Review of Batman Begins (2 disc set)

Introduction

Dinner, dinner, dinner, Batman!
Dinner, dinner, dinner, Batman!
Dinner, dinner, dinner, Batman!

Cue many school jokes about how Batman`s mum calls him in for his evening meal.

Yes, Batman has been with us all for many years now. From the camper than a row of pink tents TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, to cartoon series, and the comics/graphic novels that started it all.

This is the fifth big screen appearance for the Batman. I remember going to see the first one at the State Cinema in Grays, back in 1989, a quality old school cinema, with the organist rising up out of the stage floor playing those Hammond classics. That first film was also the first film to be released with the new "12" rating from the BBFC. Directed by Tim Burton, with Michael Keaton as our hero, Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Kim Basinger along for the ride too, it looked like the public were going to get a new, darker Batman, much closer to the original character. And they were almost right....

But then it started to go downhill with 1992`s Batman Returns, which lost something of the original, despite Tim Burton still being in charge. And then Joel Schumacher took over, and we were pretty much back to the camp TV series version of Batman again with 1995`s Batman Forever and Val Kilmer getting a quick turn in the cape, and 1997`s Batman & Robin going totally over the top, with George Clooney behind the mask, and Schwarzenegger in as villain Mr Freeze.

Batman was dead and buried.

Then along come Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, with a new film Batman Begins. They wanted to reinvent Batman, and get back to that darker character from those original comics, taking inspiration from the many threads in those early stories.

We start out with Bruce Wayne, who whilst travelling the world to investigate the criminal mind ends up in an Asian prison. Here he meets a shadowy underground figure, who releases him from the prison and trains him, teaching him to face his demons (the shooting of his parents in front of him when he was young) and training him in martial arts.

He rejects their offer to join their group, and returns to Gotham where we meet villains, police and old friends. Bruce decides that the best way to fight crime and corruption is to stand up to it, to become a character who will strike fear into others.

Batman.

Video

A wonderful 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer greets us on this disc which brings the film to life at home. You shouldn`t really expect anything less from a big budget blockbuster, but sometimes they let you down. Not this time though, a trouble free transfer with excellent colours (where available), lots of detail and a distinct lack of any damage to the print. This is an intentionally dark and black film (insert Fast Show joke here) but it looks excellent.

Audio

A nice big, booming and banging DD5.1 soundtrack to accompany the excellent visuals. Being a bit of a blockbuster, this is a film with a lot of sound to dazzle you with. From explosive action sequences to quieter, more reflective moments backed by an impressive score, this is a good sound mix. As you would expect, dialogue is always clean and crisp (if a touch too laden with cheese now and again).

My only gripe is the lack of a dts track, as they usually have the edge on my system. However, there`s nothing wrong with the one we do get!

Features

A 2 disc set, loaded with extras, all of them appearing on disc 2. The menus are in a comic book style, so you navigate between the pages, and select the features by clicking around the words and pictures on the pages. An innovative idea, but if you nip off to the last page, you can use a conventional menu, although you won`t get the easter eggs buried in the comic pages that way. Here`s what we get:-

"The Journey Begins" is a good look at how the new film came to be, featuring interviews with Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer and footage of early work on the film.

"Shaping Mind and Body" features the training, stunt work and other things required to make a film like this. An interesting insight.

"Gotham City Rises" focuses on the latest version of Gotham, "New York on steroids" was Nolan`s vision. Very interesting to look at the huge sets built for the film, and the massive amount of attention to detail.

"The Cape and Cowl" follows the new costumes, supposedly based more on military realities than the "looking good" designs of earlier films.

"Batman - The Tumbler" features the new Batmobile, again based on a more military design.

"Path to Discovery" talks about this new Batman`s fighting methods, and some of the training and techniques used.

"Saving Gotham City" hones in on the final sequence of the film, and looks at set designs, miniatures, model making and more.

"Genesis of the Bat" takes a further look at how the film came together, concetrating on the comparisons between it and some of the comic books.

In addition to these featurettes, there are 12 "Confidential Files", which are just text screens with information on characters and also Batman`s various bits and pieces of useful stuff.

The only gripe is the lack of commentary, as it is the norm rather than the exception nowadays. There`s still plenty of stuff here to give you lots of information about the film though.

Conclusion

Wow! A proper Batman film, all about Batman.

At the end of the day, it`s still essentially about Batman taking on the villains, and good triumphing over evil. But this is a tarnished good, not quite the squeaky clean heroic Batman that you might have met before. This is the real Batman, haunted by demons, memories that will never leave. Christian Bale does a good job here, convincing as both Bruce Wayne and Batman.

An excellent supporting cast help too - Michael Caine as Alfred, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Rutger Hauer and Gary Oldman, not playing a villain for once! He works well as a younger Gordon, not yet the commissioner we know from the TV series.

It`s a film of two halves. The first is the set up, getting us ready for our new Batman. The second is the pay off, as he arrives to take on the villains. But the first part doesn`t drag, and you`re interested in it, want to watch it, and aren`t just waiting for the second half. Wathcing the first half makes the second half all the more worthwhile.

A very good film, surely the best Batman yet. Can the next one live up to it? It`s got a lot of work to do! The DVD itself is an excellent package, with excellent picture and sound, and a nice set of extras. The lack of dts and a commentary shouldn`t put you off, although those naughty people who put the RRP up to 22.99 deserve a smack, since similar packages are released at 19.99 all the time. Luckily you can pick this up for less than half the naughty RRP from your favourite online retailers!

Great film, great DVD. This one will sell well and you`ll be happy to find it in your Xmas stocking!