Batman Begins (2005)

Christopher Nolan shook up the busy superhero film genre with "Batman Begins." It is a dark, brooding, fascinating film that passes on over-blown special effects, and rather concentrates on character and story.

What a treat for us comic book nerds who during our teens and twenties followed such titles as "Legends of the Dark Knight" as if they were the books of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film, written by Nolan and David Goyer, follows with near exactitude the origins of Batman as told in the "Dark Knight" titles.

Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is the billionaire orphan of murdered parents who travels the world and puts himself into prison and then the hands of a mysterious vigilante group to train as a warrior. You know the rest: Wayne becomes Batman and fights for the soul of his Gotham City with a strict moral code of protecting all life.

Nolan, who made the genius "Mememto," "Following" and "Insomnia," casts well beyond any comic fan's dreams. Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne/Batman, the best ever. Gary Oldman is Gordon, the policeman/mentor. Michael Caine is Alfred the butler. Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson are the heavies. Also on board is Morgan Freeman as a weapons specialist, and Katie Holmes as a love interest/assistant district attorney. Holmes is the only miscasting here, but it's not her acting. As Rachel Dawes, she's just far too young for the part and this sticks out as a wide plot hole. She'd be in law school, not overseeing prosecution for a major city.

That aside, it's strange to say that a movie about a vigilante superhero who dresses in a dark rubber outfit to pound the tar out of criminals is realistic, but Nolan makes it feel real. After the last serious of Batman films crashed and burned ("Batman and Robin"), we get to see Batman as a darkened soul who feels he must become a vigilante to win back his city.

Wayne fails, stumbles and is injured along the way, and his personal life suffers as those closest to him debate the righteousness of meeting violence with violence. None of Burton's or Schumacher's films even tried for such drama. This is a gold standard for any comic adaptation -- character over effects, deep, meaningful themes and top notch direction. Nolan truly is one of the best talents we have working in Hollywood. A-