Product: Batman Begins (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Forget the other Batman movies.
Tim Burton's Batman movies sucked (Ok, Jack Nicholson looked cool as the Joker). The plots were geared for folks with ADD and the art direction was more "Burton" than it was Batman. Then Joel Schumacher had a vision to mix Batman with musical theatre stage production (bad acting, colored lights, claustrophobic sets and homoeroticism) literally killing Batman. Given this history, I was barely interested in seeing Batman Begins, but I can honestly say that this is the first movie based off of a super hero that I liked at all (sorry I just don't like Spiderman). Bale is perfect for the duality of this role, and get this, he actually looks like he could kick the crap out of you. Noland & Goyer bring Miller's vision of Gotham to life wonderfully (no greasy perms or latex nipples). The Batmobile finally looks real instead of like Michael Jackson's Liberachi-esqe dream toy. Add it all up and suddenly Batman is cool again. Katie Holms doesn't really work in this film. She is too young and too trendy to make me believe she is the district attorney. Also, just hire a Chinese choreographer for the action sequences instead of choppy, close up action scenes. The sequel needs to be more of the same (Bale, Nolan & Goyer). I also think Crispin Glover would make an awesome joker.