Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition)

Movie - 4.5Prior to seeing this reboot I only liked Tim Burton's renditions, but more so for them being Tim Burton movies rather than actual Batman movies. I didn't see Batman Begins in theaters and never even considered watching it till the DVD came out because I was so embarrassed at the debacle that is Joel Shumacher's Batman & Robin (though I will say Forever was decent, despite its inclination for campiness). So I blind-bought this on DVD and was blown away by its epic storytelling, characterization, and wonderful production quality. The story starts out with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) in a Bhutanese prison meeting a man named to Ducard (Liam Neeson) who works for one Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe), the leader of the League of Shadows. In meeting Ducard, he recruits Wayne and mentors him in the ways of the League, instilling and debating philosophies of good versus evil, the power of will, and the arts of deception and theatricality. In becoming one of their finest students, though, Wayne must complete his rite of passage by taking the life of a man who murdered his neighbor in a territorial dispute. But in being who he is, Wayne decides not to take the man's life, and instead, destroys the League's base of operations. He then returns to his home of Gotham City deciding to transform himself into a symbol of justice to fight crime, protect the innocent, and bring down the corrupt, in which he dawns the masked persona of Batman. And through his initial journey, he's assisted by the likes of his long-trusted butler, Alfred (Michael Caine), an old family friend at Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and the one good cop left in Gotham's police force, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman).As many times as it's been done through Batman (or any other kind of comic book/fictional writing, really) what draws me to this film the most is its presentation and symbolism of Bruce Wayne, his inner conflict with himself over the responsibility of his parents' death, his willingness and fortitude to act upon that tragedy, and his continuing efforts to be Batman and live his life for a greater cause by continuing to fight for Gotham City. My favorite aspects of the film are its dark and gloomy atmosphere, the especially wonderful cast, and an extremely well-written script that manages to amaze and inspire for both the characters and overall narrative. For an origins story, I really like how it fills in the gap of Bruce Wayne's time away from home, the lessons he learned, and how it slowly molded him into the eventual persona of the Caped Crusader. In addition to some excellent plot development and character exposition between him and his one-time mentor, I also thought it made for a great climax and clashing of ideals between two similarly-minded people, but with completely different approaches. However, being only an origins story, there's just so much depth one can expose, as this is just the tip of the iceberg until the real meat of the story shows itself in The Dark Knight.Video - 4.0- Video codec: VC-1- Video resolution: 1080p- Aspect ratio: 2.40:1- Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1Some people say HD-DVD is to blame for the apparently weak presentation seen here on the BD, but I disagree. While it's true HD-DVD does have its technical limitations in terms of disc space and attainable bit rates, their have been some pretty good ports of other films including 300, Blade Runner, The Departed, I Am Legend, The Matrix, or Troy, just to name a few. This transfer for Batman Begins is more a result of video-tinkering from the people at Warner Bros. And after seeing The Dark Knight Trilogy in IMAX, I believe I can now give a more accurate assessment to how this BD faithfully preserves the theatrical presentation. To start, let's talk about detail. From what I saw in the theater and what we're given on the BD, it's not "softness" in the picture, so much as it is a"subdued" look. Despite the image not having razor-sharp detail, Wally Pfister's photography is duly represented here and is as sharp as I saw in the theater. Very intricate weaving in the costumes and fine texturing in facial features and skin look excellent.Colors are about as bold as they should be, while blacks are almost perfect. The problem, however, lies in two factors: contrast and saturation. In seeing the SD-DVD, the BD, and the IMAX versions of the film, I've determined that the main color palette is supposed to be somewhere around a "Fall, seasonal orange." The IMAX version looked best with a very balanced dose of orange/tan, whereas the BD appears to have a more reddish/pale appearance. And because of the slightly-boosted contrast and de-saturated skin tones, it seems as if everyone is either blushing, coming down with a cold, or just got angry and is trying cooling off. It's not a bad presentation by any means, but I distinctly remember (and admired) the darker, more dreary look the film had in its IMAX presentation. And as a result of the minor tinkering, colors aren't quite as striking, and blacks aren't as deep and inky. Nonetheless, it's a much better job than what they did to The Dark Knight. Unless Nolan just really feels