Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 3.0
A well-intentioned failure...
This movie was an attempt to tell the story of how Batman got his start as a crime-fighter. Although certainly well-intentioned, it ultimately FAILS to tell a BELIEVABLE story of Batman's humble beginnings.The movie starts out intriguingly, with a young Bruce Wayne studying martial arts with a mysterious sect in the Tibetian wastelands of Asia. But about one hour into the film, things begin to go SERIOUSLY downhill...My Complaints -Despite several weak attempts at humor, this is BY FAR the most grim and humorless of all the 'Batman' films. The 'oh-so-serious' tone is not so bad during the first part of the film, but as the TEDIOUS moralizing continues, the film comes dangerously close to becoming BORING.The Batmobile is ugly... and I don't mean just slightly ugly; it's REALLY UGLY - it looks like a piece of U.S. military hardware left over from Desert Storm !! The Batmobile is supposed to look COOL and SLEEK and SEXY, not like some hulking monstrousity left over from a construction site !As one other ASTUTE individual pointed out, the fight scenes here are often claustrophobic; it's hard to see who's doing what to whom. In general, several of the fight scenes seem to be POORLY edited.Liam Neeson is a fine actor playing a very confusing role. His character at first HELPS Batman, only to betray him later. The motivation for this turnaround is rather VAGUE and (IMHO) unrealistic. Meanwhile, Gary Oldman just looks TIRED in his role as the befuddled 'Detective' Gordon. His character is so meek and ambiguous, it's even hard to tell who's side he's on until near the end of the movie.Christian Bale's 'interpretation' of Batman is RATHER STIFF to say the least; but his portrayal of Bruce Wayne is even WORSE - a rich, pouting whiner with NO CHARISMA AT ALL. As for Katie Holmes, I offer just one word - ANNOYING.On a positive note -Veteran film actors Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman both do a FINE job with the supporting roles they're given here - their CLASSY performances (particularly Caine's) ALMOST saved this movie... almost.The young actor who played the 'Scarcrow' character was FABULOUS ! He seemed to understand how his role should be played - with HUMOR and STYLE. It's a shame he got so little screen time.Some of the photography in the Tibetian mountains and also of Gotham City at night is breathtakingly beautiful.Overall this movie was a SERIOUS let-down. I went home with this DVD and a HUGE bag of popcorn, expecting to be watching the BEST Batman movie ever, and it just DIDN'T happen. Of all the 'Batman' movies made, Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman' remains by far the most enjoyable of the series. Also recommended: 'Batman: The Animated TV Series' (far better than this movie was) and 'Spiderman,' 'Spiderman 2.'