gamezcraze-28257 It sickened me in the past to see the Batman movie franchise slowly digging it's way to an early grave. After the quality Tim Burton films, the series pretty much went down the toilet, beginning a horrifically campy age of 'Bat credit-cards' and an armored Arnold Schwarzenegger tossing cringe-worthy puns at a Batman who seemed to be trying not to be embarrassed by the fact that his costume had nipples. So what could Warner Brothers producers hope to do to resurrect the franchise? Pretend it never happened, and start the whole series over again with a talented director, compelling story and capable cast. Enter Christopher Nolan, the mastermind behind 2000's 'Momento', widely praised as one of the most innovative films of the decade. As director/co- screenwriter, Nolan creates a richly dark, atmospheric world for Batman to inhabit, similar to that of the Burton films, but less cartoony. The film's screenplay, written by Nolan and David S. Goyer is quality stuff, it's true that some of the dialog exchanges can seem kind of contrived, particularly between Wayne and Liam Neeson's character, Ducard, but it sounds so classy you tend not to care. Nolan also puts a lot of trust in his audiences to stay put while the first hour of the film comprehensively explores Bruce Wayne's backstory, with no cape donning and few fight sequences. Nevertheless, the pace never slows, and the story is so unexpected and fascinating (who would have expected a Batman film to begin in a prison in Tibet? only Nolan could pull it off!) there's little chance of us losing interest. And this way, we really get a sense of who Bruce Wayne is, a trait none of the past movies were able to capture, including the Burton films. We see what drives him, what leads him to become this iconic crime fighter, and the reasoning behind the mask.Of course, to help the audience get under Bruce Wayne's skin, it doesn't hurt to have such a talented lead as Christian Bale. Bale has been emerging as one of the most talented actors of his generation, and he brings that talent to a peak here, playing the darkest of all superheroes. If you were to break down the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, you would find that it is essentially three characters: Wayne as Batman, behind the mask; Wayne's public facade as the billionaire playboy; and the real, brooding Bruce Wayne. Bale plays all three of the characters to absolute perfection, and molds them together well enough to make it clear to show they are still the same person. He has been given tons of accolades for his performance already, and needless to say, he deserves every one.And the sheer quality of the supporting cast is mind-boggling, if for the number of big names only. It's very hard to find a weak spot in the incredibly strong array of performances here, but if one had to be found, it would have to be Katie Holmes. It's not that she gives a bad performance, on the contrary, but just she seems too young to be convincing as a district attorney. For me, Michael Gough will always be the definitive Alfred, but Michael Caine does an excellent job of taking over the role, giving a very strong (and often funny) performance. Liam Neeson is sheer class as Ducard, Wayne's mysterious mentor, as is Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Wayne's arms manufacturer and provider of the Batman gear. It's wonderful to see the incredibly talented and much underrated Gary Oldman as Sgt. Gordon, the only decent cop in Gotham, and he truly makes the role his own. Even cult favorite Rutger Hauer makes an appearance as Richard Earle, the ambitious head of Wayne Enterprises. And (surprise surprise!) the villains are also actually menacing for once, as opposed to cartoony and corny. Cillian Murphy just about walks away with the show as the truly chilling Scarecrow (the sequences involving his 'fear gas' are surprisingly frightening) Ken Watanabe is mysterious and creepy as guild leader Ra's Al Ghul and Tom Wilkinson is very convincing as Carmine Falcone, head of the Gotham city mob. Nolan's knack for realism also comes as a breath of fresh air in this age of CGI bloated blockbusters - there are next to no computer generated shots in the movie, even a sequence with Batman standing on top of a high building staring down at the city was filmed with a stuntman. And it really works, the Batmobile actually interacts with it's environment, and looks so much better real than computer generated. But don't think that the film will come across as too serious and stuffy because of Nolan's realism - true, Gotham seems too dark and dirty to come across as a fantasy world, but Batman Begins retains that unmistakable sense of fun that seems to only be present in comic book movies. We jeer and fear the villains, and cheer the hero as he lays his life on the line to vanquish evil and save the city. And that is how it should be. There's even a surprising twist near the end, which is doubly surprising because it actually comes as a shock. What's not to love here?(and, further cudos to director Nolan for finally managing to make a swarm of bats actually frightening for once)Overall, I'd have to label Batman Begins 'The must see movie of the summer' - it's a well written, authoritatively directed, impeccably acted (especially by Bale's powerhouse lead performance and Cillian Murphy's sickly menacing Scarecrow) and very high quality production. Indeed, most other summer blockbusters could learn a thing or two from Batman Begins. If the Batman franchise died under it's own gaudiness years ago, let us rejoice this glorious rebirth - Batman truly does begin here.-10/10

realgamesandsam I think that this movie is a masterpiece and should have been the winner of the 2016 Oscar best screen play. I don't understand why people don't like this movie. people who dislike this movie should jump off a cliff. would recommend.