the need to remaster this himself for some kind of anniversary edition down the road, don't let the stigma of "HD-DVD port" fool you. It's still a pretty good transfer.Audio - 5.0Languages- English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1- English: Dolby Digital 5.1- French: Dolby Digital 5.1- Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1- Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1- Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1Subtitles- English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional)The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track may not show much in terms of numbers averaging around just under 2Mbps, but the sound quality is deceptively top-notch. Dialogue is clear and never distorts through the center. Everything from the various voices of Bruce Wayne, to his Batman growls, to Lucius Fox's echoes down in R&D, to Dr. Crane's synthesized voice are reproduced perfectly. Separation is stunning from the get-go of the opening sequence with the immersion of bats flapping around, and especially later on during the discovery of the Batcave and breakout at Arkham. The Bhutanese prison fight does a good job of a "silence and isolation" effect between Wayne's beating up of the prisoners and when Ducard confronts him with the proposal for joining The League of Shadows. Directionality is also well-placed to the rears during action sequences in the form of (more) bats, a scene of rainfall where all the drops are nicely-divided, and of course the final battle sequence on the monorail.The score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard keeps up great pace and mood between all the action and drama, though not nearly to the effect of their work in The Dark Knight, but that's for another review. Low Frequency Effects, by the way (as per the score), are booming. The crackling ice on the frozen lake is the first example of subtle, but good, bass levels, while the Batmobile chase, and the various explosions at the end of the movie all make for reference material with some excellent fidelity and dynamics in oomps and thumps. Part of the difference between what I thought I heard the first time and now, though, lies completely in the newer home theater setup I have. In fact, it makes a big difference in a lot of the movies I watch these days, so make sure you're somewhat up-to-date on your gear. My favorite scenes for reference are any of the bat immersion scenes (opening title, discovery of the Bat Cave, or when he's breaking out of Arkham), the training sequence on the frozen lake (awesome directionality and bass in the ice cracking), and the Batmobile chase (lots of booms and a great chance for the music to shine as well).Extras - 4.5- The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue (HD; 6:36)Presented in MPEG-2 and Dolby Digital 5.1, this is easily the most attractive feature on the disc. Back when I bought this BD I must've watched the Prologue a good 7 or 8 times before the The Dark Knight even came out in theaters a couple of weeks later; it was that awesome. But yes, fans of the Nolan franchise had every right to be ecstatic, as the movie itself in its entirety is beyond any real description with this being just the opening sequence. And while it was only encoded in MPEG-2, the picture quality actually looks a lot better than what they give us in Begins (then again, it's an IMAX shot with absolutely zero tinkering, outside of the aspect ratio).- In-Movie ExperienceA rather chopped up Picture-in-Picture commentary that takes most of its content from the other special features and splices them into different parts of the movie. Some of the material is exclusive to this mode, but none of it is really that insightful as a lot of the interview segments are only 1 or 2 minutes apiece on average. The presentation of said material also feels very disjointed, 1) because the audio mixes in and out of the movie's soundtrack going from a 2-channel field for the commentary into the boisterous 5.1 lossless track of the movie (which can be a bit jarring), and 2) there's not even a lot of material in the first place.Topics discussed include: the writing, Liam Neeson's emphasis on scripts, filming in Iceland, a brief interview with Ken Watanabe, the costuming of the opera scene, interviews with Katie Holmes, Tom Wilkinson, another Neeson bit about the sword training, a blurb with Emma Thompson on the ninjas being shorter than Neeson, an interview with Michael Caine about playing Alfred, Nathan Crowley and how he built the Bat Cave, an interview with Rutger Hauer, some character analyses on Lucius Fox, Jim Gordon, Alfred, and Bruce Wayne, an interview with Cillian Murphy and talk about the Scarecrow's mask, how Christian Bale approached the role of Batman, how the music was composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, and a couple of other things I don't care enough to remember. Overall, since Maximum Movie Mode wasn't around at the time I would've liked a full-blown audio commentary instead, as Nolan is very good on those. But the actual special features are still pretty informative about the production itself.Note: The extras menu has everything lined up kind of weird with the "Additional Footage" being aligned on the left side all by itself for some reason instead of on the right where it should've been. The more important features (outside of the Tankman parody) are straight down the middle. Aside from the Dark Knight Prologue and theatrical trailer, everything else is presented in SD.