Batman Begins

I'm sorry. I can't help myself. I'm fascinated by Batman. Agree or disagree with me all you want, but it's this blogger's opinion that Christopher Nolan has outdone himself, and Christian Bale has secured a position for an A-list career with his depiction of Batman (well, okay, Patrick Bateman was a pretty solid role for him as well, but he hasn't done much since). I liked Michael Keaton as Batman too, but there is no way MK could ever make me salivate the way CB did when he dropped topless to the ground to do a round of effortless push-ups. ::Sigh:: I give it 3.5 cookies. Why?

A. Christian Bale is as hot as Bruce Wayne as he is as Batman (I know 'lead actor hotness' is not a typical reason to give a movie a high rating, but it's definitely a cookie-factor) .
B. Gotham city, although still somewhat cartoon-like, has a much better 'true-cosmopolitan' appearance than in previous verions. The panoramic skyline view is great - gives you the impression it's even bigger than NYC.
C. The characters actually have a bit of complexity to them. Michael Caine is loveable as the fatherly Alfred; Cillian Murphy just 'looks' like a psychopath with those girly features and misty-blue eyes; Ken Watanabe is perfect as the token-asian-ninja-guy... No one else could have been cast in Morgan Freeman's role as the 'you-can-tell-me-how-it-is-but-i-still-won't-play-by-the-rules-cause-i'm-a-bad-ass-and-i-win-oscars-for-it, in-your-face inventor. And Christian Bale nails Bruce Wayne with his pretty boy exterior but uber-complex set of mostly-believable and well-scripted emotional conflicts.
D. The mystery of the bat-cave and 'why Batman' are solved, and solved believably (understanding that this is by no means a 'realistic' concept to begin with).
E. There is an interesting morality struggle between Batman and his enemy in this film. The enemy is not purely evil; he too believes he is operating towards justice.
F. Chief Gordon (who isn't chief yet) is not a ridiculous, helpless cad, but a somewhat effective, albeit frustrated, cop with a good conscience.
G. Katie Holmes doesn't appear 'that' often, and offers a couple of gratuitous raspberry shots (if you're into that kind of thing).
H. It is a super-hero movie, so it does have its requisite corny lines (e.g. 'we fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up'), but thankfully they're few and far between.
I. Did I mention Christian Bale is hot??