Batman Begins

I’ve seen this movie so many times, although it has been a long while. It’s unfortunately impossible to recreate surprise and suspense in a film I know back to front, so it’s not quite as fun on rewatch.

This is the best intro to a Batman series ever made, even though it gets overshadowed by its sequel, The Dark Knight. The cast is incredible, with Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine leading the way. The villains are well acted, even though they are standard Batman villains just trying to watch the world burn for no real personal benefit.

As far as the storyline, Nolan does an excellent job of building Batman up from the beginning without skimping on the main story. Wayne’s journey from college student to superhero is told in a surprisingly believable way, making his character leaps and bounds more developed than any other Batman that’s been on the big screen. Bale’s Batman also has an excellent take on Bruce Wayne, as he shows the difficulty in maintaining a public persona to pair with his alter ego. The side plots with Wayne Enterprises and his relationship with Katie Holmes are great additions as well.

It’s an excellent beginning to a superhero franchise. It gets a well deserved 9.