Batman Begins - 3 Stars

After the abysmal “Batman and Robin,” fans were hoping that “Batman Begins” would be a redemption for the caped crusader. And it was at least mildly successful in that regard.

“Batman Begins,” obviously, takes an in-depth look at the Dark Knight’s origins. Christian Bale joins the long list of actors who have portrayed Batman, and his performance is on par with some, and better that the most recent few.

Liam Neeson plays Henri Ducard, a complicated role at best. Mentor, friend, and villain all rolled in to one is something few actors could pull off, but Neeson is superb, as always.

Gary Oldman looks the part of Commissioner Gordon so perfectly that he could have been pulled straight from the pages of the comic. Morgan Freeman is excellent as head of Wayne Enterprises R & D department.

The Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy, is about as good as I was hoping. The only low spot in the acting department was Wayne’s love interest, Rachel Dawes, played by Katie Holmes.

I don’t have any good reason for being dissatisfied, but something just seemed off about her.

My only complaint is that some of the action sequences are undeveloped. The showdown with Scarecrow was disappointing, although understandable, and the final fight between Batman and Ducard could have been so much better.

The Fantastic Four - 2 Stars

The second comic book of the summer to get the silver screen treatment is definitely the lesser of the two. One would expect, with a team of four people with super powers, that there would be several action sequences, at least.

This, unfortunately, isn’t the case. After two hours of exposition, romance, and corny jokes, it seems that the final scene was stuck in at the last moment, just to please the people wanting action. It lasts for all of 10 minutes, and Dr. Doom and the Fantastic Four never even come to blows.

Overlooking the lack of action, the rest of the movie is rather good.

There are some genuinely funny jokes, and all the actors fulfill their rolls well, which was a bit surprising, as the only one I’d heard of before was Jessica Alba, who played Susan Storm. One does tend to wonder what kind of country gives a hideous mask as an award, though.

Wedding Crashers - 3 1/2 Stars

Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. It seems that whenever one of them is in a movie, others are bound to show up, and hilarity ensues.

And “Wedding Crashers,” starring Vaughn and Wilson, is no exception.

Wilson and Vaughn play John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, two divorce counselors who crash weddings on the side, to get free food, and, of course, girls.

However, when Grey falls in love with Claire Cleary, his days of wedding crashing are over. When the chance comes to go to the Cleary’s vacation home on Chesapeake Bay, Jeremy jumps at the chance.

The rest of the movie deals with her oddball family and the relationship between Jeremy and Claire.

Although the writing wasn’t the most phenomenal stuff I’ve ever heard, it was the delivery that made it so funny.

The combination of Wilson and Vaughn is always funny. Although not an Oscar nominee, “Wedding Crashers” is a solid summer comedy that will surely leave you laughing.