Thou Shalt Be more a Bat than a Man, my young Friend !

Rating: 5/10 (19 June 2007)

Katie Holmes was really convincing as a decided and courageous defender of Truth. She seemed almost unstoppable, at times. It left me hoping for more scenes depicting her romance with Bruce. She's a better girlfriend-dating-a-superhero than K. Dunst, mainly because she doesn't fell into Batman's armored arms as fast as Mary Jane does in Spiderman's web. (ok, that was an easy one...)
I should address a special mention to Gary Oldman's acting parts, whose ambiguous smile always have you wondering on which side he stands.
The training sequences of Bruce were dealing mostly with physical abilities. They could have brought more intensity to the film, if they were targeted at more fascinating aspects of Martial Arts like the respect of the opponent, or the use of its strength to defeat him.
Not that there was not a few interesting monologues made by Qi Gong, as he was having Bruce to bite the dust, but the whole thing was too shabby to make it look like an apprenticeship which is supposed to require devotion and patience, even in the most modern sense.
The fact that the Master to whom Bruce saves the life is committed to Gotham annihilation by mass-destruction weakens the plot (but we could guess that this strong character was to be somehow "recycled"). Fortunately, we happen to know about his betrayal near the ending. The vengeance scheme is twisted, admittedly, but not as awkward as giving the mannered, evil-minded attorney the reputation of a super-villain.
What problems is Batman trying to solve exactly, and in what order ? Is the investigation purpose only a matter of knowing who takes the order from whom ? Is it about stopping the mafia drug deals, understanding the creeping menace which would lead to the unfortunate quarantine Gotham ? Is Bruce trying to get revenge via the Batman because he suspects his father's death was more than just the result of a shot from the gun of a demented burglar ?
Or is he simply trying to persuade Gotham authorities that his futuristic black outfit and his bat-shurikens are of some use, and that he shouldn't be fined when exceeding the authorized speed, behind the wheel of the Batmobile ?
The hidden assets of Wayne's corp. scenes (in a James Bond fashion), with M. Freeman didn't really work for me... Nowhere in the beginning of the movie can it be taken for granted that the unlucky father secretly "planted" a seed for his son to become a super-hero.
I could also mention the numerous cutouts that occurred when Bruce was given the chance to address the public (his guests, Wayne's board of directors), but I realized soon enough that the focus was on the flying and hiding capabilities of the Batman. So let's watch the man fly, hide, and hit his opponents behind their back... Bruce Wayne wasn't fully incarnated by Bale imho, despite Alfred's efforts to contradict him, for his own good.
By the way, was the Batmobile really similar to a "tank" as a cop said on the talkie ? It looked like a customized buggy to me. Speaking about bolides, I felt that "Batman Begins" bore more resemblance with Fast and Furious at times, than with Tim Burton's evocative and meticulous Gotham City recreations.
However, for about one action-packed hour (corresponding approximatively to the middle of the movie) , you will hold your breath and get the impression that you are actually watching the "Beginning" you were hoping for. Yes, that's kind of frustrating but no doubt the whole thing could have been worse...
Oh, and for the next episode, don't give us of this "two-faces" villain I read about, please provide us with the deceiving Joker and his schizophrenic rictus, in full !