Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 4.0
DRUNKEN BILLIONARE BURNS DOWN OWN HOME
I heard such conflicting reports going into "Batman Begins" I really didn't know what to expect, but now that I've seen it I know how I feel: I like it. A lot. It's the best Batman to date (and I mean that in a dinner-and-a-movie kind of way).As you doubtless know pretty much everything we've seen from the Batman movies has been tossed out the window and this perhaps most powerful of comic book legends has been stripped to its core to tell the origins of the Dark Knight. Christian Bale takes over for George Clooney (!) as Bruce Wayne, drunken billionaire by day and terrifying avenger by night. I wouldn't dream of ruining the plot for those who have yet to see it, but I think it's safe to say that director/revisionary Christopher Nolan does a topnotch job reworking this story we've all heard a thousand times until it feels like something new.Not the least of his achievements is the cast, which boasts Bale at his best, Michael Caine as a kind and dignified Alfred, Gary Oldman as pre-Commissioner Gordon, and the always welcome Morgan Freeman doing a new twist on Lucius Fox. The real standout here, though, is Irish actor Cillian Murphy, playing Dr. Jonathan Crane, also known as The Scarecrow. I don't know if it's the cerulean eyes, the slightly off, I'm-hiding-my-natural-accent cadence, or the burlap sack, but he is absolutely riveting. (Although I doubt Nolan intended The Scarecrow to be hotter than Batman.)My problems with the movie are relatively few; I think it got a bit bogged down in the second-to-last half hour, and the resolution of Bruce's kinda relationship with the Assistant D.A. was lame. Katie Holmes has been getting smacked around for her performance, but I don't think it was so much her fault as it was the underwritten role. Had the best-friend aspect of her character been better written the whole movie would have gotten a lift.Still these are minor problems and Warner Brothers deserves a pat on the back for trusting their old war-horse to Nolan, who seems a little bit crazy. Then again, after "Batman and Robin", there was nothing left to lose.GRADE: B+/A-