- Tankman Begins (SD; 5:12)MTV's lame attempt at trying to be funny for their movie awards show thingy starring Jimmy Fallon, Andy Dick, and Jon Heder. A couple of parts are funny, but the rest isn't so much.- The Journey Begins (SD; 14:16)Shows how the concept and story were developed, then eventually written, and how they went about casting. Nolan actually approached Goyer, which I thought was interesting because Goyer said he was set to direct and I never even knew he did (actually, looking at his résumé I see he did Blade: Trinity... Yeah, he's a much better writer, definitely).- Shaping Mind and Body (SD; 12:49)A look at Christian Bale's preparation for the role of Batman. Previously, he had lost 70 lbs. for The Machinist (weighed about 120 at the time), but then had to gain around 100 lbs. back for Batman Begins the following year. He says he took Nolan's words to heart to just "gain as much weight as you can," and apparently got a little too plump for the role. But they eventually toned him up by the time filming started. Big props to the guy for dedication, though I'm sure that kind of drastic change in that amount of time won't be good for his health later on.- Gotham City Rises (SD; 12:48)Shows how they made some shots of Gotham City from CG and others from scratch on a studio lot. Nathan Crowley talks in particular about how they built the Bat Cave, Arkham Asylum, and the Narrows from the ground up, which is actually pretty amazing when you consider a couple of those sets were right next to each other.- Cape and Cowl (SD; 8:18)A somewhat short, but informative look at the design of the batsuit by costume designer Lindy Hemming, who I'm just now noticing worked on a handful of James Bond movies (good for her!). In particular, she mentions how she wanted to make the suit more mobile in the neck and head area so as not to give it an awkward turning motion like previous the Batman suits had.- Batman - The Tumbler (SD; 13:40)A very interesting look at the Tumbler/Batmobile. It's pretty cool that they also built this from scratch after initially going though a few different designs in Christopher Nolan's garage. This feature focuses a lot on the actual design, mechanics, and practicality of the Tumbler itself and how they were able to get some great shots of it for the car chase sequence thanks to the amazing talents of stunt driver Chris Cottle.- Path to Discovery (SD; 14:13)Covers the filming in Iceland. This was actually around the beginning of filming and, interestingly enough, they had to shoot the training sequence on the frozen lake almost immediately because the ice was supposed to melt pretty soon after their arrival. And from the looks of the terrain, it's pretty amazing they got what they did with so little time to prepare.- Saving Gotham City (SD; 13:01)Shows the work they put into the final battle sequence on the monorail and how they wanted to make it look as real as possible with very little CG. The fight between Bale and Neeson was just the two of them with no stuntmen and really goes to emphasize the personal touch they wanted to put on it by getting the timing right. The derailment and explosion of the train itself was a miniature, and they show a few different angles of those shots.- Genesis of the Bat (SD; 14:53)A look into the comic book origins of the Batman franchise. Specifically, they attribute Batman Begins to a combination of the Year One and The Long Halloween graphic novels. It's sort of generic whether you actually read the comics or not, but it tells you enough that if you don't know about them, you should check them out anyway.- Stills GalleryPictures.- Confidential FilesPictures with text.- Reflections on Writing (SD; 1:57)A quick story on David S. Goyer's writing endeavors and how the guy at the comic book store eventually busted him for writing a Batman movie after the large amount of graphic novels he ended up buying.- Digital Batman (SD; 1:06)Reveals that the Batman that dropped down and walked out of Arkham was, in fact, completely CG'd.- Batman Begins Stunts (SD; 2:30)Shows the Tumbler tests, wire work, and stuntman Buster Reeves being lit on fire.- Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:13)A pretty bad trailer considering how epic the movie really is and how much of a better film-maker Nolan has become today.Overall - 4.5By now, I'm sure anyone that loves this movie already owns it. The thematic depth here is just the beginning; and the new direction Nolan takes the franchise in is truly a sight to behold compared to its predecessors. It's literally and figuratively dark with excellent writing from the screenplay down to the script, possesses an all-star cast of actors, and is arguably the best representation of the Batman mythos to date (well, outside of its sequels). While the video quality is a little short of excellent, the audio is reference and the extras are as meticulous as its director. Unless Warner Bros. just decides to totally remaster the video for a double/triple-dip down the road, this is at least worth owning for now and a must-see for Bat fans.

