Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
A much different look at the Batman franchise
This is a great new direction for Warner Bros' Batman series. It's much edgier and realistic than the previous films, and lacking much of the campiness found in "Batman and Robin." Christopher Nolan's incredible direction certainly shines through on this film as we see a more human side to Batman, and we explore the difficulty of managing two lives.There were only a few flaws with this film, but they were pretty major ones. The romance between Wayne and Rachel (Katie Holmes) seemed too forced and wasn't developed enough. It was given may be 5 minutes' time in the movie and I just didn't care enough about her character or their past because I didn't know anything about it. I don't even recall them kissing in the film. This could be setting up for future films but she just felt like a character that could have been left out.The action. There just weren't enough scenes of Batman. He was in costume for maybe 10 minutes of the movie, if that much, and it just wasn't the Batman we're used to from the comic books. Granted, this was an origin story and he's not supposed to be proficient at crime fighting, but I would like to see more of it.Lastly, the enemies were very sub-par. Scarecrow was not very evil, and went down very easily. Ras didn't impress me much either. I don't want over-dramatic acting from Jim Carrey or Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I would like a little more evil in the film. This wasn't what I would call a "Superhero movie." It was more of a gritty action film that happened to have the main character in a cape some of the time.Even with these "flaws" as I consider them, maybe this is why I enjoyed the film so much. It's much more believable than the past films, especially when we see Batman falter while trying to use his new gadgets or become accustomed to his new skills. This isn't a Batman that can easily get around any situation, so I respected him more. If you want a huge Bruckheimer/Bay Summer popcorn movie, you'll probably have to wait for "War of the Worlds," but if you like some decent writing and want a new look at the Batman franchise, you should definitely check out "Batman Begins."