If you’re like me, you’ve lost all faith in Batman movies. No one can top Michael Keaton as Batman, and as people saw, a big name actor doesn’t necessarily mean a big Batman movie. Anyone heard from Val Kilmer or Chris O’Donnell lately? I didn’t think so. In case you forgot, Kilmer and O’Donnell played Batman and Robin in Batman Forever. Don’t remember the movie? Don’t worry; you’re not the only one.

As redemption to all horrible Batman movies, Batman Begins came out this summer. The movie stars Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson and was directed by Christopher Nolan. Be warned though, this Batman movie is dark. Some people might call it depressing, but life in Gotham is not all butterflies and kittens. I think that being such a dark movie is what makes Batman Begins so great.

Bruce Wayne, a.k.a Batman, played by Bale, developed a paranoia for bats at an early age. Later in life, he suffered from the death of his mother and father as they’re gunned down outside an opera. We don’t know how Bruce Wayne ended up in prison, but Neeson’s character gets him out. Wayne trains at a school of ninjas before he returns to Gotham.

He finds Gotham full of crime, corruption and poverty, and vows to change it back to the way it was when his father was alive. With the help of Freeman’s character, an inventor at his father’s company, he comes up with the Batman suit and all the crazy gadgets that a superhero has. The villain in this movie is a psychiatrist who uses a hallucinogenic gas that causes people to see their worst fear come to life. He uses this gas to gain power and make people more insane than what they already are. The psychotic psychiatrist plans to release the gas to the population of Gotham to give him control over the city. A psychotic psychiatrist, how ironic is that? There’s a huge twist at the end of the movie. So huge, that you don’t see it coming.

Of course, I’m not going to tell you what it is. You have to watch to find out.

Batman saves the day, of course, but it wasn’t as easy as one might think. The fight for Gotham is dirty and at times, you don’t know who’s going to win. After Batman saves the city, Gotham’s chief of police shows him who his next villain is. I’m sure everyone in the theater silently cheered as the chief flips over a playing card with the joker on it. Viewers everywhere know that there will be another Batman movie and that Batman will be fighting against The Joker. I can’t wait to see who Warner Bros. gets to play The Joker. Honestly, I think that I’ll be disappointed, because no one in my mind can top Jack Nicholson as The Joker.

I recommend this movie to everyone! Not a fan of comic book movies? I don’t care, go see Batman Begins. Didn’t like any of the past Batman movies? Then you definitely got to see Batman Begins. If you don’t remember anything from this article, remember these three words: “Watch Batman Begins.”