Substance over style

Rating: 9/10 (28 June 2005)

Though I'm not an avid graphic novel reader, I do like the medium because it plays out like a movie, and the plots are more complex than are put on screen. However, many movies which try to adapt graphic novels to screen mutilate the original in the process (with the exception of the recent "Sin City").
"Batman Begins", however, is not based on any graphic novel. But by the way it was written and directed, it sure could have been. This has to be the most mature Batman to hit the screen. Gone is the campiness of the original series, and the hallucinogenic visions of the last 4 Batman films. This Batman/Bruce Wayne, while younger, probably has more innovation in a single frame than the previous Batman films. There is more insight on what he does to take out his frustrations, and how he channels them. We also see how he is capable of making a Batcave, how he makes the gadgets that he uses, and finally, how human Batman really is (as witnessed by the number of bruises he gets after a night of fighting.
Christian Bale has always been a pretty decent actor, and as Bruce Wayne/Batman, he brings more depth into the role and any of the 4 actors who played him previously. Liam Neeson was a surprise as Ducard, and handles the role well. Likewise for Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Rutger Hauer. As for Katie Holmes, she's adequate.
If I had one gripe about the film, it was that the some of the action scenes were choppy and couldn't be appreciated as well as, say, the first Batman. But this point actually makes the case: if you got a gripping story, you don't need cheap theatrics to make it great. Substance over style. Just like an well written graphic novel.