Batman Begins ****

Imagine that the gods of comic book-inspired movies saw what has become of the Batman franchise and rained down their wrath upon the masses. The palette has been cleansed, and Batman has begun anew. This time around, they did it right. Gone are the utterly rediculous theatrics of the 60s camp-style Batman films. Gone are the nipples on the Batsuit, thankfully! Gone are the super fantasy elements that made Batman a joke. This time, we see a real human being fighting injustice in a bat suit, but it is much more believeable. The story is handled in a realistic manner, and the movie feels very real. It is hard-hitting, and visceral. Acting all around is excellent. Michael Caine is inspiring as Alfred. Liam Neeson kicks all kind of butt in his super cool role. Christian Bale is perfect as the young Bruce Wayne. His origin story is compelling, and we are not left shifting in our seats, waiting for him to just put on the bat suit and start kicking evil's butt. We are kept glued to our seats, eager to know how and why.

The music is also very well done. It was a joint effort by two very well known composers, Hanz Zimmer, and James Newton Howard.

The biggest nitpick I have with the movie is the handling of the action sequences. In most of them, the camera is very close to the action, and the cuts are quick and dizzying. Batman has learned many powerful fighting arts, and we don't get to see him use his skills. Everything is such a blur, you can't even follow Batman, which is a real shame, because his brand of scum-cleansing justice is what makes him a terror to the crime world around him. Instead, we are blasted with a whole lot of nothing. I like to remember the fight between 006 and 007 in Goldeneye. It was fast, yet we could see the hits, and how two well trained fighters would handle eachother. Sadly, we don't get to see that here. On the upside, that is only one downside to this great film.

Batman Begins is sure to make a killing at the box office, and rightfully so. Go see it!

Click here for the official site, and to see some killer flash animation.