Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Forget great movie, this is a great film.
I am so, so embarassed that I did not see this movie in the theater. Even though the X-Men films are solid and Sin City was spot-on perfect, I had given up on Batman movies after three stinkers in a row. But this was movie was superb in every conceivable way. This movie not only honors the comic book, it also succeeds as a movie independent of the comic. Even my wife, who did NOT want to watch this movie, absolutely loved it. Every choice the filmmakers made was right, but none more so than casting Christian Bale. He absolutely nails the character. He is the first actor to play Bruce Wayne as the playboy he's supposed to be, something that makes the contrast of his deeply pissed off and angry Batman that much darker, just as he should be. Christopher Nolan, or whoever was in charge, made sure every single person involved in the project was on the same page, and the effect is superb. This movie actually stayed with me for days. I didn't learn any life lessons, but it had been a long time since I'd seen a big Hollywood movie this finely layered and nuanced--the explanations of his armor, his batmobile, and how, in the future, Batman's batcave came to be filled with expensive gadgetry, are all offered with a wonderful plausibility. There's a palpable feeling as one watches it that all the players on the project really wanted to kick some ass, and they succeeded masterfully. I think I may actually buy this movie, something I never do since, come on, how often do people really watch movies from their DVD collection?