(Disclaimer: Don't read this if you have an almost religious devotion to batman begins.)
Begins' biggest defenders are proabably residing at this board so you knew posting your thoughts about the flm would be challenged and crushed with passion, didn't you? I'm sure you did. Brave of you, but foolish...
Anyway to throw my body on the flames, I think it's so well regarded for the simple fact that it's not batman and robin or batman forever. It took liberties with the source and i think it wasn't all that great except for the acting by some great performers, but it's made out to be the best superhero movie ever with everybody ignoring it's flaws every time while taking out a highlighter on the burton movies to mark every single misstep to glorify begins. I hate when people around here do that. It's a given that a batman movie made now would have to be better than the previous ones if it was to do well. So why act like it's such a lucky pot of gold that the movie wasn't miserable crap? (THEY HAD TO SCREW IT UP TWICE TO GET IT BEFORE MAKING AN ACTUALLY GOOD ONE) Wow...I don't know what's up with that, but I give begins an average rating. It didn't send me to heaven the way the hulk did, or sm2 or even the first serioius batman film did but it was good.
I just don't get the huge religious praise being poured on it by some is all. I don't get it. It confuses me too which does hurt a little. I'm grateful it wasn't shoomakers movie, and was actually quite good and full of seriousness mostly, but that shouldn't be its greatest strength. The next one should be completely awesome without needing comparision to older flicks to boost it up. Yeah, believe it.
I was around here when begins came out and left and right everyone was shooting cream into each others mouths over this movie that I thought was decent batman, but nothing too spectacular... And before you throw fruit at me, let me say I liked katie holmes in the movie back then while everyone said she was crap. So I just don't know what is making my brain work so different than the rest of the internet... whatever.