An excellent movie

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2005)

Let me say right upfront that I very much enjoyed the movie. I thought it was excellent.
That being said, here is what I didn't like about the movie. First, there is a strong trend in action movies where the martial arts are nearly impossible to see. The edits are very quick and the camera is moving fast. This is done on purpose to obscure the action. You get the *impression* of great martial arts, but you can't see it. Stylistically, this works for one scene where the bad guys don't know what's happening. However, for the rest of the film, I want to see Batman kick bad guy butt. Granted, this is better than showing people do martial arts that don't really know how (for instance Ben Afleck in Daredevil).
Second, the first half of the film isn't "dark enough" or "gritty" enough. Just from a filming perspective, the shots where too crisp and too bright even when things are supposed to be dark and grimy. In the second half of the movie, the visual tone settles into the proper feel.
Third, I know why... I just don't like it. The history of the villain is not the same as the comic books. I know that its necessary to make some changes because its an updated story. But this is entirely revamp'd history. I won't go into details to avoid spoilers.
Alight, all that being said, the movie is well worth seeing. Its excellent. The portrayal of Scarecrow is *awesome*. The supporting actors are brilliant (Gary Oldman's Gordon is perfect.) The special effects are to be commended. The choices when to use CG and not, when to use real people, models, etc. was great.
I do agree. This is the best Batman movie.