Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Batman has never been so good.
Let's all take a moment and try to remember (or forget) just how bad the last two Batman movies ("Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin") actually were. They were horrible. Neon Lights in Gotham?? Nipples on the bat suit?? Bat-cracks? Alicia Silverstone in a Batman movie? As Batgirl???? All this left the general movie-goers with a clear picture of what they thought comic books and the movie adaptions from them were all about, and it has haunted us true and loyal comic book fans for a long time.Now think about the last few years, in particular the "Spider-Man" movies. They proved, finally, that hollywood can invest a ton of money, get a great ensemble cast and (cherish the thought) be faithful to the source material. The result? Two great movies (spidey).Now comes "Batman Begins", and thank you very much it follows the story more than very well. It is dark, gritty, emotional and everything a Batman movie SHOULD be. But before we get Batman, we get Bruce Wayne and the movie is 100x better for it. We can't empathize with Wayne unless we see his journey, his struggles and his mistakes. And this film shows us all of that.When the moment comes that Batman finally makes his appearance in the dark shadows of a Gotham dock, you almost have forgotten your watching a Batman film. The first hour or so focusing on Wayne and all the supporting characters (all amazingly well acted) is a great film in and of itself, and then we get an hour or so of Batman on top of it!The film moves along well, and is just a great great flick. Fans of the comic walk away having seen there favorite caped crusader finally told right and told well (not to take away from Burton's two films, but they aren't even on the same level as this). And newcomers get an amazing story.The Deluxe Edition DVD is definetly the way to go, as the single disc version has nothing, not even a trailer. This version, aside from a nifty comic book featuring three Bat-tales that inspired the script of the movie, has about a dozen featurettes ranging from 7-15 minutes on the script, the costume, the batmobile, stunts, etc. Also a great comic book interactive menu sits on the 2nd disc, which is really fun.The sound and Picture quality are top notch, and this DVD is very Highly recommended!