Much Better than Batman and Robin but Not Good

Rating: 1/10 (9 August 2006)

I was mystified by all the rave reviews this film had gotten. The one particular comment I've heard and read quite a few times is that this Batman is better than all the previous installments because it is staying truest to the comics. Unfortunately that doesn't necessarily translate into a better film than let's say Tim Burton's 1989 original. Yes Burton did take some creative liberties that ruffled the feathers of a few Batman comic book afficiandos but that's what is so particular about the movies. They don't have to remain totally faithful to the comics and Tim Burton made the very first movie all his own. As for Batman Begins, it tries too hard to be this completely different Batman from what has already been seen in the previous Batman films that it fails to do what Burton so successfully did with the first Batman and that is make the comic book world come to life with comic relief in the right places while still maintaining intense character development. Begins however never has much comic relief and tries to downplay what's lacking in the performances with lots of action cuts. Unfortunately Bale leads the cast through a bland script that never really presents anything that hasn't already been presented in a new and different way. It's a rehash of Bruce Wayne's parents getting killed and him falling down into a hole where there are bats. It also shows Batman's first encounters with the bad guys and revealing himself, "I'm Batman!". The audience is fooled into thinking they have seen something new when they really haven't. Sorry folks but it doesn't break new ground and wasn't necessarily done better than Burton did first.