To that end, Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman has given a wonderful performance of a man with deep psychological turmoil. As an "origin story", like it has never been told on the big screen before, much credit to the direction, production and acting is deserved. An unthinkable horror for a young boy to witness, as both parents are shot down in cold blood before his eyes. The trauma set into motion a series of events for young Bruce that would mold him into the man he became.Never truly dealing with the PTSD he lived with, he grew to hate all evil in all people and places. At times, he saw it worse than the reality of its being. This is what forced him to go into self induced exile. If only to seek more evil and justify the fight under the pretense of justice. To have us, the viewer, understand Bruce's mental and emotional break from his renown fame and status, Nolan phased the storyline quickly. Maybe too rapidly.Could a young, wealthy man just disappear for 7 years with only his trusted confidant Alfred awareness? Sure. Is it possible for a man to cross ice sheets with crevasses of 20 feet apart with NO special gear? No. Of course he was able to be imprisoned for stealing from a Wayne Enterprises product. That was the goal. But after meeting Henri Ducard, (decent performance by Liam Neeson), and suggested to turn his idea into an ideal, to then climb to the Cantonese Monastery is a bit of comic book ability. Nolan must keep the film to time and advance the storyline. I guess the presumption was folks can figure out the small missing time spots. My 12 year old son did and he has not heard the origin story.Once the Mentor/trainee brutality of artful fighting has concluded, Bruce is faced with his first moral dilemma. Does he decapitate the criminal as Ra's Al Ghul demands? If so, his initiation into "The League of Shadows" would be complete. Only to learn that Ra's has greater plans to destroy Gotham as has been done to all great civilizations before it once gluttony and sinful waste has become all encompassing. Or, choose his own path of seemingly righteous, one man against evil and corruption that has overtaken Gotham? Taking the road of saving Gotham but carrying the weight of the horrific sights viewed as a boy, Bruce negates his Mentors wicked wisdom.The same could be said for anyone who has been scarred from wounds left open and salt poured on every now and then. Bruce was a well-groomed boy. He knows wrong from right. He thinks of his city, his home, first. Destroying Ra's Al Guhl might save it and prevent cataclysmic events to other peoples in the future. Yet his single-mindedness has betrayed him. The League of Shadows is not a man or of men. It is a symbolic society that restores harmony to any unbalanced civilization, as THEY see it!Bruce returns to Gotham with a new vigor. A man on a mission. Rid the city of the evils that took his parents as it were. Seeking to be more than a vigilante, he looks within his own darkest place. His mind. The darkest fears that haunt him will be the fear he will instill in his enemies. Are they his enemies?Well, this is where all the other Batman movies pick up. The George Clooney and Michael Keaton versions sort of missed the point. Don't get me wrong. They were fun in a funny, Hollywood way. Unfortunately neither actor grasped the true Darkness of who Batman is. Batman, as told by the Frank Miller stories, is seriously dark and a tad twisted. Batman isn't a real Superhero. More likely, he's a "rebel-anti-hero." This is why I feel Bale has brought the character directly from the Miller pages to the big screen so well. He is brooding, torn, lonely and on the edge of psychosis. Purely stemming from never confronting his childhood trauma. The Cowl not only hides his face but it brings out Bruce's angst. The anger and rage that underlies his every waking moment. As Batman, the ideals he adopted can be an advantage. Even if it takes him deeper into those dark places he has feared. Perfectly spoken to Flass, Batman questions him of the whereabouts and nature of the drugs. Flass says, "I don't know, I swear to god!" Batman responds with, "Swear to me!"We see the beginnings of Batman who sometimes changes back to Bruce Wayne. All he has left is Alfred/Michael Caine. Caine has truly revamped the importance Alfred plays out in Bruce's life. He is the moral compass that grounds Bruce to the Wayne name, and still keeps Batman on his feet! Caine is incredibly versatile in every role he's done!Lucious Fox/Morgan Freeman has provided Batman every item that is synonymous to the character. Bruce has the money, Fox has the tech knowhow. The relationship between the two shows a trust and professionalism of both actors who stay true to Miller's work. Caine is so talented that he can make the third to Bale and Freeman so believable.Now that Batman is outfitted with all his toys, the Tumbler makes its way into the pinnacle