Finally, a Batman movie I'm not embarrassed for

Rating: 9/10 (24 June 2005)

I was introduced to the Batman franchise not by Tim Burton's movie, or the comic books, but rather by the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series. I was in second grade at the time; and let me tell you, it blew my little second-grade mind right out of the water. Batman became the definition of a superhero for me. Then I learned there had been a live-action Batman movie, indeed several movies. I was eager to watch them.
When I first watched Tim Burton's Batman, I realized something. Tim Burton's Batman SUCKED. It had the Batman getting shot in the very first scene. Batman doesn't get shot! In the cartoon, he is Vengeance; in the cartoon, he is The Night! In that movie, he's some idiot who sleeps upside down and has complete faith in bullet-proof vests. Not only was I not afraid of the Batman character in that movie, it was silly to suggest that anyone else, criminal or otherwise, would be either. People can't sleep upside down, all the blood pools in your head!
Burton's Batman was the first in a series of four ignominious disappointments. Not one of the live-action movies stood up to the animated television program. The irony that a children's cartoon show was darker, more serious, more melancholy and more complex than movies supposedly marketed towards adults! Batman and Robin was particularly painful, as the choice of Val Kilmer as Batman was actually not bad. To see that Kilmer actually understood the character of Batman yet was forced into that ridiculous camp-a-thon... I swore to never watch another movie by Joel Schumacher again. Also, if I ever met him, I swore to punch him in the stomach. Jerk.
Then came Batman Begins. I had no hope to begin with, considering the previous four movies. But the previews looked OK, and Christopher Nolan was the director. Maybe -- just maybe -- he would understand. Along came June 15, I saw the movie; truly, Nolan understood. He understood that Batman's methods would make criminals wonder whether Batman was human or monster before they even encountered him -- and after encountering him, believe he was inhuman unquestioningly. And yet, Batman is just a man; determined, disciplined, intelligent. Insane? Yes, that too. But most importantly Nolan understood that Batman does not exist in a fantasy world, but that unlike all other superheros, his world is our world. His enemies are not aliens or impossible monsters or super-robots; but crime bosses, common thugs and, like himself, men whose own insanity have enabled them to do unimaginable things.
Batman Begins stands up to the tradition of Batman: The Animated Series. In many ways, it surpasses it, and in some ways still has room to grow. The many highly-skilled actors in the smaller roles -- how many lines did Morgan Freeman even have? -- added a depth and consistency uncommon in most movies. Hopefully, they will all return for the dozens of superb sequels this movie will hopefully spawn. Finally, the Batman franchise can genuinely begin.