Batman's Beginning takes too long

Rating: 7/10 (13 March 2007)

I am really torn on this one, I am well acquainted on Batman lore, so I expected the beginning to drag but this goes on for half the movie. Things start to move when Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham. It was exciting to see all of Batman's toys fall into place (i.e. the Batcave, the Batmobile, and his costume to name a few) but I still was on the edge of my seat waiting for the action to start.
When a movie is remade I have to ask "What does this adaptation bring other than box office receipts?" Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins brings realism. The idea of Batman is so far out there (a crime fighter with a seemingly unlimited cash flow and access to 'wonderful toys'), that all the characters have to be very grounded. It is apparent that Nolan is committed to this. The villains do not have the flamboyance of previous Batman villains. You will find no hideouts on a perpetual slant, no penguin armies. One of the villains in Batman Begins, The Scarecrow uses only a mask to terrify victim while the victim is drugged.
The key to Batman is the villains no one wants to see a two hour movie about Batman catching purse snatchers. At the end of the movie, one of the villains dies in a horrific crash. Could the villain survive the crash disfigured and becomes the vengeful Two-Face? With the obligatory origin taken care of I am hopeful that the second movie will move quicker and be action packed.