Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Finally, The Bat done right!
After the disaster of Batman and Robin in 1997, it took almost nine years to get the nasty, foul taste out of mouths and appreciate the next generation of Batman movies. Finally, Warner Brothers takes their cash cow seriously and appoints a smart and respectful director, writer and actor to create the newest version of the Dark Knight.Christopher Nolan, well known for directing intelligent, serious movies [...] turns his attention toward making this movie about Batman's origin. Thankfully discarded are all the previous Batman movies, despite any good aspects they may have had, this movie says `Forget it all, this is one that matters'. And it really does.The movie is efficient in it's story telling, starting somewhere in the mountains of Asia (intercut with flashbacks) where Bruce Wayne (played with great tension by Christian Bale) is in a prison camp, effectively fighting off any attempts to kill him. He gets locked up to keep the other prisoners from being hurt. He is visited by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), and offered a chance to learn everything he needs to know to become that which he needs to be; a weapon to avenge his parents who were killed when he was a child. Wayne accepts and spends more time in a remote location learning the arts of Ninjitsu and stealth.Upon his return to Gotham City, the movie starts to focus on how Bruce plans to be the Batman. It's a painstaking process, and extremely believable. Luckily he has the resources through his Father's Enterprise and turn-a-blind-eye science executive Lucius Fox (well played by Morgan Freeman) and the faithful butler Alfred (the always welcome Michael Caine) to help. As the current CEO of Wayne Enterprises Earle (Rutger Hauer) continues to make unwanted to changes, Bruce slowly finds ways to create the personality he wants to instill fear into the scum of Gotham, believing the city can be saved from it's downfall into debauchery. With his childhood sweetheart (Katie Holmes) trying to figure him out, a madman Psychologist (Cillian Murphy) sending criminals to Arkham Asylum for seemingly no reason, the new vigilante finds himself bonding with James Gordon (underplayed brilliantly by Gary Oldman), one good cop surrounded by many corrupt ones, and getting more out of the relationship than he ever thought he would. Thankfully they are giving this relationship it's proper attention that was lost in the other movies.As you can see, the casting of this movie is brilliant. You may not know who Christian Bale is, but Michael Caine? Gary Oldman? Morgan Feeman? Rutger Hauer? Liam Neeson? Katie Holmes? If you don't know who any of these people are, you shouldn't be going to the movies. Front and center is semi new comer Christian Bale playing the part of Bruce Wayne and Batman so well. When in the costume, he's intimidating and frightening. When playing Bruce Wayne, he's a pompus, arrogant playboy, although that does not come about right away. The genius of this movie stands in the discovery; as Bruce Wayne finds the difficulties in being a masked crusader in a huge city, he has to find solutions to those problems. The realism that goes into the creation of this dark obsessed person focusing his energy on becoming an outrageous character that preys on the criminal element is sublime and spot on. This movie far outreaches it's predecessors in ambition and makes them look like kindergarten efforts compared with the PhD level of intelligence put into this film.