2
(nothing substantial)
6
(some violence and frightening moments)
7
(worth seeing multiple times)
Batman reinvented - that’s "Batman Begins," the first movie in what has become commonly called the “Dark Knight series.” Tim Burton’s first "Batman" has been my favorite of the franchise up to this point, but "Batman Begins" gives it real competition for the first time. Impressive in every way it has the dark somberness that made its predecessor so well liked plus the action and then some that made "Batman Forever" popular with great story, great acting, and great effects.
The other movies have dealt with the duality of Bruce Wayne. This time we see in detail the motivations, circumstances, and training that morph Wayne into the Dark Knight. Playboy Bruce barely shows up at all and is more like Clark Kent’s glasses than the true face of the man. The alter-egos apply more to his father figures this time. Ducard, his mentor, becomes his father figure only to end up in conflict. When he’s gone, Alfred steps into that role. It is only then that Bruce is able to focus on the life he wants to lead. The nature of his relationships to these people help take the movie beyond the standard action flick.
Much of this time in Bruce’s life has been unexplored until now. The specifics of his journey and training, everything that culminates into the birth of a legendary hero is finally depicted. The motivations, emotions, and results are approached in a realistic way. Then again, maybe realistic isn’t the best word. We’re still watching something that stays true to the comic book world.
Maybe "practical" is a better descriptor. Every decision, every item, every costume piece - they are all pieces to the end result of what Batman becomes. Wayne doesn’t wake up one day and decide that since his parents were gunned down he’s going to don a cowl and fight criminals. More so it awakens a rage that brings about self-discovery that leads to a focused thirst for justice. He trains and looks for tools that will help him reach his goal. Everything from the cape to the car is given a practical purpose, and the genius of Lucious Fox explains the origins of all the amazing gadgets.
The cast is terrific. Christian Bale makes an excellent Batman. Read my "Batman" review for details about why I enjoyed Keaton so much. I enjoy Bale just as much though in a different way. He plays the obsessive thirst for justice quite well. He’s strong and imposing while managing to be human at the same time.
Morgan Freeman can just about do no wrong. Michael Caine as Alfred is good but not as much as Michael Gough. I think the latter has a more grandfatherly quality about him that fits my mental image of Alfred.
I’ve enjoyed some of Gary Oldman’s roles but am used to seeing him as a lunatic. I groaned to learn of him as Jim Gordon, but was impressed by the restraint here. Gordon will be among Batman’s greatest allies, but he’s not there, yet. Oldman plays the initial distrust which grows into admiration quite nicely. He also plays it in over his head but rising to the surface.
Scarecrow is a little bit lesser of a villain than I expected, but Cillian Murphy still makes him interesting. I could go on and on. There are so many notable names here that I enjoyed.
Liam Neeson is perhaps one of the biggest draws. I am continually impressed with his body of work and ability to be so distinctive in so many iconic roles. He is Qui-Gon, he is Aslan, and now he's a great Batman villain.
Special Effects are impressive. I can’t think of a single moment where anything stands out as an effect. It’s done right when you don’t think about it during the movie. Everything is smooth and completely believable. This is a big movie, and it works on every level which makes it even bigger than it would have been otherwise.
Essentially this movie achieves the difficult combination of excellent character development and nicely woven plot along with dazzling visuals and adrenaline. When balancing emotion and action it’s easy to let one kill the other, but "Batman Begins" presents a meld as perfect as any movie in recent memory. It’s not going to bring anyone to tears, but it is going to make most viewers empathize and care about the players.
Morality
"Batman Begins" is dark, perhaps too much so for young kids particularly with some of the Scarecrow sequences and Batman as the invisible predator attacking. It's action so of course there’s violence but not really any more so than most of the cartoon shows.
There are a few instances of strong language, and I rather think most of them are unnecessary. Even so, there isn't much.
There’s probably less sexuality than any other Batman movie.
Spirituality
As with the older Batman movies there is virtually nothing religious or directly spiritual here. Once again we're dealing with someone that puts his life on the line to help other people. When we see Bruce arrested as a thief we realize that it was his own property that he was “stealing.” He struggles at times with the urge to take the ultimate vengeance on those that have wronged him, and he pointedly makes a decision to not save enemies at certain times. He is otherwise vocal about his unwillingness to take a life. That is as much a way for him to combat evil as is his ability to physically put a stop to whatever nefarious plans they are enacting.
