I had high hopes when I saw "Batman Begins". I shouldn't have. From the rushed opening hour, to the unspectacular entrance of Batman and the mediocre, uninspired score, "Batman Begins" is a big budget waste of time. It makes 2004's "The Punisher" look like "Ben Hur".

Christian Bale was okay as Bruce Wayne, but he's no Michael Keaton. The rest of the supporting cast were good. I wish I could say the direction was. The action scenes are shot in the dark with a jittery camera, perhaps to conceal the lackluster Batman suit and the movie also includes one of the funniest moments ever captured on film. In a homage to "The Simpsons", the Batmobile is being chased by the police, Batman simply turns off the lights and the cops race past...Batman drives a ghost car! In a zillion dollar picture like this surely David Goyer could have thought of something better than that.

There are other problems too. For starters, Wayne Enterprises built the tumbler, the car that is used as the Batmobile. When Batman has this big chase, the whole thing is captured by a news crew and played on TV. Problem: Didn't anyone from Wayne Enterprises see the Batmobile and go "Hey! That looks like our tumbler, only black!" Other troubles are the mentioned action scenes. There's no set piece. No grand entrance, no bit where your pulse races. The makers just seemed content they had a Batman picture and that was enough.

Then there's the ending. Not since "Red Dragon" have I groaned so loud.

David Goyer is a writer who with each successive film is proving "Blade" was a fluke. His screenplay for this movie is pedestrian at best and Christopher Nolan's direction shows he should stick to intimate thrillers.

This Bat's had its wings clipped -- big-time!