I enjoyed your column as well, The Rod. I enjoyed Batman Begins myself and thought it was the best Batman movie yet (and even the best movie I've seen all year so far). I was surprised to see the major change in who killed Bruce's parents (in the '89 film it was Joker, in this film it is a random thug [the comic's facts varied from writer to writer]). This change was crucial to the direction of the film, however. Tim Burton's film has Batman seeking revenge against the Joker, a single man, while this film has Batman battling crime in general.
In this film, Bruce couldn't get the chance to take justice into his own hands; he is more compelled to fight crime in general, thus making his purpose for becoming Batman far greater. It always annoyed me how in Burton's film, Batman's entire origin is skipped over. It feels more like a movie about the origin of the Joker, where I always felt that both characters' origins should have been explored. Jack Nicholson's performance was impeccable, and I doubt that it could ever be topped, but I think it's important to not exactly "beat" his performance, but rather to go "sideways" and offer a different take on the character. I will be very disappointed if Christopher Nolan does not direct the sequels (and probably won't go to see them), as I credit him for the great script that made this great film.