Ra's Al Ghul is more or less immortal, a fact which is never explored or explained as it is in the comic book lore. In fact, there's a bit of ambiguity here about the true identity of Ra's and the nature of his immortality. The movie seems to want to avoid getting into that level of unrealistic ideas. However, the traditional explanation of Ra's and his immortality is not one of supernatural origins. He is not a “god” or magical being but has essentially figured out the secret of a real “fountain of youth.”
What's really interesting about Ra's is that he feels like he is serving justice upon evil men. He is not one to live by a command to let vengeance belong to God. In a way he is fighting fire with fire, a method that is not good enough for Batman. Bats will do what he needs to do to stop Ra's' brand of “justice” as much as he will stop those who are hurting the innocent.
Final Thoughts
In the realm of superhero movies there really have been few prior to the Marvel cinematic universe that can contend with Chris Nolan's Dark Knight series. Granted this comes from someone who ranks Batman among his favorite heroes anyway, but look at the success of "The Dark Knight" if you doubt me. Even if you don't necessarily like superhero movies if you like any measure of well written action then you should check out "Batman Begins."
Buying Guide
There so many releases out for Batman Begins that it gets a bit annoying to sort through them all especially when there are often so few details about what sets each one apart from the others. I've pawed through the product searches and other reviews for you to help get at least some idea of what the options are.
There is a single disc DVD version that’s available in both aspect ratios (widescreen or pan-&-scan AKA "Full Screen"). There is a 2-disc DVD version which is offered in a variety of packages and variations. The “Special Edition” is the standard 2 disc set. The “Deluxe Edition” appears to essentially be the Special Ed. with extra packaging and a special comic book added to it.
And here's where details start getting sketchy: at some point I saw a box for an edition that had a lenticular cover (it moves when tilted). I’m not sure if that is part of yet another version of the release or just a package variation. I have heard that the first printing of the Deluxe Ed. comic book had a misprint of some kind. It was about the time of the resulting recall that I quit seeing the lenticular covers. Perhaps they decided to exclude that from the packaging when they released the corrected book. But all that is to say I don't really know for sure what the differences between the lenticular packaged version and the others might be.
There are a number of other larger packages and exclusive offers that you may be able to find with some searching. After attempting to look them all up I decided that I couldn't put together enough reliable info to advise you on them all since I couldn't find anyone currently selling most of them. The Limited Edition Gift Set, which is available as DVD or Blu-ray, is really the only one that I can say for sure is a credible, currently available release.
Now it's time to talk about the high-def versions. There's a standard Blu (with a steelbook variation) as well as a figurine edition which has a cool looking bust of Batman for your shelf. Lastly is the HD DVD release.
That's all just talking about "Batman Begins" by itself. When you start adding "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises" you have a whole new set of options to consider. There is an “Ultimate Collection” which is the latest, greatest and is Blu only. There is a Christopher Nolan Batman Collection which includes the first 2 Dark Knight movies. Then there the Dark Knight Trilogy which includes all 3 movies. Both of these appear to be offered on DVD and Blu. And finally, there is a Christopher Nolan Director's Collection which includes the first 2 Dark Knight movies along with some others and is only available on Blu currently.
Standard DVD's:
In order to keep this section from being unbearably long I'm going to combine details as much as possible. All of the DVD's list the exact same specs so you can read about those in the details below. The one exception is the obvious one, the “full screen” release has the 1.33 pan-&-scan ratio instead of widescreen.
The single-disc DVD appears to contain everything that is on disc 1 of the 2-disc release. You may be able to get this with a digital copy of the movie now as well.
The Special Edition is the exact same product as the Deluxe Edition (which I'l cover in detail below) except for not including the book and the extra box.
Blus:
The Blus vary a bit more, at least when it comes to what is listed. The stand-alone Blu lists 2.40 widescreen while all of the others list 1.77. The actual ratio may vary a bit between the standard widescreen and the IMAX portions so it's entirely possible that the listings are just confused and there actually is no difference between the releases at all. Count on a 1080p presentation no matter which one you get. Audio is 5.1 Dolby True HD. I have read that the high-def quality is stunning especially with the IMAX prologue.
The extras in the Blu releases are exactly the same as the DVD except for an additional HD look at the sequel, "The Dark Knight," and a feature called the “In-Movie Experience” which sounds a lot like a high-tech commentary. I don't know if the comic book style interface will still be in place for the Blu, but if not that's probably an unimportant loss compared to the HD quality of the movie itself.
The HD DVD appears to be virtually the same as the standard Blu package.
