Finally saw it last night. Absolutely loved it.
I thought Christian Bale was wonderfully cast. He worked equally well for the Bruce Wayne persona and Batman, and he was able to pull off a younger Bruce Wayne who was so bitter and disillusioned then mature into the older, more confident Bruce.
What I especially loved was how this movie was grounded in reality. Well, reality in as much as it involved a man who flew around in a batsuit.
Gotham came across as a real city that might honestly exist in the world we know. Too, the villains weren't campy (dressed in guady purple suits or so deformed as to be a cartoon character a la The Penguin). If this franchise continues into sequels, I hope they keep the villains "real" - have good excuses why they are called The Joker and Catwoman and The Penguin that don't involve ridiculous costumes.
Loved, loved loved Alfred. He and Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox provided the perfect amount of comic relief.
I was only the tiniest bit disappointed that Katie Holmes/Rachel didn't prove to be a love interest in the end. I mean, I always love a good helping of romance in my movies, but this wasn't about romance so it didn't bother me so much. The last Batman installments insisted on pairing Bruce/Batman with a girl and working the dual identity/revelation angle a little too often.
My only problem, and this could be the fault of the theatre I went too, was that the score was very, very loud. Quite often it drowned out critical dialogue, and during action scenes you could barely stand the extreme volume.
I agree with Anna about the fight scenes. I kept wanting the camera to pan back so I could see what the heck was going on.
Best of all, my husband was really against going to see this because he had so much disliked the previous Batmans, especially III and IV. I kept trying to convince him this was completely different, and I felt vindicated when he claimed this was by far the best Batman he'd ever scene.
So...when's that remake of Superman coming out?
Lynn
