Batman Begins is easily one of the best movies of 2005...

Rating: 9/10 (19 October 2005)

The Batman franchise, has in fact been redeemed. With the last two outings of the Cape Crusader, Batman fans were left with a cheesy, uninteresting, and poor dialog movie, with little depth. Now Christopher Nolan has finally released his take on the Batman universe, and it delivers in every exceptional way possible. Let's get straight to the point: Batman Begins is easily the best movie so far in 2005, and as far as my opinion, its the best Batman movie to ever grace the screen, since it has a rather interesting plot with depth, and style. Since the two outings(Forever, and Batman & Robin), I was very displeased with the franchise since it took on a more futuristic view on the Batman franchise, and the action was very unrealistic, and while entertaining, just didn't cut it for me. Poor dialog, and cheesy lines haunted the last two outings, with poor acting(with the exception of Val Kilmer as Batman), Batman Begins pulls in a strong cast, with spectacular results.
As a kid I grew up on Tim Burton's take on the Batman franchise, and I've generally enjoyed the original Batman movies, but in Batman Begins we see a darker side of Batman, with a lot more action, and style. Christian Bale is definitely a perfect fit to play Batman/Bruce Wayne, and as to my surprise I got over the fact that Michael Keaton is no longer the man under the mask. Bale's performance is exceptional, believable, and emotional. He adds a darker side to the Cape Crusader. It's also interesting as the movie unfolds early, you look at what haunts him, and motives him to fight crime. The emotional aspect of the movie is spectacular, and done convincingly. You can see the emotions as Bale dons the Bat suit, and as far as my concerned played Batman better than I ever thought Keaton could do. Michael Caine also plays Alfred very well, and Gary Oldman also plays a very believable Commissioner Gordon. The cast also features high-profile actors such as Liaam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, and Katie Holmes. All of the cast is perfectly well implemented, and it shows by high-production values. While the lesser known villains, like Scarecrow, and Rahul Gul fit in just fine(so those doubting it wouldn't be good without recognizable villains will be shocked).
The action(such as the Batmobile sequence), where Batman finds himself taking a spin through the city with his tank-like vehicle while having an impaired Rachel Dawes, and not to mention several dozen cops on his trail is in one word: thrilling, as he weaves through traffic, traveling on roof-tops, and evading police cars, the action is just brilliant from top to bottom. The training sequences are also convinciable in their execution, as we see the hardship of Wayne's intention to mold himself into a deadly warrior. The more darker atmosphere of Gotham City is also very believable, and immersive, its definitely a city that looks on the brink of disaster, but also industrialized, and civilized at the same time. One of the biggest problems with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin was the fact that it looked too futuristic, it looked as if the city was striving from the ingenuity of the buildings, and fancy billboards, and the two original Batman movies were too dark for my taste, but in Begins its perfectly portrayed. As mentioned earlier, the action in Batman Begins is superb, the casting, and choreograph is what makes it stand out. Begins also puts less emphasis on the romantic life of Bruce Wayne, pushing it aside till the very very end, it doesn't get in the way of the action like the last four incarnations, and this adds a more enjoyable experience overall. In the last two outings, the action was a bit too over the top--don't get me wrong there are several aspects of Batman Begins that are also over the top such as the Batmobile sequence, the train scenes in which Batman is engaging Henri Ducard, but its done so well you don't even notice, the enigmatic flare is just flat out entertaining, and realistic.
When its all said and done--you owe it too yourself to check out Batman Begins, the production values are astounding, and the action non-stop. The casting is also well-done, and makes you forget about a lot of the actors in the previous films, and for me if a movie can do that, then its something worth my money since its a rarity. The action is entertaining, and its also got a very good plot to it, which in turn gives it a more upside, and more entertaining value than most films out there. Lets just put it this way: you MUST see this movie. If your skeptic about it, don't be, because in the end you'll be treated to the best Batman movie to date, and one of the best movies to come a long in years.