Special and Limited Editions:
One version of the steelbook Blu is said to be a limited release. It lists a preview of the documentary “The Dark Knight Reborn” that I have not seen listed anywhere else and includes an Ultraviolet copy of the movie. Judging from one image I saw this may have been a Best Buy exclusive. There is a different steelbook that lists nothing that the regular Blu doesn't.
The Limited Edition Gift Set varies slightly between the DVD and Blu versions. The set will include either the 2 disc Special Edition DVD or the Blu (depending on your chosen format). Among the additional goodies listed are a bonus disc with a preview of "The Dark Knight," a few postcard lithographs. a lenticular card, and a 128 MB flash drive with some high resolution Dark Knight promo images stored on it. One review mentions that the flash drive is missing from the Blu version of the package. As best as I can tell these come with 2 books, both covering the first portion of "The Dark Knight" from different approaches. A couple of reviews have expressed disappointment over the content of the gift set saying that the package is overpriced for the quality it offers.
As for the various combo packages one is the Dark Knight Trilogy set. The Blu version appears to contain all the extras from the standard releases. The DVD version is only 3 discs and lacks many of the extras (though I have yet to find enough detail listed to say for sure what is included). Your main perk for buying the set, besides saving money, is a book which is an abridged version of "The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy."
The Christopher Nolan Collection appears to include the standard Blu release in a set with 4 other movies. It includes 10 art cards and a book with info about the movies that are included. While I haven't see all of the art cards, the Batman related ones I've seen look really sharp.
The Ultimate Collector's Edition trilogy appears to include everything that has come before it as far as extras plus about 90 minutes worth of new material including new interviews and a documentary on the trilogy. Most interesting are the 3 Hot Wheels replicas of vehicles from the films. There are also some art cards and a hardback book. Reviews suggest that the package is interesting but probably not worth the cost if you already own the movies.
You can find more variations and exclusive editions if you look hard enough. Somewhere out there is the misprinted book and other goodies, but these are your clearest, most readily available options.
Final Recommendation:
Decision time. What to get? What to get? It really depends on where you put your priorities. There are options with and without extras, inclusion of the comic book (which I thought was well worth getting) or just the movie, trilogy sets and individual releases, and HD or standard definition. Decide which options are more important to you and check the price. The Ultimate Collector's Edition trilogy is going to give you the most, but you're going to pay for it. The 2-disc DVD is satisfying, and I have enjoyed having the Deluxe Edition book. Happy hunting, batfans.
My own personal version is the 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD. As I've said before, this is the 2-disc Special Edition with a couple of additions.
Video
2.35 widescreen:
While the image quality is strong you will not get the full impact of the IMAX prologue on DVD. Other than missing out on that I have no complaints.
Audio
5.1 Dolby:
You'll get better quality by going with the Blu, but this sounds great with good bass and strong surround sound immersion.
Packaging
The disc case itself is standard plastic with an outer box large enough to store the extra book that defines this version.
The interface on disc 1 is nothing special, although it does feature some movie clips, a nice music loop, and some sound FX. The one on disc 2 is so interesting that I'm going to wait and discuss it in the Extras section below.
I get annoyed at the movie previews that play when I put in my DVD. I can't even tell you what they are for this one. I refuse to watch them. Give them to me as options on the interface and I'll check them out if I'm interested. Shove them in my face every time I play my DVD, and I'll resist seeing them at all just because I can.
Extras
-Tankman Begins (5:12) This is a short spoof made for TV. It mixes movie footage with scenes by Jimmy Fallon, Andy Dick, and Napoleon Dynamite. I’ve seen funnier, but it’s not bad. It’s certainly a worthy extra. I believe you'll be getting this no matter which version of the movie you buy.
-Trailer (1:12) A standard but good trailer.
-Interactive Comic Book Interface: Now we come to disc 2. What’s interesting about it is that the interface itself can be considered an extra feature. You’re reading a comic book version of Batman’s first encounter with Scarecrow (although it must have been taken from an earlier script draft because it doesn’t follow the movie exactly). The pages feature some simple animation, music, and basic sound FX. You move around the page looking for different things to highlight – sometimes a picture, sometimes a word – in order to access the other features.
While this is fun there are 2 problems with it. The first is not having any idea how many features may be on any given page. This isn’t so bad though, because there is an index of features at the end, so if you don’t want to hunt you can just use the menu. The downside is that there are Easter Eggs hidden in the pages, less obvious things to highlight that don’t appear in the index so if you go the index route you will miss things.