of Batman's success. Realizing that Dr. Crane/Cillian Murphy, AKA The Scarecrow, is but a pawn for Batman' s ultimate showdown with the League of Shadows, he pulls out all the stops. Befriending Lt. Gordon/Gary Oldman, they both work together to stop Gotham's end.As Batman says, he doesn't have the luxury of friends. Without enlisting the beginning of a quasi friendship with Gordon, Gotham would have been ripped apart by the inhabitants gone insane from the dispersant of the drugs. Every superhero needs help. The love interest? Katie Holmes did a fine job as Rachel Dawes. Nothing spectacular, compared to the A-list'ers here, she held her own.Defeating Ducard and the Microwave Emitter, Batman sure left a heck of a lot of destruction in his wake! The flattened cop cars via the Tumbler. Crazy rooftop jumps and wasted units on those roofs. How many people might have been lost in those collapsed cop cars? The crushed concrete lane dividers, the end of that entire Monorail system and it's last few carriages...and so much more! Seems like Batman leaves more destruction behind him then the bad guys!Yet this is a blow-up, action, Superhero. A hero who lives on the edge of sanity and teeters off the other end. This is what the Frank Miller stories had depicted Batman to be, a very dark figure who must walk a very fine line. Sometimes Batman needs to step across that line to do what others can't or won't. The darkness that stews within lags from the hell he saw in youth. The unchecked crime in his city and a corrupt police force that were on the take. This is not a pretty movie. Not the Tim Burton film or the 60's Batman & Robin. No. THIS is exactly the Batman that was so beautifully drawn less than 20 years ago. A character who is suffering immensely and with all his wealth and family power, sleeps alone. Nightmares about the bats that attacked him down in the well on his family property.No superhero can save you in your worst nightmares!

This is a review of both the film and the Blu-ray - specifically the 'Limited Edition Steelbook' I ordered.This steelbook case is an attractive item, depicting Batman in fine detail. It is, unfortunately, a rather costly version of the film (as I review, it's priced at £29.99) so I don't recommend it ... the ordinary Blu-ray is a good buy. The picture and audio quality are superb, and there are lots of bonus features.The film ... this movie re-boots the Batman franchise. Directed by Christopher Nolan, and starring Christian Bale, this film effectively defined the live-action Batman character for a decade. This is an origin story, exploring the genesis of Batman. We get to see Bruce Wayne suffer the loss of his parents, and his gradual distancing from normality, slowing becoming more than a man ... becoming Batman! The villains of the film are, for the most part, criminal gangsters - although two 'super-villains' from the rogue's gallery are included: the Scarecrow and Ra's al Ghul.This movie, and the legacy it established, sought to place Batman in a recognisable world - depicting a sense of realism, as omitted from the earlier films. And so, for example, Batman's gadgets and his vehicle are given explanations and backstory (rather than simply just being there). Of course, having a near-immoral enemy - in Ra's al Ghul - does detract from this realism!When the film was released, it was great to see the origin of Batman thoroughly explored - as it had only been seen in momentary flashbacks in earlier movies. Here, we understand how he's able to engage in martial arts, etc., as we see him train. All the major pieces and elements that are involved in Batman as a character - from Alfred to Wayne Enterprises, from Lucius Fox to the Batmobile - are included here. The film draws on the long history of DC comics, and seeks to create a movie that genuinely reflects how Batman is conceived in the original source materials. Of course, there are deviations - as the director has taken creative licence. Nonetheless, at its core this film does adhere to the comic books.While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - and have seen it several times since it's cinematic release - I still feel that it wasn't quite as good as it ought to have been. It lacked that special quality which makes movies truly great. And, in this case, I think that what was lacking was a singular sense of magnificent villainy ... yet what was absent here, in the first of Nolan's Batman film's, was more than made-up for in the sequel - with the arrival of the Joker. The sense of dread created by the Joker, in "The Dark Knight", is simply not apparent in "Batman Begins".Still, this is a really good film. I thoroughly recommend it. It's suitable for children and adults alike, and serves as family entertainment (although there is quite a lot of violence).This movie is an important instalment in the Batman saga ... and things go from being 'good' to 'great'. Well worth watching.

