A must watch, let us hope there are more to come

Rating: 9/10 (19 June 2005)

I have just been witness to the birth of a great movie franchise. Batman Begins (BB) is just that good; I'd compare it to the likes of the LOTR trilogy even. Darker than the Batman films that have come before, yet far more believable In fact, I was surprised because sandwiched between the openings of Start Wars, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and War of the Worlds, BB opened with hardly any fanfare. So, without having seen any trailers, just a poster that eschews all its "big name" actors, I went to watch the show.
Expectations were low and I was pleasantly surprised that the show had me on the edge of my seat from the moment it started. What makes it different is that Christopher Nolan knows what suspense is. He knows how to keep his audience enthralled without having to resort to CGI everywhere. Heck, he even made a workable Bat mobile! Suffice to say, realism is the key. General Patton once said, "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." Bruce Wayne in BB embodies this. He's scared, he doesn't want to die and he knows he ain't invincible.
Devastated by his parents deaths, goes through hell and returns a better man. Vengeance, violence, theft, Bruce is almost an antihero almost but not quite. In the end, he rises through all of that to become the Batman we all know and love. Teamwork and mad money, that's the key to becoming a hero. All in all, an amazing interpretation of a classic comic book hero. Don't know if I'll feel the same after WotW, but for me this is THE show to watch this year!