Batman Begins

Starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe, Rutger Hauer

“Batman Begins” is by far the best Batman movie yet. Or, for that matter, I’d give the film the title of “Best Superhero Movie Ever.” In 2004, I ranked “Spiderman 2” among the best of the year – that’s how much I liked it. Well, the new Batman film makes “Spiderman 2” look like your typical summer action flick.

The film tells the story of how billionaire Bruce Wayne actually becomes the Dark Knight, something 1989’s “Batman” never accomplished. Starring a well-suited Christian Bale as Wayne, director Christopher Nolan gives the movie a professional and more realistic feel than any other recent comic book movie. And no, this film is not a prequel to the previous four “Batman” movies – Nolan and Bale are wiping the slate clean, pretending that this is the first movie version of Batman ever (probably a good idea, since 1997’s “Batman and Robin” was a disaster.)

So what is so great about “Batman Begins?” For one, the film has a better cast than any other Batman movie. Michael Caine is perfect as Alfred, Wayne’s butler and father figure; Morgan Freeman is charming and terrific as Lucius Fox, an inventor stuck in the vaults of Wayne Enterprises who helps Wayne build the Bat Suit; Liam Neeson is ruthless as Wayne’s mentor Henry Ducard; Katie Holmes is Rachel Dawes, an assistant District Attorney whose impossible mission is to stop a psychotic psychiatrist; Cillian Murphy is chilling as said psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. The Scarecrow; and Gary Oldman plays the good-hearted cop Lt. Gordon, whose values are the same as Batman’s.

            The script of “Batman Begins” is more adult and serious than one would expect, and Gotham City looks like a combination of several different cities brilliantly put together. Nolan (“Memento,” “Insomnia”) was a great choice for this film, and if he and Bale have really already signed on to do two more “Batman” movies, then count me in. In a summer of trash, this is a welcome surprise.

   
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