Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
'Batman' v. 'Batman Begins': Two Excellent Interpretations
As for comparisons, Tim Burton's 'Batman' (1989) and 'Batman Returns' (1992) was a tribute to the best parts of the franchise. If it is superior to this film in any way, it is the style of Tim Burton, keeping you consciously grounded in a comic-book-reality (e.g., the Joker's pistol with a 4-foot long barrel taking down the Batwing), while never taking off the dark edge off the heroes (which was Schumacher's sin). Put simply, Burton's Batman installments were fun.Similiarly, 'Batman Begins' (2005) keeps the darker edge of Burton's interpretation (including a suspicously similar looking costum), but that is where the similarities end. This film has a much larger palette (beyond the world of Gotham), based more in a semi-real world (as was the case with 'Superman' (1978)) and indicative of a much deeper psychology within the nature of the title character. The heroes and villians are painted in much greyer shades, and the title character's motive of simple revenge is dispensed with early in the film for headier explorations. Batman is a very literary figure - a metaphor for the exploration of the connection between the id (fear, violence, revenge) and the superego (justice, family obligations).Whether you like Burton's interpretation or this interpretation will depend on your own vision of this icon. As films, both have excellent casts and both are worthy of 5 stars, even if for very different reasons.The two-disc expanded version was released on the same day as the two-disc expanded versions of 'Batman', 'Batman Returns', and Schumacher's two installments and is loaded with the extras you come to expect from great DVDs (with the exception of deleted scenes).