Batman Begins

This is my VERY FIRST Epinions.com review, so please bear with me . . . .

BATMAN BEGINS is by far the very best Batman movie -- ever. This is my opinion, of course -- and I'm sure others may disagree. But I have found that the more I watch it, the more I realize that I agree even more with my initial opinion.

I love the fact that this movie was more true to the actual Batman comics -- it was consistent with the story of the origin of Batman. I liked that it was more serious than some of the other Batman movies. Now, I loved the Batman movie from 1989, but after watching Batman Begins several times this summer, I realized just how "cartoony" and kind of silly some of the other Batman movies were.

I absolutely loved the choice of Christian Bale as Batman; in my opinion, he is the best Batman I have ever seen on screen. I don't care that he isn't American -- heck, I don't care that this film was made in England, and had an English director, as well as several British/English actors. In my opinion, they kicked butt with this presentation of such a huge American icon -- you would never know that the Batman presented in this movie involved the work of many/mostly "non-American" people. I hope they all return to work on the next Batman movie -- especially Bale and Nolan (the director).

I have seen before that some people complain about the choppy fight scenes, but I actually liked that about the film. In my opinion, the fact that the fighting was "choppy" helps elevate the mystery and strength of the Batman.

I loved the performances of Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman in this movie -- they have such talent, and I'm happy they agreed to participate in this film. I think their presence also elevates this movie in many respects.

The ONLY "con" I can think of is the same one that struck me the very first time I watched the film: two of the actors seem way too young for the roles they are playing. Katie Holmes and Cillian Murphey are the actors I am referring to. Don't get me wrong -- I actually enjoyed Murphey's acting in this film, but he just looked too young to be Dr. Crane. Holmes' acting is "so-so"; she's not my favorite actress; she did okay, I guess. But she also looks too young for her role.

All in all -- this film is well worth the time to watch it. I think that even if you aren't someone super familiar with Batman, you should really enjoy this film. And if you are a Batman fan -- you will definitely be thrilled by this latest adaptation.