Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Wonderful
Having been a fan of Batman since seeing my first Batman cartoon as a child I was thrilled when they decided to make Batman with Michael Keaton; it was everything I had hoped it would be. Then the series began departing from what had made that first movie so great and became downright silly. Batman Begins brings the series back to its roots. Batman never was intended to be a light, simple character, he's called the Dark Knight for a reason. Christian Bale does a wonderful job of taking the audience through Wayne's transformation from an angry child into the avenger of Gotham.This movie revisits the loss of Bruce's parents in a much more intimate and profound way. You know what they meant to him personally and the lessons his father was teaching him about life, both by example and by instruction. Fate and the intervention of a friend redirect his life away from simple hate/revenge into a need to understand the murder of his parents, resulting in his walking away from his privileged lifestyle to enter the world of criminals. While learning more about his own nature and the nature of criminals he still struggles with his anger and uses his new lifestyle as a means of acting out that aggression, but without any real purpose. He comes no closer to understanding the criminal mind and is unable to find any solace from his pain. He finally ends up in prison, reveling in the constant conflict.The introduction of Ducard into this dismal world provides Bruce with a source of focus and a redirection for that anger. Through his training with Ducard he learns to control his own emotions and become more than a scared child wanting to avenge his parents. He becomes a man, a man with a purpose and the ability to fulfill that purpose. He is still fallible, he still struggles with his loss and his new role, but he is learning from each new struggle and failure. He learns to rely on those who have proven their loyalty and trust in himself. Even the realization that he not only trusted, but actually saved the life of the man intent on destroying Gotham does not shake his new strength and resolve.Christian Bale's portrayal brings Batman's dark, conflicted nature back to the screen, but this time the audience has a greater understanding of those conflicts. He shows us what drives Batman to devote his life to protecting the citizens of Gotham from evil while sacrificing the ability to have a real life of his own.