Good movie, bad action.

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2005)

I'm only going to focus on the bad because everything else in the movie works. This came so close to hitting the bullseye...but there is something seriously wrong with a superhero movie that has lame action scenes. I don't think you ever even see Batman land a punch. Chris Nolan must have watched The Bourne Supremacy for inspiration. It's all quick movements, blurry cuts and sound effects...very frustrating. Was it that there wasn't time to train Bale or was it just laziness? The first action scene is forgivable because there is the big reveal of the mask and costume, but every other scene is the same way. It's like every explosion has to be cut halfway through and every punch has to be a head and shoulders shot. Next time pull the damn camera back. Look at First Blood, The Terminator, Die Hard... that's how you shoot and edit action.
The only other thing that hurt the film was Bale's delivery a couple of times, especially the last line. If he had just toned it down a little bit...otherwise he was great.