Kim Gentes

Batman. A true representation of him has been as illusive on the silver screen as the the darknight detective was the criminals and crime lords of Gotham. Previous movies lacked the subtle power, humanity or vigilant nature of the Batman character that is the lore of comic book fame for decades. I grew up a DC comic buff, and Batman was the one "Marvel-esque" character that fit that unique space between reality and myth- a character that had not special powers, but reached beyond his humanity to become something more than a man. A legend.

And this is the way this movie begins, with the history and ideology clearly explained. Instead of rushing into battle against one mindless idiodic foe after another, this Batman is a true character with a real story to tell. And if you are steeped in Batman lore, then what can I say? Welcome Home!

Christopher Nolan directs a near perfect rendition of Gotham's caped crusader, faulting only with a slight misgiving on the villian portrayals that take rise in the last 1/3 of the movie. But that is small err when you look at the complete treatment that this Batman gets.

Batman himself is played by Christian Bale, who is the perfect balance of human and revenge. Not nearly as cold and empty as previous attempts, he outlasts even Michael Keaton as the best Batman & Bruce Wayne yet put to film. Batman was, at the core, a person conflicted by the desire to avenge his parents death to the a vast criminal plague in the city of Gotham and his own personal desire to see justice and not vengence have its reign in bringing evil to halt. The past attempts at his character have made him to cold or too untormented and emotionally lackluster. Bale balances the two souls of Batman and Bruce Wayne with his own sense of balance, and it works perfectly.

Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Katie Holmes make the perfect supporting cast for the Batman. The criminals were also presented with much more humanity than previous super-psycho larks that had neither realism or escapism for the moviegoer. The crime lord boss, the psychotic psychiatrist and the ninja master all have actually human-like qualities here, and one actually feels compelled to geniunely believe and dislike them. The only thing that weighed slightly less than the rest was the league of shadow characters, who really become slightly over-the-top with a "destroy the city for the good of mankind mantra". It's not a big deal, but it betrays the true Batman story and isn't what you look for when cannon is going to screen.

The action itself is excellent. Effects don't overload the scenes, but tension holds the mystery of Batman in concise sway. You feel like this is a Batman battle, with fear and surprise lurking around every corner. Sure there are great martial arts scenes once the Darknight detective has opened up the battle, but the nuances of his arrival and dismantling of the enemy is enjoyable and genuine.

Thankfully, we aren't treated to a smattering of useless romance in this film. It is a comic book hero film, about the birthing of a legend, not a romance novel. This is where far too many action movies go awry- inserting the obligatory love interest to keep the ladies watching the film. While miss Holmes does well as the love interest for sure, they don't play to that, and the protagonist isn't twisted and forced to deciding between his dedication to his role as Batman and his hope of relationship with the lady. Now that the Batman Begins has played the important role of defining the character, later movies would do well to build on the theme, and then romance is a reasonable outgrowth of the plot.

The movie will be too dark and violent for children under 13, but there is not an huge amount of scare tactics on this film. The few scenes of drug induced psychosis, where people appear demonized to the viewers will be too frightful for children under 13, but save those scenes you have a violent, but viewable movie for ages 10 and up.

If you have never seen a Batman movie, this is the one! If you are you true Batman fan and have been waiting for someone to finally get it right, then welcome home my friend, because here: Batman Begins!