Like Bruce Wayne/Batman, there are 2 sides to this one...

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2005)

***NO SPOILERS*** I saw a screening today and while I enjoyed the movie, fans of Burton's work should temper their expectations.
Okay, it's called "Batman Begins", so of course we expect to see how Batman, well, begins, right? Sure, that's fine. But an hour into it and they're still setting up? Yes, we get it, he becomes Batman, so do it already! Maybe I'm missing the point, but it seems to me like they could've cut down on a little bit of the back story and moved a little more swiftly into the Bat story. It feels like an attempt to create a comic book epic, but the story itself doesn't have enough elements to justify the pace, and real character development comes only in spurts, not in waves. Some scenes almost play out like Bruce thinking, "well, I was traumatized by bats, I want to use fear against criminals, I need a scary symbol, bats inspire fear, umm... nope, I still got nothing." Don't get me wrong, the training bits were well done, no complaints there, Liam Neeson and Christian Bale had some great scenes early on and the character of Batman is more reasonably established here than he has been in the past (thankfully more than just the 'my parents were killed so I made a rubber suit and fight crime' justification), but there wasn't enough substance to the build up to draw me in for as long as it took. Once it got going though, it delivered for the most part.
The directing is solid, though the action close-ups tended to be a little too close at times to create that "sudden" impact. Nolan's Gotham is infested with crime and ill will, which works as the perfect playground for a young new superhero hungry to bust up some bad guys. The darker than dark angle of the story is most welcome after Schumacher's cartoonish Forever and Robin, and while Bale is the best Batman since Keaton, he still tries too hard as Batman to be "Batman", and the overcompensation is unnerving. The character Batman is so intimidating because he's smart, cool and collected, a silent avenger, which Keaton nailed, but Bale is too aggressive at times and comes off as more of a reckless vigilante (and in one scene just a plain bad actor, but it's the exception, not the rule I assure you). His few missteps are easily forgiven, as these are the Bat's literal first steps. I guess it makes sense he "calmed down" some by the time The Joker made his move.
The cast is excellent, though the inevitable outcome of having so many stellar performers in one film is the lack of time each is given to perform. Michael Caine is used just right, as is Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman is Morgan Freeman (always a good thing), but Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe and Tom Wilkinson are all undervalued by the script, particularly Murphy. He could've been a great villain (remember the eye scene in 28 Days Later?), but he never really gets the chance here. That leaves Katie Holmes and Gary Oldman. Holmes is as disposable as her character is generic in this one, doing her part but leaving you utterly indifferent to her casting. Oldman is fantastic in this small role, bringing a quiet sincerity that works as a better and far more believable Batman sidekick than we've seen to date.
The story ends with a lot of question marks, some intriguing, others annoying, and there's definitely a need to keep in mind that "willing suspension of disbelief", as you must with most films of this genre (it would be nice if raging fire actually created unbreathable smoke in movies, like those real raging fires do), but all of this is overshadowed by Nolan's cape of creativity, skillfully adding tension and value to scenes that might feel trite or overblown if done by a less talented artist. Bale thrives more as Bruce than he does the Bat, but the bar is set unfairly high thanks to the previous work of Keaton.
In the end, it's a good film, not as good as I was hoping but better than it could've been, if you know what I mean. Bale deserves credit for his performance, no doubt, and I would definitely choose him to fill this role again, hopefully under the reigns of Nolan as well, if a new Batman installment were to come to pass. 7 out of 10 stars, mostly for the cast and the visuals. And for that, definitely see it in IMAX, that should add a star to its rating at least.