> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# ‘Batman’: A hero flick that’s super
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/walk-with-a-cane/
- Published: 2005-06-17T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:15:57.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

“Batman Begins,” and does so at a bit too leisurely a clip, but after completing a seven-year vision quest to the remote reaches of the globe (that exhausts roughly 20-odd minutes of film time), Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns to Gotham City determined to rid the place of evil. And that’s when Christopher Nolan’s kick-ass film kicks into high gear. The “Batman” franchise began impressively under the direction of Tim Burton (“Batman,” “Batman Returns”), then burnt to the ground on Joel Schumacher’s watch (“Batman Forever,” “Batman & Robin”). Along the way several leading men have donned the form-fitting batsuit, beginning with Michael Keaton and followed, with diminishing returns, by Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Kudos to Nolan for lifting the series up out of the ashes and restoring the mojo of the Dark Knight created by legendary comic book artist Bob Kane. “Batman Begins” is a visual marvel with a fantastic cast and a compelling storyline unlike any seen in previous superhero films. So completely does the star embody the spirit of Kane’s shadowy, conflicted antihero, any debate over who’s the best big screen Batman has been rendered meaningless. From here on out, the role belongs to Christian Bale.

There’s villainy a’plenty — within the city and the Wayne family business — and young Bruce has got the skills to pay the bills, thanks to some intensive martial arts instruction he received from the League of Shadows, a mysterious mountain-bound vigilante group led by the mustachioed Ducard (Liam Neeson) and ninja-like Ra’s al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). Batman’s a head case, though, haunted by nightmares about his wealthy parents’ murder. Fortunately, our hero’s got his trusted servant Alfred (Michael Caine) by his side, and a comely childhood friend named Rachel (Katie Holmes) who helps him make a distinction between vengeance and justice. Unlike previous, more debonair incarnations, Bale’s Batman isn’t the sort to go ga-ga over a gal when there are bad guys to be disposed of — particularly the uber creepy psychiatrist Jonathan Crane (“28 Days Later” star Cillian Murphy) — so there’s little love interest in the obligatory love interest. Batman prefers to hang out with the last good cop in Gotham (the great Gary Oldman) and a wily old engineer, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who provides him with high-tech gadgetry such as the tank-like Batmobile. “Batman Begins” clocks in at a hefty two-and-a-half hours, and there’s little doubt audiences will enjoy every minute of it. (Rated PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements. Running time: 150 minutes).

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 17, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)