OK, guys, spill the beans... how did you like the new "Batman" movie?

I absolutely loved it - great cast (including one of the best actors ever, Christian Bale - who never looked better, i.e. "healthier" *g*); credible story (well, if you can talk about credibility when the movie involves a superhero...); good dialogue. They could have done without Katie Holmes, though, but that's just my opinion - I don't like her, that's all....

Just one thing confused me: I seem to remember that in the first Batman movie (the Tim Burton one starring Michael Keaton) it becomes clear that Joker killed Bruce's parents... did they change that for a certain purpose, or did they just plainly forget about it? What's the situation like in the original comic books (which I never read)?

First off, I loved this film as well. It was so realistic, surprisngly so, considering that it is a superhero film. I thought everybody was great, especially Liam Neesom as you know who, and that dude who played the scarecrow. The effect they did with distorting the camera whenver he sprayed someone with fear dust was great. The fight scenes were somewhat lacking in style, but that's OK, because the movie was going for realism.

Its true that in 'Batman' the Joker (Jack Napier) killed Bruce Waynes parents. The thing is that Batman Begins is unifiliated with any of those films. Christopher Nolan, the director, wanted to create his own style and and story fot the film so he made it as seperate and differnt from the other movies as possible.

I loved it! But then, Batman was my superhero of choice when I was a kid.

I was confused about the storyline as well re: the joker and his parents. Also, wasn't Commissioner Gordon against Batman in the beginning and considered him to be a menace? However, I think I liked this storyline better. The casting and the acting were great.

Huge fan here - obviously this is one of a series, assuming things go well (which they are), and Nolan has done a pretty solid job laying the groundwork. I'm not sure exactly what direction some of the characters have to head in (like Freeman's character, as an essential Q), but others were done well, like Alfred the Butler. Plus Nolan focused on Batman himself, and despite the fact he doesn't have powers, villains didn't steal the spotlight. I think the romance with Dawes is a little early as it was weak in the film, and the fight sequences were a bit jumbled (Nolan is obviously better with character then action, which is fine with me) but overall, quite a good production. IMO if this develops into a trilogy, it will be about on par with the X-Men films, and probably a tad better than Spidey and the gang.