Released: 6/15/05

Viewed: 11:59:pm 6/14/05

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, Garry Oldman, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holms

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

I'm not even sure where to start.

We were blessed and cursed in our youth. Batman was a great movie. The sequels were? well they were what they were. But it's all changed. It doesn't even matter anymore. Christopher Nolan has delivered the grim dark epic that fans have been craving forever. A monstrous, complicated masterpiece that is everything you want it to be. Everything Batman deserves to be. This is the Batman, and it's perfect.

In the past Bat films, we were exposed to stylized versions of the caped crusader. Visions of a world that isn't the same as ours. That's the biggest separation here. We're served up a believable reality. No penguins with rockets strapped to their backs. No villains costumed with black light paint. Real world problems in real world atmospheres. The villains have an evil scheme and it's logically explained. This vision is raw and rugged. And real. I could defend the Burton and Shumacher versions, but they are what they are. Different version of Batman.

Story development was complicated, but worth it. We're exposed to every aspect of Batman's transformation. As we should be. Some may say that it's too much, too drawn out. But it's a complicated story that's crucial to who the character really is. It's important. He's not just a vigilantly in a costume. If it weren't handled so masterfully I may have complained myself but we jump back and forth throughout time, and before you know it Bruce Wayne is angry, trained, and off to protect his abandoned city. But even then we have to wait. We wait to see the suit.

You can feel it coming. Like when Eric Bana first transforms into the Hulk. You want it. You can't wait for it. But they hold you back. They show the development and make you want it even more. I'm glad they did. The man doesn't simply become Batman. It's a process that we see take place. They show what it's like the first time he jumps off a building. How do you think that would turn out? Adjustments are made. He evolves, and it's important to take that journey with him.

All the while the true meat of the story develops around you. City wide depression, crime, wide spread panic. There's a lot going on, and when a strange Wayne-tech device is mysteriously stolen from a cargo ship you'll start to feel overwhelmed by it all. "What could this possibly have to do with anything?" But hang in there. It all weaves together in a well crafted layered story centered on fear revenge and justice. I want to give nothing away but trust me, everything comes together beautifully. The man behind the screenplay David Goyer redeems his Blade Trinity disaster, by offering up a legendary adventure.

Performances. I have no idea how to start this. The cast on paper alone is outstanding. As the movie progresses you see them trade out turns being awesome. Every time someone comes on screen they become the coolest guy in the room. Neeson as Bruce's stern trainer. Caine as Bruce's stable partner in crime. Oldman as the weathered old honest cop. Even Holmes as Bruce's child hood friend Rachel, does a fine job. Rachel serves as the voice of reason to a man that is so obviously struggling with what's really right. She could easily have just been the hot girl that Batman saves. He saves her. She's hot. But it's never about them being together. She's an echo of better times. Of Bruce's old life. Holmes spends the movie fighting for those ideals, and all the while influences a very confused Bale to continue down the same path.

I feel a need to mention the performance of Linus Roache as Bruce's father. Although he's only briefly in the movie he had a huge impact on me. Much the way Stanley Tucci did in Robots. In such a short amount of time the father son connection is made and made precious. And I have to give the credit to Roache's performance. He was cool, and kind. The kind of father everyone has or dreams of having or actually has. Bruce looses his family and it really messes him up. It's pretty easy to see why.

Bale bleeds Batman. He's incredible. I think anyone that's seen him before new he could act. Now EVERYONE will. He so easily could have gotten lost behind the mask, or in this sea of amazing actors, but he carries this movie from start to finish on his back. Can you imagine what it would be like as an actor? Wake up today ? go do a scene with Michael Caine. Tomorrow, Morgan Freeman. Thursday ? Liam Neeson. Sure he'll have chronic back problems from those 4 days hanging upside down at the docks, but I'm sure it was worth it. I was worried about the costume, but it looks good. Darker then the last versions. My only questionable comment would be his voice as Batman. It's done in a growling whisper. Too much whisper, not enough growl.

The old Batman films used up the big players. The Riddler, The Joker, The Peguine, and Catwoman. They even used up the better B listers. Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Bane. All of them great characters with great potential. Some were used better then others but let's not get in to it. So when this film rolled around they had to break in some new blood.

Thousands of people this weekend will say "Whose the Scarecrow? Whose Ra's Al Ghul?" But as soon as the movies over it won't even matter. Murphy's Scarecrow comes out looking like the keyboard player in the latest brit glam band, but when he shows his other side. oh, it's so cool. Such a great villain that offers up so much to the Batman universe. He's portrayed so well here. Some might say he wasn't enough of a threat, but honestly he's as much a threat as he should be. Batman's got bigger fish to fry. Ra's on the other hand is one of the coolest Batman villains of all time. The Joker will always be Batman's ultimate arch nemesis but Ra's would be his closest true match. They work on the same plains. The think the same, and act the same. Beyond the way they were trained, both believe in fighting with honor and purpose. Just different versions of it. They're the same type of warrior with opposite perspectives. I couldn't be happier with the way Ra's and his clan of Shadow warriors (Liam Nesson included) were represented here.

Visually this movie is outstanding. The opening fight sequence where we first see Bruce's basic skills is not clear, and I was disappointed that this was the first thing we were presented with. Thankfully it's not a common theme. We get plenty of great action that's clear enough to enjoy. The tumbler chase scene is pretty damn cool. Bad mouth that new Batmobile all you want, but it rocks pretty hard. There are tons of other visuals from explosions, to Gotham from above, to a good look at a pretty serious bat infestation in Wayne manor that should probably be taken care of. All top notch.

It's a long story. There's a lot of story to tell. But it's done with such care and attention to detail that you can feel how much love went into it. Everyone involved treated this movie with the respect it deserves. Just this little comic book movie. Sure that's big money in Hollywood these days, but it's still a guy running around in a cape. The fact that the big names came out to play, and play so well, is a true testament to the quality of the material and the story of Batman. If it weren't good, do you think they would have bothered?

10 out of 10 No movie is perfect, but this is as close as it gets. It's the most fun I've had at the movies this year hands down. In terms of Batman films it's perfect. This is as good as it can be. It was hard to give the 10 though. Never done it before. Thinking back over movies I've seen before starting the comic, the only movie I could come up with that would have gotten a 10 is Fight Club. Giving Batman Begins the 10 hinged on so much though. So much beyond it being a great movie. This is the Batman that the world deserves. It's here. It exists. That's huge.

DVD worthy?: Absolutely. The only question is to wait for a super deluxe edition or not. I'm still waiting for a better version of Anchorman.

Trailer Hitch

There were a couple of good trailers before the movie, but the best was the one for Serenity. That's the Joss Whedon sci-Fi western based on the failed TV show Fire Fly. Haven't seen the show but know enough to know I should see the show. I love sci-fi, and Whedon's story telling has impressed me enough in his run on Astonishing X-men, that I fandango'd some advanced screening tickets to see this next month.

From the trailer, the effects look solid and there appear to be a ton of one liners and laughs. I have nothing to complain about there.