Batman Begins

I went to see Batman Begins last night and proved it just might be my favorite comic book adaptation yet. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that they got it right. Christian Bale did a great job as a tormented Bruce Wayne. Michael Caine was perfect as Alfred. In fact all the actors were perfectly cast (with Katie Holmes the only exception. Even though she did rub my head in a bar in NC, I do have to say she just seemed to naive to play a hardened assistant district attorney. She is a fine actress, but she didn't bring much to the part).

In my teenage years through my early twenties, I worked at a comic book store and at that time in my life, I read everything I could get my hands on. I loved the mythos of all these superheroes, in particular Batman. I remember my best friend in high school and I lining up for the first showing of Tim Burton's rendition of Batman and, with the old Christopher Reeve's Superman as my barometer, thinking, "wow they really nailed it".

Conversly, I remember a few years later seeing the Joel Schumacher version of the franchise and remember thinking how far it had fallen and was convinced that this would be the last Batman film for a long time.

But here it is, 8 years later and this film makes Tim Burton's Batman look campy. Years ago, I was really incredulous that Michael Keaton would make a good Batman, but after I saw the film, I thought there could be no better. Yet, Christian Bale does a great job capturing a young Bruce Wayne.

So before I geek out too much (too late), let me just say that if you are a fan of Batman, run out and see the movie. If you are a casual fan, add it to the list of summer movies you want to see, and go see it at your next opportunity. As for me, I can't wait to see it again.