Batman Begins

REVIEW
Director Nolan (Memento) takes a long-in-the-tooth series that had been veering towards camp and with honest characters, an extremely compelling story line and a touch of gravity -- but without betraying its comic book roots or losing any sense of fun -- has created a Batman that soars to new heights. Looking at the genesis of the Dark Knight's evolution from vigilante to legend, the story examines the "who, what, where and why" of what drove orphaned, millionaire Bruce Wayne to become Batman. It's all here: his parents' death, his childhood fears, Alfred (limned by a debonair Caine), menacing villains, Commissioner Gordon (without the promotion, yet), and the near-obsessive desire to fight crime. Like Clark Kent in Superman, Wayne must first leave home to hone his powers and, eventually, accept his fate. These scenes, with Neeson as a demanding taskmaster, are thrilling and set the tone for the many battles to come. Freeman adds just the right touch of slyness as a scientist who befriends the Caped Crusader and his alter ego, and Murphy's fiendish doc is a formidable foe. (Of a large, talented ensemble, only Holmes as Wayne's childhood friend seems out of synch.) Imaginative, smart, exciting and often brilliant, Batman Begins is also aptly titled, for all the other films were merely an appetizer for the full-course that has finally arrived.