Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Summer of the Bat
I have not been so wowed by a movie in decades! Just about everything was right -- plot, script, dialog, tone, characters, acting, special effects, you name it. Christian Bale was completely convincing as a young man struggling with the inner demons acquired when his parents were gunned down by a thug. He was perfectly played Bruce Wayne's cover story as a spoiled and shallow boy billionaire. Gary Oldman's Jim Gordon of the Gotham PD was also spot on -- making Gordon a believable and sympathetic figure as opposed to the buffoonish one we might have expected. Even Michael Caine, as Alfred, pulled more out of himself as an actor than in his last 5 films."Batman Begins" gives us a new take on the genesis of the Caped Crusader -- from Bruce Wayne's childhood (when after a well into a well, he was attacked by frightened bats), to "the missing years" when he salved the guilt and rage over his parents' murders by hanging with criminals, to his return to Gotham, his discovery of the Batcave, and the development of his costume and Batmobile (thankfully never called such in the movie). It was genius not to lay the development of Wayne's martial arts skills AND incredible gizmo invention on one man. Morgan Freeman, as science guru Lucius Fox handled that task flawlessly. And the scriptwriters came up with some truly frightening bad guys whose evil plot (a weapon of mass psychosis) was truly inspired and frightening. Gotham -- a twisted take on NYC -- never looked so seedy, corrupt or hopeless.This was an incredibly well-crafted movie -- with special effects always in the service of the story. The scriptwriters tied up every loose know and left no details hanging. The plot spun around like a cave full of bats, turning back onto itself in delicious spirals. An incredible achievement!