It Rocked...

Rating: 9/10 (15 June 2005)

I had high expectations - I thought Memento was extremely well done and that Bale was great in American Psycho. The Batman trailer raised my expectations further and had me believing this movie would be great.
Entering the theater, I realized I'd already ruined the movie. My expectations were too high and this is only a Hollywood Blockbuster. How could a member of such an anemic species possibly live up to Bale's Patick Bateman or Nolan's Memento?
Two hours later I walked out of the theater saying "that was awesome". A sentiment that echoed through the whole audience. Walking back, blocks from the theater, I could still hear people reliving the highlights.
Bale's Bruce is dark not merely eccentric like Keaton's "I sleep hanging upside-down" portrayal. He doesn't have a bat fetish and doesn't want to be a bat. He wants to terrify the fight out of bad-guys - to stun them a little while he puts a world-class hurt on them. That makes sense and I can identify with it. Hanging from a bar - what's that got to do with exorcising the rage of feeling helpless against an invisible sea of evil?
I'm looking forward to the sequel!