Ian (Flash Review)Everyone, absolutely everyone involved with this should hang their head in shame. Slight exception for Uma Thurman. Although under normal circumstances she may have overacted a bit, at least she appeared to be trying. Arnold was miscast as Dr. Freeze and his approach was to just be John Matrix from Commando. His dialog was pretty much all one-liners. Yes, this is Arnold but it was a bit much for a movie where he isn't just a one-man-show; his bread and butter. It wasn't just Arnold, the whole script could have been written better by a drunk college kid 'minoring' in English. I cracked grimaces rather than a smiles from the comedy. For how massive a budget this had, I was stunned by how unconvincing the special effects were and how terrible, brash and immature the lighting was. The story had as much tension as a soggy noodle which was about Mr. Freeze attempting to freeze Gotham until he stole enough money to fund a cure for his disease-stricken wife. And Poison Ivy, a plant-loving villain who throws wrenches into Batman and Robin's plans and partnership while teaming up with Mr. Freeze (of course) for reasons that escape me. Throw in a whinny Robin, Batgirl as an afterthought, costumes with unnecessary nipples, bad directing, high school quality sets, muddled story, effects on par with 1980's Superman (15+ years later) and that is how you lose truckloads of cash in Hollywood.

stormhawk2018 I'm not a Batman hardcore fan, but it seems to be a mass assault on IMDb of reviewers who downvoting the reviews that speak the truth about this movie, and upvoting anyone praising it. I honestly wonder if Joel Schumacher is personally paying those IMDb trolls to do this in exchange of bucks.Before his debut, Schumacher (not the F1 racer) was so sure, but so sure that he was going to have tremendous success, that he was already preparing a continuation, that he had signed the main ones a contract for his continuation that already had title: Batman Triumphant (which should have premiered in 1999, celebrating Batman's 60th anniversary).It transformed a Gothic city from dark to turn it into a gay nightclub, full of neon lights, imposing male statues, etc. I saw a promo of this film, in which its director boasted that he had read all the Batman comics and knew very well how to take this character to the movies, I do not really know what kind of comic this man has seen, there are Batman comics , According to the time of publication and this bullshit of film, will be anything but a Batman film. Starting with George Clooney, he puts on his beating face at all times, either as Bruce Wayne or Batman, for him it gives him the same, Robin, extremely hateful, this character all he does is tantrums, is very plaintive. The villain that Mr. Freeze has nothing, he just says jokes, smiling at every moment, always with a phrase more stupid than the other, and also erroneous, for his suit, no comments. Uma Thurman, was over the top; Alicia Silverstone, the worst choice for a Batgirl, a character who also should never have been on the screen, just to know a couple of judo moves, and is already Batgirl enters the cave and already has its own Batsuit, knows how to use all the Bat-tools and vehicles and knows where is the lair of the villains. And for Bane, it's not worth mentioning, he is just a masked goon, grunting like Frankenstein's monster; and he is easy to defeat pulling the tubes connected on his head. It's said that it is a film made to the spirit of the series from 1965, please, this series has its charm and is better than this swill.Where is the Batman of Burton comics and films? The one who, in order to catch the villains, had to do detective work, as Mr. Nolan. Where is that Batman, who never lets himself be photographed, that Batman that hides in the night? From Batman Forever, who poses for newspapers, comes out on magazine covers, and here he goes to brothel parties, he just had to do the Batusi.Joel Schumacher with this film, happened to be a visionary man, ahead of his time, Why? For the simple fact that filmmakers such as Scary Movie, Hero Movie, etc., do not have to perform their "Batman Movie", Schumacher is ahead of them.1. Close-ups to the butts? Nipples in the suits? What sissy! Why did not they also put on nipples to Batgirl? 2. Acrobatic jumps and choreographies in the style Disney on Ice? And special effects taken out from Power Rangers?3. Sounds of caricatures for blows, falls, etc. I just need to put the Boom! Crash! Pow! 4. Bat-credit card? That was a total insult to fans and common sense. 5. Buddy cars tuned with lights of a thousand colors? The speakers were missing.This film is just abysmal. Please, avoid this film to all cost.