Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Batman reinvented. That’s Batman Begins. The various movies have changed the styles and designs, but only Tim Burton’s first Batman, which has been my favorite of the franchise up until now, had done a thorough overhaul creating the basic concepts that would be used throughout the next three movies. There was a continuity between some of the cast, the basic look and function for the suit and car, and similar technology for the gadgets. Just as Burton’s Batman did, Batman Begins takes a fresh and updated look at the elements. Impressive in every way, it has the dark somberness that made its predecessor so well liked plus the action and then some that made Batman Forever popular, great story, great acting, great effects.

The other movies have dealt with the duality of Bruce Wayne. BB takes a different approach and explores new territory. We see in detail the motivations, circumstances, and training that morph Wayne into Batman. Playboy Wayne barely shows up at all. The alter-egos apply more to his father figures this time. Ducard, his mentor, becomes his father figure only to end up in conflict. When he’s gone, Alfred steps into that role. It is only then that Wayne is able to focus on the life he wants to lead. The nature of his relationships to these people help take the movie beyond the standard action flick.

Much of this time in Wayne’s life was unexplored until now. The specifics of his journey and training, everything that culminates into the birth of a legendary hero is now depicted. The motivations, emotions, and results are approached in a realistic way.

Then again, maybe realistic isn’t the best word. We’re still watching something that stays true to the comic book world. It’s practical, though. Wayne doesn’t wake up one day and decide that since his parents were gunned down he’s going to don a cowl and fight criminals. More so it awakens a rage that brings about self-discovery that leads to a focused thirst for justice. Everything from the cape to the car is given a practical purpose and the genius of Lucious Fox explains the origins of all the amazing gadgets.

The cast is terrific. Christian Bale makes an excellent Batman. Read my Batman review for details about why I enjoyed Keaton so much. I enjoyed Bale just as much though in a different way. He plays the obsessive thirst for justice quite well. He’s strong and imposing while managing to be human at the same time.

Morgan Freeman can just about do no wrong. Liam Neeson manages to be a mentor without feeling like a rehash of Qui Gon. Michael Caine is good but not as good as Gough; I think the latter has a more fatherly quality about him that fits my mental image of Alfred more.

I’ve enjoyed some of Gary Oldman’s roles, but am used to seeing him as a lunatic. I groaned to learn of him as Jim Gordon, but was impressed by the restraint here. Gordon will be among Batman’s greatest allies, but he’s not there, yet. Oldman plays the initial distrust which grows into admiration quite nicely. He also plays it in over his head in dealing with the corrupt police force but rising to the surface.

Scarecrow is a little bit lesser of a villain than I expected, but Cillian Murphy still makes him interesting. I could go on and on. There are so many notable names here that I enjoyed

Special Effects are impressive. I can’t think of a single moment where anything stands out as an effect. It’s done right when you don’t think about it during the movie. Everything is smooth and completely believable. This is a big movie, and it works on every level which makes it even bigger than it would have been otherwise.

Essentially this movie achieves the difficult combination of excellent character development and nicely woven plot along with dazzling visuals and adrenaline. When balancing emotion and action it’s easy to let one kill the other, but Batman Begins presents a meld as perfect as any movie in recent memory. It’s not going to bring anyone to tears, but it is going to make most viewers empathize and care about the players.

Content:
It’s dark, perhaps too much so for young kids. There are some frightening moments. It’s action so of course there’s violence but not really any more so than most of the cartoon shows. There are a few instances of bad language, and I rather thought most of them were unnecessary. There’s probably less sexuality than any other Batman movie.

DVD:
There are multiple DVD releases out. I’m not even clear on the differences with some of them. I think there’s a single disc version that’s available in both video formats (widescreen or pan & scan). I think there are also 2 versions of the 2-disc version the key difference being the inclusion of a comic book. That may be all of them although at some point I saw a box that had a 3D motion cover that moved when it was tilted. I’m not sure if that is part of yet another version of the release or just a package variation. I have heard that the first printing of the comic book had a mistake of some kind. It was about the time of the recall that I quit seeing the 3D covers. Perhaps they decided to exclude that from the packaging when they released the corrected book. EDIT: There's now also the Blu-ray and some packages that include more than just the movie.

At any rate what I call tell you about is what is included with the 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD. This version has a regular plastic DVD case with a small inner tray for the other disc. That case fits in a box (standard cover, no motion) in which also fits a comic book.

