Now restarting this franchise was something that surely Christopher Nolan and the studio knew had to be done correctly. I thought at first that Bale was a stretch for Batman. He had smaller roles, in much smaller films, and then he was thrown into one of the most well known, and loved, super heroes of all time. I think that what they did with the Batman story gave much more depth than what was provided to movie goers with the batman movies of the 90's. Gave him a real purpose and reason to do what he is doing. I felt that the old batman movies he got turned into James Bond with a batsuit. Fighting crime just because, and having all the money for the gadgets and the women. Just like with the Transformers franchise, ignoring most of the previous fiction as to build the character the way they saw fit, was really the best way to reopen the franchise to a new audience. This batman universe has a much more real, tangible, and dark feel to it than before.
Now having Bruce Waynes parents killed by someone other than joker allows Nolan to create a Gotham City that is truly in disarray. There still has to be a central antagonist, but the city itself is as much an enemy as the "bad guy". Also building the character from the ground up, we are shown why Bruce eventually picks the bat as his symbol, not simply because it is a universally feared creature, but it is his own deepest fear that he is using against his enemies. The movie spends the better part of an hour, showing you Wayne's journey from childhood, to leaving Gotham, only to return again with his focus set. Still there are some people who hate this departure from what we "knew" Batman was before, and that is fine, because I think this version is much more real and successful.
The acting quality in this movie is outstanding. Not only do we have Bale playing batman, and playing it well. We have a supporting cast including Micheal Cane as Alfred, Liam Neeson as Ducard, Morgan Freeman as Lucious Fox, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Crane, as well as others. Nolan set out to surround Wayne by high quality acting to really make it seem like he was in the world we were told he was in. I could go on and on about Bales performance, and I know most people have seen the transformation he went through, but here it is again for perspective.
He was down to nearly 100 pounds for his role in "The Machinist". His next movie was Batman, which it has been said he was near 200 lbs. And then his latest film, "The Fighter" he was down to 120 lbs again, and the next film after that? That's right the next Batman installment. Incredible dedication to his craft. Now obviously not only was Bale essential to bringing back Batman, but Nolan continued his successful directorial works. Starting with "Momento" in 2000, he has made some of the most memorable, and popular movie of the last decade. Also directing "The Prestige", "The Dark Knight", and "Inception", five of Nolan's seven movies are in the top 100 movies, which is very impressive.
Overall this was a well produced, well acted, well directed ressurrection of the most popular super hero movie franchise of the last 30 years. If you are like me, and you enjoy watching a movie where the lead character makes his name by doing what he thinks is right, no matter the cost, no matter the pain, then it is a no-brainer and must be part of your collection.Rating: 4.8 Must see, must own.
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