Batman Begins lands in the odd world called "summer films that are highly hyped, but don't suck because they are wicked awesome." It wasn't like Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, a prequel which (supposedly) tied up all the loose ends of the Holy Trilogy (Ben Kenobi doesn't remember R2 in New Hope ? WTF ?) or one of the big budget Marvel flicks. Batman Begins is also (thank God) nothing remotely close to the last two Batman disasters.
The film breaks down like this. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is an emotionally troubled man dealing with the death of his philanthropist parents somewhere snowy and filled with Asian-looking people. He meets up with the mysterious Ducard (Liam Neeson), who does not look Asian, but teaches him the ways of the justice-seeking ninja. Wayne returns to Gotham to " ...strike fear into the hearts of those who prey on those who are fearful." While there, the movie focuses on him hanging out with his butler (Sir Michael Caine), listening to Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) talk out of the side of her mouth about justice, and kicking butt. Car chases and exploding neighborhoods ensue.
The thing that totally makes this movie turn it out is the cast, the writing, and the fact that the story was well done. The cast is wicked awesome. Christian Bale is arguably as good a Bruce Wayne / Batman as Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton. He played the playboy / brooding milionare character well. Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Sir Michael Caine's characters were well written and well acted. Above all this film had a plot that focused on a long timeline yet moved quickly and thoroughly through all the details.
To sum it all up, Batman Begins is the way comic book movies should be. Great story, great characters and great thrills.
