Batman Begins- finally erasing the memory of George Clooney and Joel Schumacher!

Rating: 9/10 (20 September 2008)

Fantastic. Simply superb. This is the Batman movie Tim Burton should have done and what that destroyer of tradition Joel Schumacher didn't have the brains to do. Christopher Nolan and Dave Goyer couldn't have wrote a better origin story and re-ignited the franchise that Schumacher nearly killed in 1997. Basically, the previous 4 Batman movies do not exist. This is a not a sequel or a prequel to them, this is new start for Warner Bros as the superb script focuses on the origin story of Batman- how Bruce Wayne was traumatised by his parent's murder's and travelled the world learning various fighting skill's and studying the criminal mind in order to return to Gotham City to fight the injustice that is plaguing the city, and in doing so creates his alter ego Batman. The creation is of Batman by Wayne is very realistic in detail, such as him creating the Batsuit from a protective military outfit taken from the Research and Development Department of Wayne Enterprises rather than the usual 'How in the hell did he make that rubber suit?' nonsense. Christian Bale is superb as Wayne and is brilliant as a much darker Batman, who finds himself up against his mentor Ras Al Gul and the insane Scarecrow. The fantastic supporting cast (featuring greats like Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman) add so much depth to a film that isn't just about action sequences but about character development and excellent story telling. A smash hit at the box office, this is brilliant viewing.