The True Dark Knight

Rating: 10/10 (9 April 2006)

Christopher Nolan has done what no other movie director has had the courage to do. Make a Batman film with such dedication to the character that it simply is the best comic book character adaptation I have yet to see.
If you are prone to reading attention disorders, you might has well skip this thread. I warn you up front it is a long on so you might move on, nothing for you to see here. If you are interested in an in-depth review which will contain some spoilers, then let's dance for a bit.
Christian Bale has hands down stole the mantle of the Batman and made it his own. Nolan was wise enough and also had the insight that the Batman is actually a hell of a lot more of an interesting character than the twisted villains that have stolen the limelight in the previous films. Bruce Wayne/Batman is a very complex multifaceted human being. Anyone who follows the comics knows that Batman is borderline psychotic. That is his appeal. Nolan knows this, uses it to the fullest and fleshes out the character from his comic book incarnation and makes him flesh and blood.
The development takes us back to the tragedy that spawned Bruce's thirst for validity. The child actor who played Bruce Wayne as a boy was for me the scariest choice that Nolan had to make. He chose wisely. We see Bruce's grief and isolation through this child as well as the surrogate father Alfred becomes. Yet even Alfred, played wonderfully by Michael Caine, cannot cross the threshold into Bruce's private hell. He can only stand back and be there for the young Wayne. We also see why Bruce Wayne chooses the bat as his symbol and his mantle. The scene when the adult Bruce meets his fear in the cave is truly inspiring.
So how did Bruce Wayne learn all his tricks of the trade? Nolan takes us somewhere to Tibet where Wayne gets introduced to the League of Shadows under the mysterious Decard.. Note here, Liam Neeson delivers the performance as a mentor far exceeds that of the one in Star Wars. Here given a choice at the height of his training, Wayne chooses different and departs the League that exists under the rule of Ra's Al Ghul. Then portrayed by Ken Watanbe.
Nolan doesn't want to candy coat Batman. He knows his source material which makes this film stand out and frankly shame all the ones that proceeded it. Yes, I said shame. Because that is exactly what the previous films did to Batman, especially the ones done under Joel Schumaker. Who not only nearly destroyed the Batman franchise for Warner Bros. but also tried his best to destroy Val Kilmer's career when Kilmer started to clash over creative differences.
This is the Batman that Miller wrote about. Obsessed, driven. It is also the first time that a director took the character from the ground up and using the source material bothered to explain just how Wayne got all those wonderful toys. Especially the Batmobile. I have read that many saw pictures of the Batmobile and wept. They wanted the Giger toy car from the previous flicks. This car is NO toy. It actually does what it does in the film This is a realistic piece of bad ass ed machinery that you definitely do NOT want on your tail. It is awesome and fear inspiring. The car itself should be considered part of the cast.
In fact another stroke of genius is that Nolan doesn't overplay the cast. Gordon is played just how I envisioned him from YEAR ONE. Oldman looks just like a Sgt. Gordon I loved the little homage scene where he is taking out the trash and you see inside his brownstone apartment spying his wife eating with a very young Babs .Trust me, it is all there. Nolan made the Batman's universe real and believable.
Also Nolan explains Wayne's world and shows its complication. From his drunken playboy routine that is his real mask, to the battle to get control back from the power mongrels at Wayne Enterprises. Like I said, Bruce Wayne has a complicated world. Here he has to hide his true self under the guise of a foppish Bruce Wayne. Bale displays the conflict here excellently. He has to play the buffoon so no one will know just exactly he is up to. This isolates him further limiting the number of friends within his circle. One friend, Fox, played by Morgan Freeman, who stated he took the role because Batman has always been his favorite character, supplies him with the beginnings of his arsenal. But his true confidant is Alfred, who has some of the best lines. The chemistry between Bale and Caine work so well that Alfred is actually a main player.
If you are looking for huge CGI effect, watch Spiderman again. This is more gritty, the only effects are the subtle ones and the insidious effects of the Scarecrow's fear toxin. Wait until you see Batman behind the eyes of the Scarecrow after Prof Crane has had a dose of his own medicine. "Dr Cane is not here anymore..." Note: Don't expect a Danny Elfman score either. This score his deep, brooding and ominous. There are no frills here...just base instinct rumbling through your psyche. Well done. Warner Bros wised up. They followed a fan site named www.batmanonfilm.com for sometime after the demise by Joel Schumaker. They realized that here was a sounding board for fans of the character and learned painfully that their marketing dept was wrong. Batman is not for kids and be warned, this really isn't a kid's movie. It is a grown up film aimed at the comic book audience that grew up ages ago.