Masterful: Batman doesn't have the luxury of continuity in his portrayals, but Nolan and Bale help deliver the closest iteration any movie-goer has seen of Bob Kane's legend.

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2005)

Freshly returned from the midnight showing of Batman Begins, I witnessed a cinematic event that left me with inspiration enough to author a post. Was it good? Was it bad? I'm sure you'll be able to figure that out.
First, I'd like to talk about an aspect of movies I don't hear much about: progression. Batman Begins had sections that were definitely set apart from each other. By the end of the movie I felt I had gone with Bruce Wayne on his journey from a man consumed by guilt and anger to an immutable symbol of justice and hope in a paradigm of modern society known as Gotham. At the end of the movie I felt as if I was looking at a changed man in a world just a little different than it was before. The two hours and fifteen minutes seemed chock full of content and at a rather satisfying balance between length and brevity.
I'll go ahead and take care of the obvious: action. Any movie with over a hundred million dollars in it's budget is going to have some satisfying action. For the first time ever, every aspect of the dark knight was realized in a live-action setting. Burton's films had his dark nature and a little of his ingenuity down pat. But Keaton's Batman was merely a Darth Vader without the force: slow and clumsy, though still intimidating. Not necessarily the fault of Tim and Michael, Bale's presence was much more akin to that of Bob Kane's vision. He was fluid, quick, agile, and silent. He was ninjesque, as the Batman of the comics and the animated series. But he was more menacing, too, though it was Bale who was in more control of this aspect. His voice as Batman was more different than that of Keaton's, Kilmer's or Clooney's performances. Bale's Batman was the best. So was his Bruce Wayne. There wasn't much action outside of this, though. That's likely to be different in the sequel, given the villain. But, I shan't spoil the surprise.
There were interesting twists to the Batman story that I won't ruin here for you. But it's hard to see any Batman, regardless of how well versed he or she may be in the literature, disliking it to severely. I mean, keep in mind that it's based on the comics, not the comics translated into live-action film.
Bale does an excellent job of portraying Bruce in all of his stages of development. His development as a character only ends with the movie; the sequel is sure to continue this development. Michael Keaton played Bruce Wayne. Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne. Val Kilmer portrayed Batman. Christian Bale is Batman.
I can't say for sure if this was my favorite comic book movie, though it's almost certainly my favorite of Batman fame. I was so much more than satisfied with Raime's and Maguire's deliverance of Spider-Man, and despite that being the only time justice has ever been done to the character on the big screen, I felt similarly about Batman Begins. It was as if the previous movie's were the interpretations of individuals, while Nolan's film was the interpretation of a generation. Batman doesn't have the luxury of continuity in his portrayals, but Nolan and Bale help deliver the closest iteration any movie-goer has seen of Bob Kane's legend. Kudos to you both, sirs.