A return to form for the Batman series- couldn't have come at a better time

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2006)

When Batman and robin was released in 1997, it looked like being the end of the Batman series. Incredibly camp and over the top, and featuring the worst of the three Batman's who had played the role, it was a dire film that looked like ending what had been a great franchise.
Now, with a smart and talented director shooting the action (no offence to Joel Schumacher intended) and a cast made mostly of Brits, batman Begins has resurrected what was once considered a dead franchise and given it a new lease of life.
Starting off with a look at Bruce Waynes early life, we discover why Bruce Wayne has a fear of bats and we watch as his mother and father are killed right in front of his eyes. One major change to Batman mythology is the fact that unlike in 1989s Batman, it isn't the soon to be joker that kills Bruce's parents, but a small time criminal who is later killed off.
Bruce goes to a middle eastern country to learn how to fight and regularly gets himself arrested and thrown into prison just so that he can fight against the low life criminals that he is incarcerated with. The pre-batman Bruce Wayne shows some exemplary fighting skills despite never having any kind of training, and is picked out by Liam Neeson to be a new breed of warrior. Bruce returns to Gotham to discover that Rutger Hauer's slimy businessman has taken over his parents company, and that the city is under the control of Tom Wlikinsons crime lord, who is being assisted by psychotic Cillian Murphy (the scarecrow, complete with scary mask and gas firing weapon)Bruce decides that he is the one who should fight against the Scarecrow and gears himself up.
Bruce trains as Batman, assisted ably by Morgan Freeman's weapons creator Lucius Fox, who presents Wayne with a new bulky batmobile. Freeman exudes a calm influence in his scenes, and he is very likable in his role.
The film belongs to Christian Bale, brilliant as the tortured Bruce Wayne. He is vulnerable in his early days as Batman, and he presents the human side of Bruce Wayne admirably well, something that Michael Keaton had failed to do in his two batman movies.
As the scarecrow, cillian murphy is suitably menacing and his disguise, a distorted mask, is very well created. Liam Neeson, as Waynes mentor in the early part of the film, is good value. But an unsung hero of the film is Michael Caine, playing Alfred the butler with all of the charm and elegance that he usually brings to his roles.
The effects, especially in the climatic train battle, are expertly done, and the fight scenes are very effective. Bale is able to sustain a good presence in the fights, and his human side is displayed with a lot of promise over how he might perform in future roles.
Overall, this is a superb entry in the series, and it should continue with a clue at the end that sets up a possible sequel featuring the joker. If they can get Sean Penn to play him, they might just have another classic on their hands.
Batman Begins is the best of the four batman movies, and one for casual moviegoers as well as fans of the Dark Knight.
Amazing!