I saw Batman Begins for the first time last night. I've been a fan of Christian Bale since American Pyscho and when I heard he was picked to be Bruce Wayne I thought the fit was perfect, especially after seeing his performance in Equilibrium. He didn't disappoint and as soon as he was on screen he WAS Bruce Wayne. I enjoyed the supporting cast - I'll watch Oldman in anything, Freeman, Neeson and Hauer were just right. They weren't exceptional or stand out performances, if anything they were type cast, but it didn't matter, the roles were right. Even Michael Caine, who I've never liked, fit perfectly. I'll even be controversial and say I didn't even see what was wrong with Holmes' performance.
The film itself was how Batman should be. Memories of ...Forever and ...Robin give me a headache but ...Begins redeems the franchise. The script/plot was well worked out and I particularly liked the sequencing of the flashbacks, mixing different times up and not treating the audience as idiots. Though I can imagine those that prefer to watch the chronological version of the Godfather may have been troubled :p
The relatively inexperienced Nolan does a fine job. He's developed a cult for himself through Memento (of which I haven't seen) and this film should add to his future potential legacy.