The book contains 2 and a half stories. One is The Man Who Falls which looks at the transition of Wayne into Batman. This clearly was used in the first portion of the movie, although the movie changes the elder Wayne and expands a great deal on the events. Next is The Bat-Man, the very first Batman story. It’s inclusion was the primary reason I wanted this book. Last is The Longest Halloween, or a portion of it. I guess it’s worth reading to see if you might want to go out and buy the whole book. I would have preferred something more complete.

The movie is presented in 2.35 anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 surround sound. The interface on disc 1 pales in comparison to disc 2 (which I will discuss later) but does feature some nice animation, music, and sound FX. Playing before the movie are some previews and other things (don’t ask me what the previews are because I refuse to watch them). This leads up to the interface (go make some popcorn while the previews play out). Then are a rating and some logos. Finally you actually get to watch the movie. ‘Bout time!

EXTRAS:
Disc 1 extras are a trailer and Tankman Begins. "Tankman..." is s short spoof made for TV. It mixes movie footage with scenes by Jimmy Fallon, Andy Dick, and the guy that was Napoleon Dynamite. I’ve seen funnier, but it’s not bad. It’s certainly a worthy extra.

Now we come to disc 2. What’s interesting about it is that the menu itself can be considered an extra feature. You’re reading a comic book version of Batman’s first encounter with Scarecrow (although it must have been taken from an earlier script draft because it doesn’t follow the movie exactly). The pages feature some simple animation, music, and basic sound FX. You move around the page looking for different things to highlight – sometimes a picture, sometimes a word – in order to access the other features.

While this is fun there are 2 problems with it. The first is not having any idea how many features may be on any given page. This isn’t so bad though, because there is an index of features at the end, so if you don’t want to hunt you can just select from the menu. The downside is that there are Easter Eggs hidden in the pages, less obvious things to highlight that don’t appear in the index.

The other problem is that you have to start at page one and go through the book in order to get to any particular page including the index. That gets a bit annoying if you’re not going through all the extras at once or want to watch any one particular thing. They should have put a page index at the beginning so you could jump to a particular page.

So here are the pages and what’s on them.
P1:
Conceiving Batman: a behind the scenes video covering writing, casting, etc. It’s fairly long and very good. Highlight the books to access.

P2:
A behind the scenes clip discussing the secrecy of the script. Highlight the hole in the wall.

P3:
A discussion of the costume: why wear it, in-story creation, and real world creation. Highlight Batman.

P4:
CGI Comparison of Christian and his computerized self. Highlight Scarecrow’s eyes.

P5:
Nothing

P6:
A behind the scenes look at the sets, building and using them. Highlight the city below gliding Batman.
A written description of the cape and its uses in story terms. Highlight the word “cape.”
A description of the belt in story terms. Highlight the utility belt.

P7:
Stunt Outtakes – interesting and sometimes funny. Highlight Batman’s reflection in the puddle.
Description of the body armor in story terms. Highlight the leftmost phrase “body armor.”
Description of the Tumbler. Highlight the word “Tumbler.”

P8:
Scarecrow dossier (written description of the character). Highlight his name.
Ra’s Al Ghul dossier. Highlight his name.
Carmine Falcone dossier. Highlight his name.
A behind the scenes look at Wayne’s training and other early sequences and the locations where they take place. Highlight Ra’s.

P9:
Nothing

P10: Behind the scenes look at stunts – rehearsals and demonstrations. Particularly interesting if you want to know about the actual Martial Arts styles used. Highlight leftmost Batman.
James Gordon dossier. Highlight his name.
Rachel Dawes dossier. Highlight her name.

P11:
A behind the scenes look at the influence of specific comic book stories. It’s long and very good. Highlight the words “ripped from the pages.”
Access the galleries by highlighting the archetype paragraph. The galleries include US posters, international posters, and poster ideas. There are some great images here.
Henri Ducard dossier. Highlight “none of it is real.”

P12:
Lucius Fox dossier. Highlight his name.

P13:
A behind the scenes look at the new Batmobile. It covers concept, design, creation, testing, and shooting. Highlight the car.
Alfred Pennyworth dossier. Highlight his name.

P14:
A behind the scenes look at the finale scene. Highlight Batman.

Access the index by highlighting the page icon.

Final thoughts:
This is an outstanding movie and a DVD that’s worth the price. I’m mildly disappointed we didn’t get a commentary, but there are some really nice behind the scenes clips, the comic book interface is fun, and having the original Batman story is a treat. If you like Batman at all this movie is worth a purchase, and unless you just have no interest whatsoever in extras with a movie you should go for the 2 disc edition (or Blu-ray). 5* for this one. Now let’s see how they reinvent the Joker….

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older