A Welsh Batman? Crazy, but it works. Finally, a GREAT Batman movie!

Rating: 10/10 (17 June 2005)

Hey--- a Welsh Batman? I never thought I'd be saying that. And he is, undeniably, the absolute best, as much as Keaton, Kilmer, and Clooney are fine actors in their own rights. I must confess that I hated the earlier Batman movies. Thus, I had no intention of seeing this one. However, a few critics' thoughtful analyses won me over, at least for a 'look see'. I am grateful that I took the chance.
Part of what made the earlier Batman movies so awful, and so depressing, and so cartoonish, was the completely bummer and downer environment. Gotham City was soooo evil. Life was lost, hope was gone, etc. The villains could never really be stopped, elsewise why would they keep coming back every issue of the comics, every week on the TV, and each sequel of the movie?
This new movie is completely different. It's not about the stars. It's not about the effects. It's about a man, and human issues that to some degree we can all understand and appreciate, even if we don't, maybe, completely identify.
Anyway--- very entertaining, very un-cartoony, very exiting and 'real', in a weird movie-world way. I gave this an astounding and well-deserved 10 out of 10.