The other problem is that you have to start at page one and go through the book in order to get to any particular page including the index. That gets a bit annoying if you’re not going through all the extras at once or want to watch any one particular thing. They should have put a page index, or shortcut to it, at the beginning so you could jump to a particular page.
A few groups of features have graphic menus that are hidden and take a little effort to access. The index is easier and quicker if far more bland.
Because of all that I will reformat my extras list differently this time. I will go page by page and will include all Easter Eggs instead of giving them their own section as I usually do.
-P1:
-The Journey Begins (14:15) A behind the scenes video covering writing, casting, gaining too much weight, etc. It’s fairly long and very good. Highlight the books to access.
-P2:
-Secrecy (1:56) A behind-the-scenes Easter Egg discussing the secrecy of the script. Highlight the hole in the wall.
-P3:
-Cape & Cowl (8:17) A discussion of the costume: why wear it, in-story creation, and real world creation. Highlight Batman.
-P4:
-Concept Shot (1:05) A CGI comparison Easter Egg of Christian and the demo of his computerized self. Highlight Scarecrow’s eyes.
-P5: Nothing
-P6:
-Gotham City Rises (12:47) A behind the scenes look at the sets - building and using them. Highlight the building at the bottom of the last frame.
-Memory Fabric Cape File: A written description of the cape and its uses in story terms. Highlight the word “cape.”
-Utility Belt File: A description of the belt in story terms. Highlight the utility belt.
-P7:
-Outtakes (2:28) An Easter Egg with interesting and sometimes funny shots of tests and screwups involving the stunt team and the Batmobile. Highlight Batman’s reflection in the puddle.
-Prototype Military Suit File: A description of the body armor in story terms. Highlight the leftmost phrase “body armor.”
-The Tumbler File: A description of the Tumbler. Highlight the word “Tumbler.”
-P8:
-Scarecrow Dossier: A written description of the character. Highlight his name.
-Ra’s Al Ghul Dossier: Highlight his name.
-Carmine Falcone Dossier: Highlight his name.
-Path To Discovery (14:12) A behind-the-scenes look at Wayne’s training and other early sequences along with the locations where they take place. Highlight Ra’s.
-P9: Nothing
-P10:
-Shaping Mind & Body (12:48) A behind-the-scenes look at the stunts – rehearsals and demonstrations. It's particularly interesting if you want to know about the actual Martial Arts styles used. Highlight leftmost Batman (not counting the grayed out ones).
-Detective Sgt James Gordon Dossier: Highlight his name.
-Rachel Dawes Dossier: Highlight her name.
-P11:
-Genesis of the Bat (14:52) A behind-the-scenes look at the history of Batman in comics and the influence of specific stories on the movie. It’s long and very good. Highlight the words “ripped from the pages.”
-Art Gallery (Highlight the archetype paragraph. Unlike the other links this one opens a menu that links to the individual galleries):
-US: Several posters of various shapes and sizes. The images aren't full screen but are good quality.
-International: Several more posters showing off different artistic approaches.
-Explorations: Several more art approaches with more character ficus.
-Henri Ducard Dossier: Highlight “none of it is real.”
-P12:
-Lucius Fox Dossier: Highlight his name.
-P13:
-Tumbler (13:39) A behind-the-scenes look at the new Batmobile. It covers concept, design, creation, testing, and shooting. Highlight the car.
-Alfred Pennyworth Dossier: Highlight his name.
-P14:
-Saving Gotham City (13:00) A behind-the-scenes look at the finale action sequences. Highlight Batman.
-Index: Access the index by highlighting the page icon.
DVD-ROM
-Ineractual Player: This requires a software install and has compatability issues with later versions of Windows.
-Game Demo: This a demo of the mobile game based on the movie. It feel a lot like an old Nintendo side-scroller. This is the first level and seems to play just fine despite the previously mentioned compatability issues.
-Web Links: Here are some web links for your surfing pleasure. Don't expect too much out of them.
Physical:
-Book: The Deluxe Edition includes a book that doesn't appear to be available with any other edition. It contains 2 and a half stories. One is "The Man Who Falls" which looks at the transition of Wayne into Batman. This clearly was used in the first portion of the movie, although the movie changes the nature of the elder Wayne and expands a great deal on the events. Next is "The Bat-Man," the very first Batman story. Its inclusion was the primary reason I wanted this book since I'd never read it. It was worth the effort to get. Last is "The Longest Halloween," or a portion of it. I guess it’s worth reading to see if you might want to go out and buy the whole book. I would have preferred something more complete.