prefer the sequel Batman Returns, which goes even darker.
Then came Joel Schumacher... To be fair, Batman Forever isn't a bad movie, just not a good one. By lightening up after the previous 2 installments, it gets close to to the old TV series. However, nothing could have prepared anyone for Batman & Robin. Simply put, this was the old TV series on the big screen, but worst of all was the way it treated the characters in a shameful manner The treatment of Bane, a truly formidable character in the comics, who BROKE Batman's back in one story, reduced to a grunting henchman being the worst. Then of course there were the nipples on the Bat-suit..... Enough said.
When Batman Begins was announced, it promised to return Batman to his roots, and make him the character he should be. And, unlike all the other movies, it would actually be about Bruce Wayne/Batman. The previous movies were more about the villains than Batman himself.
Christopher Nolan, who directed Memento and Insomnia co-wrote the movie with David Goyer, who had worked on other superhero movies and knows the genre well. The two of them came up with a frankly brilliant script, that has lines and scenes you could almost picture in the actual comic books. But if the script was good, then direction by Nolan is better. His staging of scenes is fantastic (my own personal favourite involves the fear the Batman can evoke when you are hanging upside down on a cable high up in an alley!), and his use of Batman in the action is clever. When we first see Batman in action, we see it from the point of view of the criminals he's fighting, and from their point of view he is a bogeyman they can't see. This is reflected brilliantly in a scene later in the movie when another group of thugs are looking for Batman, but are scared after hearing stories about him.
The actual story in the movie is very clever. Using deception and clever writing, it keeps Batman off screen for the first half of the movie, instead focusing on Bruce Wayne and his journey from angry man to hero. It does the same with the main villain in the movie, keeping it hidden until near the end where it's revealed who is the mastermind behind everything. Very cleverly done.
Where this movie gets even better, is in the casting. Micheal Caine as Alfred is good, showing some of the spark and wit you associate with the character in the comics. Cillian Murphy as Dr. Crane/Scarecrow is genuinely creepy, and when he uses his fear gas, he is pretty terrifying! Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman all give good support, even in the smaller roles. Katie Holmes has been giving a bit of stick for her performance as Rachel Dawes, the Assistant District Atorney and potential love interest in the movie, but I thought she did pretty well.
However, this movie belongs to Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Taking his Wayne side first, he gives depth to a man tortured and haunted by the death of his parents. As Batman he is impressive too with not only the voice but also the actions. The only slight note of disappointment, and it's only a very minor flaw is we never see a playful side of Wayne that much. Perhaps that will be something explored in The Dark Knight.
This movie raised the bar for super-hero movies. By letting the film-makers actually tell the story with having to have action breakout every 5 minutes, and by getting the casting perfect, by casting ACTORS instead of big stars, they've made a brilliant, fantastic movie.
I can't wait for The Dark Knight!