Batman Begins

Lets forget about my efforts to re-write a Christmas jingle for Batman Begins 2005, with my corny introductory title and focus on this action packed film. The movie opens with young Bruce chasing Rachel through what looks like an enchanted garden. Rachel hides then young Bruce hides and falls to the bottom of a cave where bats suddenly fly out. The movie jumps to Bruce the bearded adult who is behind bars in what looks like an East Asian concentration camp. Bruce is harassed, intimidated and assaulted taking several good punches before defending himself to what seems like an army of fellow prisoners who want to get their licks in, until the guards break up the scuffle with automatic gunfire. Bruce is tossed into solitary confinement where he meets Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) a well-dressed ambassador of sorts for Ra's Al Ghul. Ducard explains to Bruce that a man of his stature cannot hide from the world no matter how low he sinks. Ducard offers the brooding and sullied Bruce the opportunity to make more of himself, explaining that he will be released tomorrow, and if he wants to find his true path, he is to find a rare blue flower that grows on the eastern slopes, he is to pick one of these flowers and carry it to the top of the mountain.


It's not long after reaching the top of the mountain that Bruce is introduced to the mysterious Ra's Al Ghul the leader of the League of Shadows. Ducard personally trains Bruce in the black arts learning some of the most lethal fighting techniques in the world. Because of his conscious he is unable to perform the final test and leaves the organization in dramatic fashion. He is now a man with a mission headed back to save Gotham City. However in order to save the city he must create his identity and get help from Alfred (Michael Caine) the faithful butler and former Wayne Enterprise board member Lucius Fox (Morgan Freedman). Ultimately this film revolves around Bruce discovering himself after his parents are robbed and killed as he matures into manhood and seeks justice. The motif of Bruce conquering his fears and using it against his enemies runs through the film like the waterfall in the bat cave. It is interesting how Director Christopher Nolan used flashbacks, to illustrate the death of Bruce's parents and how he pulls his father into the films taking a few editorial liberties.


Immediately from the films opening scene Director Nolan pulls the viewer into a mystery and journey of discovery. It is crystal clear Nolan and co-writer David Goyer took their time developing and making this film. Personally, I enjoyed every moment of watching this mystery unfold, as Bruce conquered his doubts and dawned the bat suit. Initially I had some reservations with Christian Bale playing the role of Bruce Wayne and Batman perhaps type casting him from his crazy role in the film American Psycho 2000. After viewing the movie in the theater and the DVD, I'm glad I gave Bale another chance since he does a good job in both roles here. Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) fit the build for as an attractive, tough district attorney and hidden love interest of Bruce, however it did not appear in my opinion that actors Bale and Holmes had any real on screen chemistry when they were together. Michael Caine, Morgan Freedman, and Gary Oldman all did outstanding jobs as a supporting cast delivering a wholesome portion of believability in their uplifting characters. The films villains Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), Dr. Crane a.k.a the Scare Crow (Cillian Murphy) and Henri Ducard a.k.a. Ra's Al Ghul leader of the Tibetan League of Shadow's make for worthy adversaries giving evil memorable faces of horror


With all the toy merchandising I've seen at Wal-Mart and Toy-R-Us, parents should be prepared for this one. If you've avoid violent TV programming, video games, and toy guns you definitely want to skip this one for the kiddies. This film is rated PG-13 as it's filled with fighting, and various degrees of negative attitudes. The viewer is spared viewing a real killing but there is a scene where it is implied that one of the villains was allowed to die and would not be saved. There are other parts of the movie when Batman engages in hand to hand combat you can hear bone breaking mixed with solid punches that look like that actually connect. While I think the cinematography and graphics were wonderful, there were times when I felt the lighting was a bit dark.


There were a number of things I really liked about this film. Batman Begins theme and plot are inspirational as the viewer buys into the story long before watching the actual film. While most American's may not be experts on the Batman comic book series we've had plenty of opportunity to be introduced to this fictional character every since Batman (1966) when actor Adam West took the TV series to the next level. However it should be noted that Batman Begins is not your average campy flick where the cape crusader is undone. This film offers lots of grab your attention, blood pumping action and intrigue where the story actually makes sense. I do recommend you block off a good chunk of your evening if you are planning on watching this tonight since it has a run time of 141 minutes.


My DVD review is about a month late since it was released to video on October 18, 2005. It should be noted that there are two DVD versions. I did not purchase the high-end two-disc version; I opted for the basic edition priced at $14.99. The DVD full screen edition starts with various scenes from the actual movie taking the viewer to what I would call a basic repetitive mini preview of what's to come in the film. You don't get much other than the actual movie and theatrical trailer when using this barebones version. This film can be heard in English and French, with subtitles in both of these languages including Spanish version. If you have the technology you can insert the DVD into your PC's ROM Drive to get some additional special features.



When Batman Begins was originally released back in June of 2005 like other DC Comic fans I rushed to the theaters to check out the caped crusader. It was simply marvelous watching the Batman on the big screen in its realistic comic book adaptation. After viewing it in the theater I knew I would add the DVD to my collection. Overall, I really enjoyed viewing this again and liked what the DVD had to offer. The DVD offers play, scenes, features, I've watched it twice at home and the results are still the same this gets a whopping 5 out of 5 stars. Now you too can watch Bruce Wayne protect Gotham City as Batman, right in your own living room.