Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Long Live the Batman!
Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento), co-scripted by David Goyer (Blade Series), and starring Christian Bale, Michael Cain, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy and Morgan Freeman is the spectacular release of the year so far. While Star Wars had the great visuals, Batman brings the entire batcave. The visuals are great and yet more real, adding a plausible flavor. The acting is outstanding! The story is tight and for a movie 2 hours and 20 minutes, one wants more, never feeling it is too long.It is by far more superior to the other films. While I liked the Batman film by Burton, it has slow and silly moments, too many one liners, and actually is a Joker origins story. The other movies in the series, while satisfactory entertaining (well, not Batman and Robin), are not plot driven and too many characters take the center stage. This movie loaded with characters, support the story and one never feels that they have stolen the show from Batman.I'm not going into the plot, other reviewers have and one should just go see the movie/dvd. Supporting films like this one encourages Hollywood to produce films with strong stories and excellent direction. This is a big budget with an arts feel, and one begins to understand Batman/Bruce Wayne.To Batman purist (I consider myself one), this film should excel. Most true Bat fans know that in the Dark Knight's 60+ year history, he has had re-interpretations but has stayed in essence Batman. This film brings many of the different comic elements form Frank Miller, Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale to Dennis O'Neal.This film has a strong narrative which is why so many movie critics from Roger Ebert to Jeffery Lions have complemented this film. This is a film deserving of repeat showings. Batman takes flight and never slows down until justice is brought to Gotham - let's hope Warner Nros. makes a sequal.The second disk has plenty of extras and it is outlined in the form of a comic book.