+2
I agree that Robin is a terrible character, and luckily, Nolan thinks so too, saying that he would not use Robin, Catwoman or Penguin.
But, Robin isn't the only thing that's dated about Batman. If I'm not mistaking, somewhere near the end of Batman Begins, Batman is summoned by Bat-signal. Bat-signal is one of the things that annoy me the most about the character. I’m not annoyed by a spotlight with a bat silhouette on it, I’m annoyed by the entire concept of police working with a guy dressed up like a rodent, who fights criminals. Even if any police in the world is that incompetent that they need an obvious madman to do their job for them, they would never state it publicly. This way, they are also saying that everyone should get a shotgun and go out on the streets. Yes, Gordon is the only good cop in Gotham and he is working with Batman because Batman can help him destroy corruption and crime by using illegal methods, but that’s even more of a reason for Serpico to hide that he’s working with the vigilante in the rubber suit. (By the way, how does Batman know Gordon is a good guy? Because he was kind to him when his parents got killed?)
You may argue that it’s just a movie, and I would agree if we were talking about the 60’s TV show, but Nolan obviously wants Batman to be as realistic as possible, and police and Batman working together is asking to suspense my disbelief a bit too much. If I didn’t care about the character, I wouldn’t be writing all of this, and I’m trying to say this: Batman for the new generation needs a whole lot of changes beyond the cosmetic ones.