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From there, Bruce builds his Bat Cave, spray paints artillery armor black, and even grinds his own bat-shaped throwing stars. For a geek like myself, this preparation sequence is pure glee—we actually see a determined Bruce Wayne becoming Batman. But what makes this more than just a "Where's Waldo" game of bat-toys coming together is that you learn a great deal about Batman's character by his reasoning for even little things. Unlike Batman movies of the past, Nolan's film concentrates on function over form. All of Bruce's decisions have a purpose in telling his story—they don't just look cool. For instance, the Batmobile is chosen because it was built for heavy fire and to jump large rivers (it even has GPS to navigate its landings). And the bat-cape—in contrast to the non-caped outfits in The Incredibles—is a necessary safety feature. Even Bruce's playboy image and the people he surrounds himself with—his own Q (Morgan Freeman) and good cop James Gordon (Gary Oldman)—are carefully constructed tools in the birth of Batman.

Not your daddy's sleek Batmobile, it's more like a souped-up Hummer

Because of Nolan and co-writer David Goyer's concentration on telling the story of how a guy could actually choose to become a costumed crime-fighter, and because they're showing a real person, this is the best Batman film yet. In fact, it resets Warner's Batman series back to square one by rewriting key story points and opening it to more than just die-hard Batman fans. Instead, it's just a good, compelling story. The movie does lose a little steam when not squarely focused on Wayne's growth—the final act, when the movie descends into pretty typical comic book action, is the film's weakest. But that is probably only because it's the only time the film feels at all conventional. Instead, the film by and large delivers with captivating writing, genuine surprises, deep emotion and sharp humor.

The smartest move in Batman Begins' production was to put the script in the hands of Oscar-winning actors and seasoned veterans. The cast is all around brilliant. There's no Batman Forever-upstaging. Instead, each actor creates a fully-developed character to add to the whole. Bale is solid at the center of the movie—though he's better at portraying the many dimensions of Bruce Wayne than at portraying Batman, who at times comes off a tad goofy. While all of the supporting actors could be praised, the most credit goes to Caine for providing the movie's heart as Alfred.

The dark knight is a man on a mission

Unlike Batman movies of the past, the villains don't exist to steal the show. Instead, they propel the story. Crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) rules the streets with fear and unflinching resolve. Creepy Dr. Crane (Cillian Murphy) is scaring people batty with a secret toxin. And there's a looming threat from the mysterious Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) who believes that, like overgrown trees, sometimes civilizations need to be trimmed by a pruning fire. Because of the Batman franchise's history of clogging movies with too many movie-stealing villains with stupid schemes, this trio of terror worried me at first. But it turns out that it all adds up to a sinister plot that makes sense—sure, it is extreme, but it is no more than a terrorist plot conceived by some extremists who are convinced they are right.

Because of the weight of the story, there are some provoking questions raised in Batman Begins: What is the difference between revenge and justice? When does compassion become a weakness if your enemies don't show it? What inspires people to rise above the standard? Why must all men fall? When is fear a good thing?

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Guilt and Grace in Gotham City	Printer view
Batman, the only fully human superhero, usually saves the day, but sometimes he doesn't. We can forgive him these occasional failures, but can he forgive himself? More importantly, can he save himself?