What a way to make an entrance
When the first trailer for Batman Begins hit the Internet, I was skeptical. I didn’t know much about Christopher Nolan and hadn’t seen much of Christian Bale (since his best movie, at least for me at the time, was Empire of the Sun. His last movie I actually saw was Reign of Fire, that sucked big time), and having been so scarred by Joel Schumacher’s atrocities, there wasn’t much hope. After seeing Batman finally in his proper environment, as the Dark Knight, in a dark (not too dark, like Tim Burton’s) story with a very human element to it, it was a breath of fresh air. When you can explain every detail of a superhero and provide realistic explanations of how they became who they are, then that is a good movie. Bringing a human element that everyone can relate to in some fashion, that isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, made this movie what it is, a believable success.
Based on so many different storylines from the Batman/DC universe, Nolan and his team put together everything perfectly. How Bruce Wayne transforms himself into the Dark Knight is gorgeous. You get to see Wayne’s failures ,his flaws, his purpose and his tragedy all building up to the moment where he nearly perfects his second personality. The fact that Nolan gave more backstory to Wayne’s parents and what they did for Gotham is something that never truly got explained up to this point in any Batman films previously. That makes his parents seem better than just snobby rich people. That, in itself, gave a bit more depth to Bruce Wayne and showed his miseries and empty billionaire life (yes, it’s true that money cannot create happiness). It also gave Wayne a purpose to fight crime two-fold. Obviously, he wanted to fight crime to prevent more innocent lives from being killed, but also it showed Bruce’s desire to continue what his father didn’t get to fully accomplish, making Gotham a better place to live. Any good story sets up strong characters and this is by far the best set of characters for the Batman franchise, to date.
Now, the environments for the Batman movies has been constantly re-invented. From the goofy, colorful environments and places in the 60s, to the ultra dark places in Burton’s vision of the character, to the horribly colorful and broadway-esque sets of Schumacher, there were plenty of different ways of doing this film. Batman Begins provided something completely new and raw. First, Nolan invented Gotham and made it a giant metropolis, something similar to Chicago (surprise!) or New York City. He then created the other places, like Wayne Manor, which is a bit more welcome to the eyes, but still slightly gloomy. Once you have the main environment intact then you can begin building the pieces, such as the characters, and it certainly shows. The city is gritty, tough and worst for wear than people can see from far away. That sentiment rings true for Bruce Wayne. The environment makes the people inside of it, all cities do that to their residents (that’s how New Yorkers got such a bad rap).
What Nolan has done for Batman, what everyone involved seems to have put together for Nolan (and his vision of the series), you have to give them props. Ten years ago this franchise was a joke, now it’s a serious crime-drama. You have to give credit where credit is due and it all falls in the lap of Christopher Nolan.
Batman Begins is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Batman on Blu-ray
I have always said that the perfect type of movie that uses the Blu-ray format properly happens to be action films. Batman Begins has plenty of action in it and it shows visually and audibly. With an enhanced HD picture and perfect 5.1 True HD sound, you won’t find anything better for home entertainment. You won’t know the true beauty of this film until you see Wayne travel and train through the mountains and then you’ll fall in love with it. So, in a nutshell, this is the best version of Batman Begins anywhere. Better than the theater, better than the DVD, it’s truly the best.
To make it even better, the special features are out of this world. Remember when you got Blade Runner: The Final Cut on Blu-ray/DVD? Remember the sole feature on the disc that was four-hours long about the entire production process of the film? You get that on Batman Begins. You also get six minutes, in HD, of the first part of The Dark Knight, which is worth the price of admission alone. You also get some fantastic commentary on the disc that makes the film even deeper. There’s nothing as cool as seeing the Tumbler get put together from concept to model to actual vehicle. You get a clear description of nearly every object and purpose in the film, on this Blu-ray. The features are perfect.
Blu-ray is the best
Am I bias? No. Despite what my fellow editor-in-chief might tell you, I saw this format as the definitive winner from day one. The quality of picture you get, the sound performance that makes home entertainment better than theatrical, is all right here in Batman Begins. Because of that extra space that the format provides you now get a giant leap in how many features you can fit onto one motion picture.
Without a doubt, this is the definitive version of Batman Begins and anyone who thinks otherwise just doesn’t get it. If you get it, then get it!