DVD Review: Batman Begins

When I first saw the previews for Batman Begins, I was hesitant. I loved the Batman that had Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. I felt that all the Batman movies after that first one got more and more lame (I do plan on reviewing all of them at some point). But a lot of word-of-mouth from friends and co-workers really got me interested in seeing this movie in the theater...it's been one of my favorite all-time movies ever since.

Batman Begins tells the story of just that, the beginning of Batman. It follows what all Bruce Wayne went through to become Batman. Christian Bale does an awesome job playing this character. There are differences from the original Batman (Bruce's parent's killer was not The Joker, but some random guy who ended up sharing a cell with Gotham's big crime boss Carmine Falcone, played by Tom Wilkinson). Anywho, Bruce Wayne wants revenge and he never gets his chance. So he goes on his journey to deliver justice. As you can probably tell, he becomes Batman. He meets up with Henry Ducard (Liam Neeson) who shows him the way of the League of Shadows led by a man named Ra's Al Ghul. There Bruce hones his skills and learns how to deliver justice. Also in the movie are Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox (a top scientist at Wayne Enterprises), Gary Oldman as good cop Jim Gordon, Katie Holmes as Bruce Wayne's "love interest" and assistant city prosecutor Rachel Dawes, and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Crane/Scarecrow.

One thing I really liked about the movie, which some have criticized, is Batman's voice. He disguises even his voice so people can't make any guesses at who he is (like a "you sound familiar"). It seems like everyone involved in the movie made it as realistic as possible. The music in the movie adds a lot as well. I am very excited for The Dark Knight which comes out in July. I highly recommend this movie. You can find it for pretty cheap now, which would be good because it's good enough to buy. I watched it probably ten times now. Feel free to leave any comments you may have.

My rating: 10/10 corns

Buy Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition) on DVD
Buy Batman Begins on Blu-ray

-Scott