Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
A Revolution in the Batman Series
The Batman film series since it began in 1989 has been on a rollercoaster ride. It started out full speed with "Batman" and continued that way in 1992 with "Batman Returns." Then in 1995 with "Batman Forever" and later in 1997 with "Batman and Robin" Joel Schumacher took that fun Batman ride to a very, very low point...he basically knocked the coaster off the tracks critically injuring the many Batman fans in the process. So it's no wonder that the series was in need of an overhaul.Eight years later, and thanks to Christopher Nolan, the rollercoaster is back on the tracks and once again going full speed ahead. He revamped and reinvented the Batman franchise with "Batman Begins."Finally, we see why Batman became Batman. We see what motivates him, where he learned those fancy kung fu moves, where he got his gadgets. We see Bruce Wayne's transformation into his alter ego, Batman, and his battle against injustice in Gotham City. It's always interesting to see why a superhero becomes a superhero. That alone can place "Batman Begins" amongst "Spiderman" as one of the greatest comic book/superhero movies of all time.That aside, what really gets this coaster rolling again is Nolan's vision of how a Batman movie should be. Basing the film in reality, placing Batman in a realistic Gotham City, is ingenious. Gotham is a city overrun with crime and corruption with realistic villains attempting realistic crimes. Not the Riddler trying to read the minds of Gotham's innocent citizens via a TV box ("Batman Forever"). Overall, "Batman Begins" has made the film series more mature, aiming at an older audience with a much more serious film."Batman Begins" has truly marked a revolution for the franchise.