Some say that brevity is the soul of wit, and as such I shall sum up my opinion on Batman Begins in a single word: good. It wasn't the best movie I've seen this year, but it was certainly still worth the admission price. And I know that I shouldn't really qualify a single word review, but then I'm not really witty anyway. There was lots to like. Fans of Tim Burton's earlier Batman films will be pleased by the return to gothic stylings. Fans of the comic books will probably find this to be the most faithful adaptation of the Batman character so far. Though I can't personally testify to that effect, having almost no exposure to said comics. Moving on, fans of the latest Batman & Robin movie - wait, I don't think there are any. And if there were, we wouldn't want to listen to them anyway. Because they'd be insane. Any movie where the best performance is turned in by Ahnold Schwarzenegger has a serious problem. And it's called Batgirl. At least in this case. But enough dwelling on the past.
I hope you want to talk specifics, 'cause that's what I'm all about at this point. I think the whole fear theme of the movie was done rather well. I also thought they did a really good job with the villains, especially given what they had to work with. And the casting was a thousand times better than anything from Batman Forever, where Frank Gorshin's venerable Riddler was riddled with holes by the ridiculous Jim Carrey. I also though the villainous plot in Batman Begins was right up there with the old Smylex gas. It left me with a smile on my face. Also much like Smylex! Finally, because I sometimes nitpick, I like that there were actually people in Gotham City. I was always annoyed by the completely empty streets that were shown in Batman & Robin, as if the only vehicles that were on the road belonged to Batman or his foes. Saving a city doesn't seem so heroic when by all appearances, it's already been evacuated. And if the people realised what sort of movie Batman & Robin really was, I'm sure they'd do everything possible to make themselves scarce.
That said, I do have a few small complaints. Starting with the new Batmobile. First of all, I understand that the build of a tank is really more pragmatic for Batman's purposes. He's all about the smashing. But still. The new Batmobile? Lacks style. Big time. And it will never match the cool of Tim Burton's Batmobile, or even the campy Batmobile from the sixties. In fact, this new Batman could learn a lot from the old television series. What about Chief O'Hara? What about the ineffectiveness of Commissioner Gordon? WHAT ABOUT THE ALF-CYCLE?! Because for those of us who watched this series, the true legacy of Batman will always begin with Adam West.
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