Wednesday, I saw Batman Begins. Now, there are many films coming out this summer, and there are about four or five I really want to see. I'm especially psyched for War of the Worlds, but as I went in for Batman, I didn't know what to expect. My expectations weren't massively high like they were for going into ROTS, in fact, I didn't really have any expectations. I went in totally open-minded. I was blown away. SPOILERS AHEAD.

The film opens in a most unusual way, with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) ragged and broken down in the Steppes of Asia, in a Chinese Prison Camp. He meets with Henri Ducard,( a flawless Liam Neeson), who knows who he truly is. Wayne travels to a mountaintop fortress in which Ducard and his master, Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) promise to train him to fight injustice and criminals and learn the ninja ways as a member of the League of Shadows.

Through flashback we learn Bruce's backstory, how he was as a child, and how he got to where he is. The flashbacks with his parents and their murder were emotional and superb, as was an encounter with a young policeman named James Gordon (Gary Oldman) who will later be seen as a Lieutenant. We see Bruce as a vengeful young man, with only his butler Alfred and his childhood friend Rachel (Michael Caine and Katie Holmes in great roles) to guide him. We see Bruce's anger at the corruption that plagues Gotham and the control of crime upon the city, especially by that of ultimate crime boss Falcone (Tom Wilkinson, in another great performance).

This very unconventional style for a comic book movie works so well, it feels like a movie in the real world. The art direction and design for Gotham are also very well done. And when Bruce finally puts on the batsuit, seeing him design it and construct the Batcave are so well done. The action sequences are also amazing, including a chase scene with the new Batmobile, which is far more awesome than any previous incarnations. Also look for great performances from Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox (the designer of much of Batman's gear and the Batmobile), Rutger Hauer as Richard Earle, the executive of Wayne Enterprises, and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane aka The Scarecrow.

By the time the film wraps up, I was in awe of how great it was. Christopher Nolan directed it perfectly, and a combine effort of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard deliver a musical score far superior to even Danny Elfman's works in the earlier films.

Go see this film....NOW!

By the way, those more astute may have notice the picture has nothing to do with the article. But I like it.