Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Dazzling, Resurrects A Neglected Hero
"Batman Begins," superbly directed by Christopher Nolan, is a film that works on many levels, but above all, it makes a modern hero relevant again, much like Sam Raimi's spidey flicks. We all knew Batman was awesome, we just needed to realize it again. And no one could have done that better than Christian Bale, who was born to play the Dark Knight. Exuding equal parts menace and wounded heart, he makes Bruce Waynes' familiar fear, anger and rage fresh again. His fear and guilt stemming from his beloved parents murder is palpable and real. At first, Bruce Wayne is in a Chinese prison, on a lifes' quest to understand the criminal mind, and how best to fight them and rid himself of the guilt that has haunted him for years. From this, a mysterious stanger named Ducard (Liam Neeson) plucks him and takes him into the Himlayan Mountains, where he trains Bruce the ways of the League of Shadows, led by the nefarious Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe, given too little screen time). Their goal is to purify the world through by purging it of wickedness. Bruce jets the League when he is faced with the execution of a suspected criminal and makes his way back to Gotham where he seeks redemption by saving the city his father loved, now overrun by gansters and corruption, most of it personified in Carmine Falcone (a commanding Tom Wilkinson). Working with his beloved butler Alfred (a heartfelt Michael Caine) and good cop Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman, in a role that finally gives Gordon something to do), Bruce goes to work to renovate the caverns underneath his house, collects hardware from scientist Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman at his wryest and loosest) and builds a batsuit with which to turn his fear into a weapon against his enemies.From the beginning, "Batman Begins" is fixated on fear, and how it can move or change a person. One of the main villians is the Scarecrow (a creepy Cillian Murphy) a psychologist who scares the living crap out of people using a toxin that makes the person see what they fear most. And Batman must fight them all by using his skills of manipulation to defeat them. And although director Nolan leans a little too much on the jump cuts and close-up shots, the action scenes are among the brawniest, most bracing and innovate in recent memory, including an amazing car chase feauturing the souped up Batmobile and a climatic monorail fight between Batman and some old enemies from the League of Shadows. But above all, Nolan and fellow screenwriter David Goyer focus on the characters an motivations in the bat story. And even though the ending begs a sequel, the indulgence can be allowed. After all, after resurrecting the Batman franchise in such rousing fashion, who can't wait for the next of Batman?