Batman Begins slowly, but has very nice gadgets...

Rating: 7/10 (16 June 2005)

The beginning of the movie was slow. Nobody wants a long, drawn-out childhood sequence (though that was borderline bearable), nor do they want to see Batman in prison wallowing in mediocrity. And what's with his girlfriend - if you can call her his girlfriend? She's boring to look at and listen to, completely miscast and extraneous to the main plot. And much of the fight scenes are cut too close to the action, a la Bourne Supremacy.
On the other hand, the special effects are very well done, especially the larger shots of Gotham City; Batman's gadgets are both cool and believable; and the Batmobile is indescribably awesome. The directing and plot aren't bad aside from the caveats listed above, Christian Bale and Liam Neeson deliver excellent performances, and the rest of the cast (with the exception of Katie Holmes) are adequate for their parts.
Bottom line, this is the best Batman movie yet, and is probably worth going to see in the movie theaters. Based on the plot and directing alone, I'd give it an average rating (5), but it gains a couple points for cool gadgets, special effects, and Batmobile. One can hope that sequels will be better paced now that we've gotten past the "History of Batman" material.