Batman Begins initially struck me as an odd title for the fifth installment in the franchise; but after seeing, Batman Begins it makes perfect sense. This is the first Batman film that captures the essence of the Dark Knight. Motivated by grief, fear, anger and vengence, Batman was always the most complicated of the superheroes. None of the other movies captured that complication. Instead of looking to the comic for inspiration, they relied instead on the campy 60's series. In the process, the Batman movies became about everything other than Batman. They didn't examine, arguably, the most intriguing superhero; but used him as a backdrop, emphasizing the more 'colorful' villains: Joker, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Catwoman and even sidekicks like Robin and Batgirl. Batman Begins begins again ... at the beginning with young Bruce Wayne.

Little Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis) lives in opulent Wayne Manor with his kind and philanthropic billionaire parents (Linus Roache and Sara Stewart). Two episodes shape his young life. First, he falls down a well where he is attacked by a flock of bats which terrifies him. Shortly after, he witnesses the death of his parents - shot by a desperate street vagrant. Desperate to understand evil, Wayne becomes a student of it. As a restless, young man he travels the earth in search of something. But instead of finding his answer, his answer finds him - in the form of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), the mysterious leader of the League of Shadows, an advanced group of ninja warriors dedicated to maintaining balance in the world and upholding justice. He trains Bruce in the martial arts and to confront and overcome his fears. After falling out with his mentor, Bruce returns to Gotham determined to protect downtrodden good citizens from the legions of organized crime, led by Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkerson) around the city. In the process, he discovers a nefarious plot to poison unsuspecting Gothamites. Helping the new Dark Knight are his childhood sweetheart/Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), faithful manservant Alfred (Michael Caine), Detective Gordon (Gary Oldman) and inventor extraordinaire Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman).

Director Christopher Nolan takes Batman back to basics. First of all, there is a story here - an actual plot. Earlier movies have alluded to the Batman legend - his fear of bats and the tragic death of his parents - but the brief acknowledgement of these life-altering events is glossed over and hinted at usually in the form the obligatory flashback. Nolan and screenwriter, David S. Goyer, develop that critical story and effectively put the focus of Batman back on Batman. Having said that, I liked the fact that the villains were realistic and not distractingly 'larger than life'. No one wore tights!

 And there is acting, by real actors. I mean, the supporting cast are Oscar-winners (Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine), an Oscar-nominees (Liam Neeson) and a host of respected actors like Ken Wanatabe, Gary Oldman and Tom Wilkerson. Christian Bale (chilling and memorable in the brutal American Psycho) is the definitive Batman as far as I'm concerned. Keaton was a surprisingly good Batman (before the first Batman came out, I couldn't believe that the man who gave us Mr. Mom and Beetlejuice was going to play Batman). Clooney and Kilmer had the style but lacked the substance. Bale looks the part and acts it as well. In their defense, the other Batmans didn't have nearly as good a script or as juicy a story to bite into. In fact, they were, for the most part, relegated to playing second fiddle to the villain of the week. Here Bale gets to explore the dark side of the Dark Knight, and I for one, found it irresistible.

If there was one thing I could have done without, it was the 'love story'. The friendship/romance between Bruce and Rachel felt tacked on, like someone thought it should have been there. Plus, the scenes with Bale and Holmes fall flat.

I went with a friend to see Batman Begins. While I raved, she was a little less excited, calling it "good but not great." She missed the campy, cartoonish Batman and thought it was a little too dark. If you need to see Arnold Schwarzenegger in green tights or Jack Nicholson with a painted on grin, you'll probably share Catresa's view. But ..then again, Batman wasn't completely dark. I had a great time seeing the first batmobile and watching how the batsuit, the utility belt and the bat cave came into being.

Batman Begins is a great way to begin the summer movie season.