Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
The First Appearance Of The True Batman In Movie History
Better than the previous four live-action Batman theatrical releases put together - by far - this is the Batman movie we never thought we'd see. THIS is the Batman and the Batman mythos of the comic books, and while it's not dead-on in every aspect, it doesn't have to be. The heart and soul and feel of the books are here at last; for the first time a Batman that actually Is Batman in more than name and appearance is present (the previous closest was the Batman of the 90s animated series and the animated "Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm" and its sequels - all recommended and all better than the previous live-action stuff, although toned down and simplified from the modern comics).Much more believable than previous entries, and with far greater characterization; a few of the characters are not quite in line with their comic counterparts (Ra's Al Ghul, for example) but they're close enough, they capture the essential esscences of their characters (something I don't believe the previous four movies even tried to do), and it's not mandatory - or even preferable - to bring in a carbon copy of any given comic arc anyway; merely that it be in the spirit of and faithful to the source material. Which, again, is something that I don't think was really an objective for the previous films (Certainly not for "Batman And Robin").When I first heard that there was going to be another Batman movie I wasn't really interested; when I saw some of the still shots and recalled how filmmakers have in recent years shown that it is possible to do comic adaptations right ("X-Men", "Spider-Man", etc.) I began to become a little hopeful; when I learned that David S. Goyer - who's written DC series like "JSA" as well as worked on movies like "Dark City" I began to very cautiously believe that we might have something approaching what I wanted the movie to be. It turns out it didn't just approach it, it was it: a Batman movie that reaches the level of the Batman comics of current times.Beginning in the past with Bruce Wayne as a child and flashing forward to his years in exile, believed dead while really honing his skills even as he's lost in his own inner demons, and continuing on with his first meetings with Ra's Al Ghul and later Jim Gordon - not yet Gotham's Commissioner, just an honest and decent sergeant doing his best in a seriously corrupt city (incidentally, this is the first of the live-action theatrical movies that hasn't treated Gordon as either an afterthought or an outright joke; kudos to the filmmakers for treating this character with the respect he deserves, and kudos to Gary Oldman for playing the part so brilliantly.) and into direct confrontation with the crimelords of Gotham and, later, more exotic adversaries, "Batman Begins" is a roaring success on every level, including romantic and comedic touches that don't seem the slightest bit out of place with the intensity of the movie. Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Ken Watanabe, the previously noted Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and the whole cast do outstanding jobs. I'm not even going to mention all the characters who turn up here; it's better when you discover it on your own (though not everyone who's familiar to the comic readers will be known by the larger audience). Some of the grandest action in film history - very, very rarely has such a scale of action come off this realistically.For a sequel (assuming there is one) I'd say forget about tying it into the previous movies (I don't mean to keep dumping on them, they were usually entertaining, but they just weren't the real deal); it's too late for that anyway considering that "Batman Begins" retold the origin in a different way than 1989's "Batman". Just go on from here, keep bringing in people on both sides of the camera as talented as those who worked on this (keep Bale, Freeman, Michael Caine, and every other performer who fits each script; feel free to bring back Goyer and director/co-writer Christopher Nolan, but if you also need new blood for some of the future movies consider looking to the likes of Devin Grayson, Greg Rucka and Doug Moench) and the sky's the limit. And if you see this and want more, you don't even have to wait for the sequel; check out the comics, many of which are available here on Amazon in Trade Paperback or Hardcover form.Beyond 10/10