We are all familiar with the Batman saga, thanks to the hokey television show, the wildly popular comic books, the animated series and the four subsequent blockbuster films that followed.

Using his arsenal of high-tech toys and souped-up gadgets, Batman fights a revolving door of costumed criminal masterminds, all set to destroy or take over Gotham City. And in the end, the Masked One saves the day, and usually gets the girl.

As enjoyable as the Batman franchise is to watch, there were always the same nagging questions in the back of my head. How did he get all those futuristic devices? Where did he learn to fight like that? Where are his parents? And of course, what is so significant about bats?

Enter "Batman Begins." In the fifth installment of the Batman narrative, director Christopher Nolan attempts to explore the origins of the man destined to become the legend.

Christian Bale plays a convincing Bruce Wayne, the last remaining heir to an industrial fortune. After watching the murder of his parents, Bruce blames himself, and quietly fosters a debilitating hatred laced with guilt. Lost and bitter, Bruce leads a shell of an existence, until one day meeting the mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) who redirects his anger and hunger for justice, thus setting the stage for the Bruce Wayne's metamorphosis into his shadowed, crime-fighting alter ego.

The two-hour and 20-minute movie is slow going at first, but necessarily so. Nolan had the daunting task of fleshing out the premise before the movie could go anywhere. Finally explained is the multigenerational fortune amassed by the Wayne family, and the back-story of Bruce's relationship with his father.

After the necessary details were in place, the real movie took off like a bat out of hell (pardon the pun). Much darker and more frightening than the previous Batman movies, "Batman Begins" is chock-full of intense cinematography and plot twists. Well-crafted and perfectly timed one-liners provided much-appreciated relief from all the action and suspense.

Lt. James Gordon, played by Gary Oldman, is introduced as the last good cop in a fallen city, as well as Rachel Dawes, played by Katie Holmes, as Bruce Wayne's childhood friend. Holmes' performance was less than stellar, next to fine-tuned Bale. I swear I saw Joey Potter rear her extraneous side smirk on more than one occasion. Michael Caine plays a regal, yet witty Alfred.

What the last couple of Batman movies lacked in energy, "Batman Begins" more than makes up for, keeping the dialogue funny and believable, and the action tight and engaging. If "Batman Begins" is the final episode of the saga, at least it goes out with a bang, pow, zap!

"Batman Begins" opens in Milwaukee on Tuesday, May 14.