Absolutely fantastic! This is the happiest I have ever been with a Batman film!

Rating: 10/10 (17 June 2005)

A VERY impressive effort by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. For starters it's much, much closer to the comics. Also, Michael Keaton is now the second best Batman ever. Val Kilmer is a respectable third, and George Clooney, God bless him, places a not-so-solid fourth (too cocky, too much swagger, qualities unbecoming a true Batman). Don't get me started on the ridiculous Adam West.
(Ahem...) Now, about the movie itself. It's appropriately dark (and mind you, much too violent and scary for the kiddies), which I liked very much. Batman, as a character, has always been more appropriate for adults and teens anyway. They finally got the target audience right. Comics, like cartoons, aren't always kid-friendly. And the villains were just about spot-on representations of their comic book selves, with a very satisfying twist for Ra's Al Ghul. I was initially disappointed in the apparent casting choice for him, but the writer and director managed to pleasantly surprise me toward the end. Overall, the casting was top-notch (hats off and kudos to the casting director). I have to disagree with the notion that Katie Holmes is too young for her part. I have personally seen A.D.A.'s who are that young; very ambitious and driven people, they are.
As for the action sequences, I believe they were designed to mimic for the audience the confusion and bewilderment that the criminals experience. That is why they were edited that way. I do want to see more open and sweeping fight sequences in the future, though.
My only real disappointments are two-fold: the Batmobile and Ra's Al Ghul's (possible?) fate. Let's start with the car. It's just too bulky! It's a good start, but I expect a much sleeker look out of the Batmobile. I believe that in the next film, they can and should make it so, while retaining the tank-like capabilities which made it so impressive in this one. Overall though, it was a lot better than the previews made it look (it's unexpectedly agile for such a hulking behemoth!).
Now, back to Ra's Al Ghul. His apparent demise at the end was not met with enough skepticism, even from the perspective of a knowing audience weaned on the comics. Those who are not familiar with the comics and the excellent "Batman: The Animated Series" (never mind the awful new series "The Batman") will never even suspect that he is virtually immortal, with an unnerving propensity for cheating death. Also not mentioned (not even once) are his Lazarus pits, which nurse him back to health, keep him young, and have sustained him for centuries(!). They also render him temporarily insane(!!). I would love, even beg, for the filmmakers to address this in a future film. A "surprise" return for the character would be a nice change of pace, and a good excuse to bring back the phenomenally talented actor who plays him. Well, at least they chose to make it clear that the Scarecrow survives. It's a welcome sign that the filmmakers may finally be catching on to the fact that comic book villains rarely ever actually die.
So that about covers it. I gave this film a ten, mostly because it's abundantly clear that the filmmakers really respect the audience. With this, X-Men and Spiderman, at long last they seem to be wising up to the need to cater to and respect the comic book fans who support these endeavors and bring in the rest of the audience. It's about time, and I hope the trend continues uninterrupted. We'll see how "The Fantastic Four" and "Superman Returns" fare (I'm optimistic). Until then, I'll see you at the movies, people! Enjoy the show!