This isn’t a review of the film more of the package.We all know how good the films are, they look & sound incredible in 4k Ultra HD too.The steelbooks are very nice and very well designed, however what comes with them is just designed to push the price up another £10-£15.A selection of Artcards, a small folded double sided poster and booklet that is pictures and no words. Would you pay £10-£15 for this on its own? Absolutely not.

This is how to do an Origin Story, imo Bale is the best Batman , this set is very nice, Its a Steelbook with art cards etc housed inside a sturdy cardboard case, Very nice collectible set and a must own for fans of this series, The 4k transfer is a bit hit and miss, there is plenty of detail on show here bit there are a few soft shots, The audio is a very nice DTS Hd master. Highly Recommended

Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman along with Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman. The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of the character from Bruce Wayne's initial fear of bats, the death of his parents, his journey to become Batman, and his fight against Ra's al Ghul's plot to destroy Gotham City. It draws inspiration from classic comic book storylines such as The Man Who Falls, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Long Halloween.After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Batman on screen following the 1997 critical failure of Batman & Robin, Nolan and David S. Goyer began to work on the film in early 2003 and aimed for a darker and more realistic tone, with humanity and realism being the basis of the film. The goal was to get the audience to care for both Batman and Bruce Wayne. The film, which was primarily shot in Iceland and Chicago, relied on traditional stunts and miniatures – computer-generated imagery was used minimally.Batman Begins was both critically and commercially successful. The film opened on June 17, 2005, in the United States and Canada in 3,858 theaters. It grossed $48 million in its opening weekend in North America, eventually grossing over $374 million worldwide. The film received critical acclaim and has been considered by many as one of the best superhero films ever made. Critics noted that fear was a common motif throughout the film, and remarked that it had a darker tone compared with previous Batman films. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography and three BAFTA awards.The film is followed by The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) in a continual story-arc, which has later been referred to as The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Batman Begins is an outstanding reboot of a very familiar setting, raising the bar for reboots and making Batman relevant and interesting again after a set of weaker film and television depictions. The 2005 film directed by Christopher Nolan has since spun out a couple of sequels but Begins is the start of the story and in its own right is a great blockbuster film. Taking Batman back to his origins, Begins offers Bruce Wayne's journey into Batman and a battle with a couple of really excellent villains. The tale of the lost soul that is Bruce Wayne and his redemption through the Batman alter-ego is really well told, vastly superior to previous Batman depictions.Unsurprisingly, Begins is superior to previous depictions in that it sticks closely to some of the best of Batman lore. As with many comic adaptations, it is the use of high quality source material that makes for such a gripping story. The origins of Batman is in the death of Bruce Wayne's parents. Going back to the source, those parents are killed by a no-mark called Joe Chill. It is the casual and utterly avoidable nature of their deaths that makes it so interesting. Unlike previous screen versions where the meaning is entirely lost by changing the killer, Joe Chill is a perfect character to set Bruce Wayne off on his long journey. Chill is just a meaningless hood yet he guns down the wealthiest and most important citizen in Gotham. That juxtaposition entirely makes sense for the Batman character's motivation, the anguish of knowing his parents died for pretty much nothing.A decade later as a somewhat tortured teen Bruce Wayne clearly has not overcome the grief and nearly makes a massive mistake. His subsequent journey to what appears to be the Himalayas is an outstanding sequence, probably the strongest part of a terrific film. Finding Ra's al Ghul as a mentor, Bruce Wayne's entire life view is questioned. Coming of age and finding out who you are is an all too common motif but Batman Begins gets it so very right. Wayne is trained physically but more importantly he is trained philosophically. Ra's offers an incredibly plausible case for turning to the dark side. This is fascinating as so often the case is made for turning to the light but Ra's offers argument about being prepared to defend values that really resonates. It is Wayne's eventual rejection of the Ra's philosophy that ultimately leads him to be Batman.The physical action during the training sequences is amazing. The place really feels cold. The real-life location of Iceland is a decent stand-in