Batman...the way it was meant to be

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2005)

OK, let me just preface this by saying that I have been waiting for this movie for years. Ever since the debacle that was "Batman and Robin," I wanted to see Warner Brothers go back and get Batman right. Having waited so long, I was worried that, when the time finally came, I was bound to be disappointed. Fortunately, I was not. Not only has Batman been brought back to respectability, but it has exceeded the Tim Burton films by a mile. While they may have been entertaining flicks, one has to admit the first two Batman films, or any Batman film for that matter, was never about Batman. They were always about the villains, and it always made me feel somewhat shortchanged. Psychologically, Batman is the most interesting superhero around and none of the films ever got what he was all about. "Batman Begins" turns that all around and gets everything right that all the other movies got wrong. Batman/Bruce Wayne is finally that tortured and confused individual he was always meant to be: a borderline psychotic, only one step away from going down the path of the criminals he battles. Overall, the acting is first rate, the story is excellent, the direction is slick and the action is exhilarating. The only downside of this movie is the fact that now I have to wait another few years for the next installment.