FINALLY: The Real Batman

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2005)

WARNING: This review contains spoiler material. If you have not seen "Batman Begins", I must insist that you do not read this. "Begins" is a great film, but you can only get the full effect if the entire story is fresh to you.
I have been a Batman fan all my life. When I was a baby, my mom got me a Batman pajama set (complete with cape). I was three when the 1989 film came out, and I was hooked on Batman from that point on. And now, 16 years later, that film has finally been surpassed...
Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale, American Psycho) witnesses his parents' murder at the hands of Joe Chill (Richard Brake, Cold Mountain), a "desperate" criminal who loses his cool during while trying to mug the Waynes.
After several years of ninja training under crime lord Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai) and Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace), Wayne returns with his butler Alfred (Michael Caine, The Cider House Rules) to a overly-corrupt Gotham.
While leading his life as the beneficiary of Wayne Enterprises, run by power-hungry Richard Earle (Rutger Hauer, 'Salem's Lot), he forms his crime-fighting persona with the help of Alfred and Wayne Enterprises Applied Scienctist Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption). He puts his fear of bats to his advantage, and becomes The Batman.
The Batman teams with police sergeant James Gordon (Gary Oldman, Bram Stoker's Dracula) to fight crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson, Normal) and demented psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan "The Scarecrow" Crane (Cillian Murphy, 28 Days Later).
The film also stars Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek) as Wayne's love interest Rachel Dawes, Linus Roache (The Forgotten) as Thomas Wayne, and Mark Boone Junior (Memento) as corrupt police sergeant Flass. "Begins" is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento), and written by Batman-comic alum David Goyer (The Blade Trilogy).
This film is everything a Bat-fan could want, and has an ending that both takes your breath away and sets up the sequels flawlessly.
I give "Batman Begins" a solid and relentless 10 out of 10 (more like an eleven!)