with the sequences on the frozen lake being particularly breath-taking. Probably the most impressive physical action takes place when Bruce faces his final challenge. The combat within a maze of ninjas is beautiful choreography.While the eastern sequences are particularly impressive, the visuals in the return to Gotham are also very nice. Gotham is dark, it is broken, it feels oppressive. In some ways the Gotham of Batman Begins shares the feel of Sin City. While it might not be quite as harsh as Sin City, anything that compares even closely to Sin's brilliance is itself impressive.Perhaps the two highlights of the return to Gotham are Bruce Wayne's development of a double life and the villains he faces. The angst of the Batman character lives alongside the arrogance of another character. Bruce Wayne himself disappears. All that remains is the grim and unrelenting Batman and the vacuous Bruce Wayne. Neither is the real person. Other double life super heroes have only one alter ego, Batman Begins presents two in the same person - fascinating. The pinnacle of the Bruce Wayne alter ego is his incredibly insulting speech at a party in his honour. It is just dripping with egoistic venom. It serves a particular plot purpose but really pushes character boundaries in a way that other films have not dared.As with any great character, it is the relations with others that mark Batman out. Love interest Rachel Dawes played by Katie Holmes is the perfect romantic foil. She is sweet but highly intelligent. She sets a standard for Wayne that he cannot possibly meet. This is just so excellent - the romantic love interest should be easily obtainable. Katie Holmes is not a stunner and she's playing a girl next door. Even so she turns the exceedingly rich, handsome, and altruistic Wayne even when she knows all he does. This denial plays so well into Batman's heart-hardened character.His relationship is far closer with Michael Caine's Albert the butler. Caine works very well in this role. His trademark accent seems to fit which is unusual for a film from this century. Albert is the helping hand Bruce needs but he's also the source of some of the film's underlying meaning.The corporate angle of Bruce Wayne's life is one of the few areas that doesn't quite work. The antipathy with Rutger Hauer's Earle interacts with Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox doesn't flow well. Earle is one of the few cliches in the film and his line about getting memos is horrendously dated and out of place in such a modern and dark film. Lucius Fox is not much better. Why he is buried down in the basement with all the most interesting gadgets is unclear as after all those are the very pieces of equipment that a corporation would want to avoid falling into the hands of others yet the enemy of the acting CEO seems to be given free run with all the corporation's technology.Still, the weaker spots are more than made up for with the interaction between Batman and the various villains. Scarecrow and Ra's are both outstanding. Scarecrow is wonderfully played by Cillian Murphy. He is incredibly menacing especially without the mask. The way he inflicts fear upon the vulnerable is truly evil and makes for a great opponent. Ra's is much more of a subtle combatant for Batman and it is right that there seems to be some respect between the pair. Liam Neeson's height, age, and gravitas fit so well.All of the greatness of Batman Begins would not be possible without Christian Bale. Bale is himself quite a dark and intense person. In the same way that Robert Downey Jr was ideal for Iron Man, Christian Bale is ideal for Batman. He is less believable as the young adult Bruce Wayne in Gotham but he is pitch perfect on the trail towards the Himalayas and fits both the gritty, noble, and self sacrificing Batman and the spiteful and anti-social persona of Bruce Wayne.The acting is supported by good action sequences. Good use of the utility belt and other traditional Batman effects helps. The batmobile looks great. The chase sequence it is involved in is perfectly fine but not especially interesting given the over-abundance of chase sequences in cinema. Batman's fighting style is interesting. It does not looks like boring wire work but it seems hard hitting and impactful.As a piece of cinema, Batman Begins is coherent, interesting, and entertaining. Some of the characters are superb, especially Batman and the two main villains. The setting works so well and taking Batman back to the darkness the original exists in makes for a far more thought-provoking plotline than anything television or cinema has produced so far. Christopher Nolan's reboot of this franchise is a cut above many other reboots and everyone involved deserves credit.The DVD Extras on the two-disc edition are solid. The talking head work is really good, exploring the most interesting aspects of the film. The technical exposition of the costume and the batmobile are both engaging. The miniatures special effects section is a little un-inspiring but the introduction to the fighting style is fascinating even if some of the elbow crunch strikes seem a bit odd. The Extras are a good complement to an outstanding film.