Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 4.0
Batman Begins... at the beginning!
When I was a kid, I grew up with the superhero comics: Batman, Superman, Daredevil, Spiderman, Supergirl, and others. When the superhero movies started coming out, I know I always used this "comic knowledge" as a reference point to determine whether the screenplay was true to the character. Superman being slowed down by a car thrown on him? Give me a break! The Hulk bounding across the landscape and avoiding pursuit? Yeah!Batman movies have been just okay...I'd say they tried to be more true to the Adam West TV character than the comics. Artistic license, I guess. They've never been my favorite.Then came Batman Begins.This is a great movie for the comic-based Batman buff. The movie "answers" a number of questions. Why bats anyway? How did a billionaire playboy get these fighting skills with no one noticing? How do you just happen to build a house around the Bat Cave (or vice versa)? Where did Batman's suit and gadget technology come from, since Bruce Wayne never even finished college (actually, I'm not sure about the finishing college, but I think not)? And who designed, in secret, the Batmobile? Where did all of those psycho adversaries come from? What was the origin of police commissioner Gordon's bond with Batman? How did the bat signal get established? My personal favorite was Bruce Wayne's learning process... he bounced off a number of roofs and walls before he figured things out!This movie was very entertaining, with lots of action. Michael Caine as Alfred the butler is a hoot! Jim Gordon was all cop action. Ducard (Liam Neeson) was okay, but a bit too much mumbo jumbo... Gotham City at its worse was never Sodom and Gomorrah!The PG-13 rating is probably appropriate for the fighting scenes, but it could just as easily been a PG.