tears...

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2005)

yup, this film made me cry. it really did. being a hardcore batman fan, i assume i know every little secret, history, background about the dark knight. i've waited 13 grueling years (discounting batman forever and batman & robin for reasons far too obvious) to see a decent BATMAN film. Not only is Batman Begins decent, it has got to be one of THE BEST FILM EVER! i watched the film on its last screening together with my friends in Alabang. after the movie, the entire theater was deserted and i just sat there, still trying to catch my breath. It is that damn good.
Christian Bale plays the perfect Batman/Bruce Wayne. Charming, handsome, and "rich," as Wayne. Terrifying, maniacal, sadistic, and blacker than black as Batman. "It's not who i am underneath, but what i do that defines me." Michael Caine as Alfred, humorous, he is the rock of the Batman family. Almost always, the exchange between Bale and Caine where Christian tells him "You still haven't given up on me, have you?" Caine answers "Nevah." Morgan Freeman as Luscious Fox. Quite different from the character in the real Batman mythology (which for me is the comic books), but important nonetheless. He's told in the film as the one who supplies Bruce with all of his "spilunking" stuff. :) Morgan plays it brilliantly, from his face in the Tumbler while Bruce is driving, to his deadpan humor near the ending of the film. "Didn't you get the memo?" That got one of the biggest laughs in the theater.
Liam Neeson, Liam Neeson. Awesome! As Henri Ducard and the real Ra's Al Ghul, he was cold, beyond reason. Cold, bad-ass in a great way. Esp. the scenes where he and Bruce were in their ninja suits playing a game of "hide-and-seek" with all those ninjas. Some of the best lines came from Neeson's Ducard character. "Are you ready to begin? Katie Holmes. She's actually the "weakest" link as far as all reviewers or critics are concerned, but for a fan, well, she actually is. Not weak, but pretty much, the film could have gone without her. Having her die at the end of the movie would have made an even better way to start the Begins sequel given Batman's occasional experiences with deaths that he feels responsible for. (i.e. the drowned girl in the VENOM series, Jason Todd) But she does put some nice boy meets girl syndrome during the early years of Bruce. (Oh, speaking of history, Bruce Wayne did NOT finish college nor did he finish in Princeton) And, imho, the end scenes where she and Bruce kissed was ABSOLUTELY YUCKY! i dunno, but for me, it was totally unnecessary but seeing as how the protagonist and the girl should kiss even once in a movie scheme held up, well, there ya go. "You better run!" Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow actually should have gotten more screen time. He was really scary even in his "doctor" mode. the first time we get to see the mask during his talk with Falcone, awesome. We really got to see the extent of how this lean, geeky fellow could actually become one of Batman's worst enemies. Ken Watanabe, very limited screen time. Doggone good nonetheless.
and who could forget...
Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon. "I have to get me one of those." Damn right. "I think you're trying to help." Can't wait for the next Batman sequel just for the fact that i'd love to see more of Jim Gordon's interaction with the Batman.
Overall, this movie gets a perfect 10 out of 5 stars :) This movie has it all. Great plot, dialogue, action, and an array of Oscar caliber actors, definitely, Batman renaissance has begun. Batman Begins.