Batman Begins

*****
UK Release Date: June 16th 2005

After training with his mentor, Batman begins his war on crime to free the crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption that the Scarecrow and the League of Shadows have cast upon it.

Director: Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia)

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

Everyone must be familiar with Christopher Nolan's epic Dark Knight trilogy by now. This is neither a sequel or a prequel to the previous Batman films. Nolan decided to revamp the franchise. No one suspected this new take to be darker or even better than the 89' original.

Nolan is experienced at dealing with psychological issues (Memento and Insomnia both cover it) and is if not the best to tackle Bruce Wayne's troubled past. Through a number of flashbacks we see how the young Bruce picks up his fear, the inevitable ending of his parents (which stays true to the comics) and how he gains martial arts training from the League of Shadows (led by the fearsome Liam Neeson).

Batman Begins has no lead villain but a few with smaller roles. This helps to keep the attention on Bruce Wayne/Batman and the people around him. This is Christian Bale's moment to shine and he is faultless in this role. His ability to show a level of psychological instability and a need for revenge against the criminal underworld of Gotham City makes him the most interest character on screen at all times.

The other cast members do a terrific job supporting Bale. In order for Bruce to become Batman, he needs the money and a place to keep his identity safe. Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) is in charge of research and development at Wayne Enterprises. He handles all of Bruce's finances, whilst his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) acts like a surrogate father and cares for his well-being.  

If he's to take on the criminals of Gotham City, he's also going to need to recruit some help. Batman relies on the only good cop in the city, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and childhood sweetheart turned lawyer Rachel (Katie Holmes). Rachel is just as much a love interest as she is an associate.

Now Batman wouldn't be Batman without attracting crazy villains. Tom Wilkinson performs well as kingpin Carmine Falcone and Cillian Murphy racks up the crazy a notch as Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a the Scarecrow. He unleashes his powerful fear hallucinogen to manipulate situations.

It's great to see DC giving Marvel a hard time as the best comic book studio in the film industry. It looks like Batman has taken the lead as the best superhero on the big screen.

Overview: If you're a superhero movie fan then you'll be hooked from the first minute. It takes well over an hour for us to see the new bat, but this is no problem, as the dialogue and drama are instantly absorbing.