Batman Begins (2005) -vs- Batman (1989)

Batman was always one of my favorite comic book heroes growing up. But there was always something not-quite-right about the way they chose to portray him. There was the goofy, camp Adam West TV-version but, back then, the comics version wasn't much better. DC was into pretty tame stuff, compared to Marvel.

Batman is supposed to be dark and gritty, and they started giving that to us in the comics in the 70s and 80s. So when Tim Burton's Batman was coming out, we might have expected that. Instead, we got a Tim Burton film. 

What's funny is that as I sat waiting for Batman Begins to start, one of the previews was for Tim Burton's Chocolate Factory re-make and, to me, it looked God-awful. All of Burton's films exist in an alternative universe that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't -- but they're never real. I'm not really a fan.

But the choice for Batman Begins was to tell the story with a straight face, to make it real on its own terms. Finally, they have made the movie the way it needed to be made. I could pick at certain choices, and there are some logic demons that still puzzle, but the overall effect works. It was thrilling.

Batman Begins. Because it's about damn time for Batman to end.