Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Amazing DVD packaging for a really amazing film!
The DVD:You have a choice here, if you want to buy the DVD for the latest Batman movie. You can buy the wide or full screen versions, which should be reasonably priced, and contain this fine film and not much more in the way of special features.Or, you can spend more, and get the two-disc deluxe version, which has no less than 7 documentaries, a 72-page comic book and is for true Batman fans or those who really appreciate seeing just how much the format can offer.Your choice!The Movie:Batman Begins, this summer's entry into the Batman film legacy, redefines the series. Director Christopher Nolan, who has already captivated me with his takes on "Memento" and the Al Pacino vehicle, "Insomnia" finds the story and the star to tell it. It's a dark piece, and owes far less to the comic book than the Tim Burton versions. All of the action and adventure is tied to the psyche of the man who becomes the dark hero. I don't think Nolan worried about that, because it is obvious that the fan base and the money men wanted a return of the harrowing aspects of the Dark Knight, following the successes in bringing the Marvel comics to the screen, and wanted the cartoon (Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Batgirl and Poison Ivy) parts gone.To get there, Nolan relied on storylines and backdrops from the excellent graphic novels that have grown up around the Batman legend, then paired with David Goyer to write the screenplay. The result is that this film is far and away the best of the five, and edges out the third film in the Star Wars trilogy for the best big screen adventure movie of the year, so far.Christian Bale plays a stripped-down, emotionally unavailable Batman, and his character is thoroughly outlined. You know exactly what his demons are, and you go through the decision-making process he takes with Alfred (the outstanding Michael Caine) to build the Batcave, and find the identity of the hero who will finally make criminals feel his presence.The origin of Batman's training, the ninja backdrop, and the presence of his fearful mentor, Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson, better as a Ninja than a Jedi), open the film, and we see Bruce Wayne traversing through some of the most dangerous spots on the globe, in Asia, to meet the fearsome Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe, on the screen for too short a time). Ghul is fighting against crime as well, but has chosen Gotham City, Bruce's former home, as his battlefield. His League of Shadows wants to destroy the city, and the crime with it. Wayne cannot go along with the plan, and his escape from the Tibetan stronghold is perilous and destructive.Wayne's return to Gotham City introduces those he aligns himself with; Assistant DA Rachel Dawes, a childhood friend (Katie Holmes), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman, a scientist at the Wayne foundation whose work has been buried by the big business aspirations of Empire Wayne and the head of the company, Mr. Earle (Rutger Hauer digs himself out of B movies for a guest shot), a youngish police inspector, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman in a great cameo), and of course, the stylish presence of Alfred.The villains here in Gotham, the Scarecrow and mobster Carmen Falcone are less interesting than Ducard and his men, but, in the end, they nearly succeed in their own destruction of the city. Cillian Murphy was cast as the Dr./Scarecrow, but I found his onscreen resemblance to Lara Flynn Boyle, albeit decked out as a guy, too distracting. Tom Wilkinson played Falcone with some over-the-top flair.The actual battle scenes are tense and inspiring, the Batmobile is undoubtedly a star of the movie all on its own. Camera shots and cinematography are second to none in this production, and all of it carries out Wayne's/Batman's message...."I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me."