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BATMAN BEGINS
Two Disc Deluxe Edition
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman,
Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman
Director: Christopher Nolan
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: Warner Bros.
Features: See Review
Length: 140 Minutes
Release Date: October 18, 2005
"Storm's
coming..."
What
a year for film fans was 2005...we finally got to witness the beginnings of two
classic icons. Yes, a once
promising Jedi Knight named Anakin Skywalker finally turned into Darth Vader,
but he wasn't the only one donning the mask and cape this year.
Batman
Begins not
only shows the origin of the Dark Knight, but serves to both re-invigorate and
re-imagine a movie franchise that had kind of imploded in on itself.
The films had been visually stunning, dark, and a sharp turn away from
the campy approach of the 1960s TV series.
But we fans never really saw all that Batman could be.
Not until now.
Director
and co-writer Christopher Nolan, the auteur behind the best movie of the new
millennium Memento, might have seemed as strange a choice to helm a Batman
movie as Tim Burton originally was. But
Warner Bros. always put the franchise in the hands of talent rather than those
of the most nominal. Burton and the
subsequent directors each molded the Bob Crane characters and universe into
their own vision.
But
Nolan has all but stepped away from the established playbook entirely.
His Bruce Wayne wasn't a brooding, empty suit peppered with tics, but
rather a complex, evolving character confronting his own demons and learning how
to use his fear and guilt against those who most needed to feel fear and guilt.
It's
amazing thinking back and realizing that in a Batman movie, we don't even
SEE Batman for the first hour. Even
more amazing: we don't miss him.
This is not a comic book movie where the origin story is just scenery and
foreground. It's a principal part
of the evolution of a damaged man into a grim hero.
Batman may be a good guy, but at long last, with this film, he's as he's
meant to be: shadowy, dangerous,
and even a little frightening.
Christian
Bale is the best of the lot to date. At
long last, we have an actor who is as believable as Bruce Wayne as he is in the
Bat suit. The screenplay takes
every leg of his journey seriously...the dialogue in and of itself is rich,
textured and quotable, yet steeped in the honesty of the mythology.
Despite the fantastic aspects, Batman Begins is thoroughly
believable. That alone is a
triumph.
We
all pretty much know the tale of how young Bruce sees his parents killed by a
street criminal (don't try to connect these events with the flashbacks of the
first Batman movie; the slate has been wiped mercifully clean).
But it's a long route from scared child to costumed vigilante.
Bruce grows up obsessed with criminality and the nature of evil, even
getting himself thrown into prison just to be able to fight with bad guys.
It's
there he meets up with Henri Ducard (Neeson), a mentor-like figure who takes
Bruce under his wing. Recognizing
Bruce has anger and drive but not discipline, he teaches his student to face his
fears and channel his powers in ninja-like ways. But his greatest lesson has yet to unfold.
Bruce's
Gotham City is a place sick with crime. Most
of the cops and justice system are on the take.
The only decent souls seem to be Bruce's childhood friend Rachel Dawes
(Holmes), who has become an assistant district attorney, and the weary cop Jim
Gordon (Oldman), who wants to fight crime but feels more and more helpless in
the onslaught of the criminal juggernaut.
Bruce
begins to map out his ultimate plan to rid the city of it's most oppressive
forces...with the help of his trusted butler Alfred (Caine) and the scientific
mind behind Wayne Enterprises' product development Lucius Fox (Freeman), the Bat
gets ready to fly. But what he's
about to stumble on is the most dastardly and surprising of all the franchise
plots...a psychosis-inducing villain named Scarecrow is just the beginning.
Batman
Begins has
its own distinct look...gone are the increasingly campy uniforms with nipples
and codpieces, replaced by a sleeker, all black design.
Gone are the science fiction looking backdrops of Gotham, replaced by a
vision equally fantastic but more grounded in reality, and fully capable of
serving the film's best action set pieces.
The Batmobile is no longer sleek and phallic, but more like a military
tank packing a lot of power and heat. When
Batman dispatches of his foes, it isn't POW!
WHAM! BIFF!, but in an
almost horror-movie like predatory way. In
a word? Cool.
I
can't think of any franchise that reached its pinnacle with its fifth
installment, but this one certainly did. Batman
Begins is the best of the bunch. But even more than that, it might be A) the best superhero
movie EVER, and B) the overall best film of 2005.
I'm not kidding...it really is THAT good.
Video
****
Wow...what
a stunner! Right from the opening
moments, you'll know you're in for a visual knockout. The
carefully cultivated style is rendered crisper and clearer than ever in
anamorphic widescreen glory. It's a
dark film, but never murky...ever detail renders with integrity no matter what
the level of light. I noticed no
grain or compression, which is impressive given the level of action this movie
has to offer. Colors are natural
looking and contained throughout. One
of the year's best.
Audio
****
The
5.1 audio is equally impressive...there's scarcely a moment where your back
speakers aren't in full employ, be they for full throttle action or for more
ambient, atmospheric scenes. The
subwoofer keeps the music score and heavy machinery pumping.
Crossovers are frequent and smooth, and dynamic range is more than
plentiful.
Features
****
This
Deluxe Edition disc is as loaded as Batman's utility belt!
The first disc features the trailer and an MTV Movie Awards spoof called
"Tankman Begins"...you'll have to see it for yourself.
Disc
Two actually unfolds visually like a comic book with touches of animation.
There you'll find all the extras, as well as an Easter egg or two.
Or, just flip through the comic to the end and get an easy list of the
features. There are looks at the
movie's development, Christian Bale undergoing yet another of his remarkable
physical transformations for a role, looks at the new Batmobile, the set
designs, the miniatures, and the CGI effects.
You can check out the various incarnations of Batman and peruse the
confidential files for more facts and story points.
Also
included is a 72 page comic from DC that features the first Batman story and two
others that were influences on the film!
Summary:
