A reboot that works

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2015)

British director Christopher Nolan is better known for his lower-profile thrillers such as the excellent MEMENTO and the brilliant INSOMNIA, but his first big-budget Hollywood blockbuster is still in the same league as the other two: a tremendously inventive and exciting piece of filmmaking, which breathes a whole new life into the Batman saga and proves to be the best film of the series (shame it took till number five to get it right, but that's life). Nolan dispenses with any previous cast or story lines, instead taking Batman back to his roots, and the result is a tough, violent, realistic adventure which isn't marred by any of the comic-book campness or flights of fancy which spoiled the others. Batman is just an ordinary guy here, without any superpowers, but instead his Bond-style gadgets allow him to become the caped crusader by night.
The casting is extraordinary and the ensemble all give outstanding performances. Bale is terrific, finally getting some of the acclaim he deserves; I've been watching this guy for a few years now and he's been great in everything I've seen. Caine is cast as Alfred the butler, and supplies genuinely warm comedy and wit. Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are friendly allies, although their roles are relatively minor. Katie Holmes is the attractive love interest and she, too, is surprisingly good. However, it's the villains which have the best parts; Liam Neeson has his best role in many years and is fantastic in it, whilst THE LAST SAMURAI's Ken Watanabe is creepy as a cult leader. Cillian Murphy (28 DAYS LATER) is truly memorable as weirdo bad guy The Scarecrow, whilst Tom Wilkinson is almost unrecognisable as a hardline gangster. Even Rutger Hauer is in it, and that's gotta be good, seeing as he's been stuck in DTV movie hell for a decade.
The film is long – 2 ½ hours to be precise – but the suspense and action keep it moving. There are car chases, fist fights, massive battles and lots of other stuff going on. The plot keeps you guessing all the way through and there are plenty of surprising twists. My only complaint is that the action is cut too fast, and too close, so that it's pretty hard to see what's happening, but the excellent soundtrack helps make up for that. Still, a minor complaint with what is otherwise a flawless film – let's hope they all team up to make some more classics like this.