By BAADASSSSS!

Batman Begins
2-disc Deluxe Edition
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Katie Holmes, Tom Wilkinson
Rated PG-13

The Batman franchise was dead, ran into the ground by the Day-Glo pop art vomitus of the Joel Schumacher-directed sequels Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). The character thrived in the comics and on various animated series, but cinematically the Caped Crusader was a dated joke. The film series had started out strong with the first two entries helmed by devoted Bat-fan Tim Burton. Those films were praised for their innovative art direction, visual effects, and the enthuastic performances by actors such as Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny Devito in the villain roles. And yet they were never exactly faithful to the spirit of the Batman comics. Once Schumacher had driven a stake into the series’ heart (prodded on by the greed and indulgence of moronic studio executives) the time was right for the Dark Knight Detective to have a big-screen rebirth. Warner Bros. interviewed several potential candidates, including Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) and the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix), but ultimately found the men most capable of making the Batman film that was meant to be since Bob Kane’s legendary character debuted in the pages of Detective Comics in 1937: writer David S. Goyer (Blade, Dark City) and director Christopher Nolan (Memento).

Batman Begins follows young Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) as the sudden and brutal murder of his parents sets him on the path that will result in his one day becoming the Dark Knight.

The disillusioned billionaire travels the world searching for answers when he meets the mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), reprensentative of Ra’s Al Ghul (Ken Wantanabe), the leader of the ancient order of vigilantes known as the League of Shadows. Bruce begins his tutelage in the ways of the ninja under Ducard and becomes his greatest student, the one meant to lead the League in their deadliest missions. But Bruce soon rejects Ra’s and his methods when he learns of the League’s intentions to destroy his home of Gotham City. Returning home he enlists the help of his loyal family retainer Alfred (Michael Caine) in building the secret identity he will use to strike fear into the heart of the criminal underworld. The key to his shadowy persona will come from his greatest childhood fear: bats.

From the visually arresting opening image of thousands of bats forming the familiar Batman logo to the absolutely perfect final scene that shrewdly sets up the upcoming sequel The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s long-gestating reboot of the maligned Bat-franchise gets everything right. This is the best Batman film yet to hit the big screen, a mighty full-throttle epic adventure that nails every detail and nuance of the Caped Crusader’s dark and majestically funky universe. Collaborating on the screenplay with David S. Goyer, Nolan has stripped the Bruce Wayne/Batman character down to his basics. The focus of the film is on Wayne’s inner conflict with his desire to seek revenge for the murder of his parents and the need to accept the higher calling of becoming a nocturnal defender of justice. This is the most detailed cinematic take on Batman’s origin to date, a story that needed to be told but could only be glimpsed in snippets during the first four films. That always annoyed me. Bruce Wayne’s evolution into Batman is one of the most fascinating stories in comics history and it cried out for a proper big-screen telling. Nolan and Goyer give the largest amount of screen time to breaking down Batman’s origin into the smallest details, from how he established the Batcave to how he assembled the costume and weapons he would use in his war against the criminal scum of Gotham. It’s not just a part of a larger story, it is the story. It’s the most important story and it’s finally been done proper big-screen justice.

Christian Bale is the best actor to portray both Bruce Wayne and Batman to date. The roles are his forever as far as I’m concerned. Bale is able to tap into Wayne’s inner darkness to fuel his portrayal of Batman but is also capable of remaining haunted and sympathetic as Bruce Wayne. Nolan realized that the right actor must be able to play both parts brilliantly for they are two sides of the same coin. Bale has the acting talent and the physicality to pull both roles off with class and skill.

The rest of the cast is all aces. Nolan sure put together quite a company here. Michael Caine is the perfect Alfred, a tough but caring father figure to Bruce and a great sidekick to Batman. Caine does more with the Alfred role than any actor who came before him, making the stereotypical butler figure into a memorable character you really care for. Gary Oldman was a surprise choice to play Batman’s friend and police liaison Jim Gordon, a young sergeant in this movie, and he gives the role his all. Made to resemble the Gordon of the comics (in particular Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One), Oldman gives a convincing performance as the last honest cop in Gotham and even gets to inject a little pathos and humor in the part. Katie Holmes doesn’t get enough credit for her performance as assistant district attorney and Bruce’s love interest-in-waiting Rachel Dawes. She seems a bit young for the part but her performance is really worthy of the film and compliments Bale’s acting nicely. Tom Wilkinson comes off as a little too goombahish as crime boss Falcone but he’s fierce and funny. Morgan Freeman is wise and wonderfully sarcastic as Batman’s weapons man Lucius Fox. Liam Neeson brings an extra shade of moral complexity to his usual mentor role as Henri Ducard and it works like gangbusters. Cillain Murphy, a runner-up for the Batman role, gets a dandy consolation prize as the fearsome whack-job villain Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. the Scarecrow, and is one of the most memorable of Batman’s cinematic baddies with a potent mix of insanity and cold-blooded logic. The only actor I felt was wasted was the great Ken Wantanabe as Ra’s Al Ghul. He’s terrific in the role but his screen time is too limited for a great character like Ra’s. I wanted more of him, so sue me.

The look of Gotham, the exterior scenes of which were shot in Chicago, is right on the money. The city looks like a real city and not a production designer’s wet dream. I love the music by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. It plays in my head 24-7 after every viewing of the movie. The cinematography by Wally Pfister makes the world of the Dark Knight look better than it’s ever looked on the big screen. The action scenes, comprising of mondo sword fights and a monster car chase through the strees of Gotham, are exhilarating and well-crafted. The new Batmobile, referred to as the Tumbler here, is exactly right for Batman. It’s not long and sleek, but it is big, bulky, and built to kick ass. The Tumbler is one of the coolest movie vehicles to come along in a long time. I want one of those right now!

In short, I flat out love Batman Begins! It ranks behind Superman: The Movie and ahead of Spider-Man 2 on my list of the greatest superhero movies. This is the first Batman movie that got every single detail right. It’s the most faithful to the vision of Batman creator Bob Kane. Not to slight the contributions of Tim Burton, but Christopher Nolan’s film is the best Batman film to date and a monumental achievement in the transformation of popular comic book characters into high cinematic art.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released Batman Begins in an extras-loaded two-disc “Deluxe Edition” DVD that unfortunately doesn’t boast a commentary from Nolan or Goyer (or both would have been great) or even a substantial making-of documentary, but there’s plenty more to satisfy those craving info on this modern classic. The first disc presents the film itself in an excellent 2.35:1 widescreen transfer with appropriately robust English and French 5.1 Dolby Surround tracks. The only extras are a rotten parody of the film called “Tankman Begins” that was produced for the MTV Movie Awards in 2005 and features the insufferable Jimmy Fallon, and a theatrical trailer for Batman Begins that’s really the second teaser trailer. Having all three trailers would have been sweet but I’m not complaining.

The real meat of the bonus features falls on disc two. There is a healthy arsenal of featurettes exploring various aspects of the film that can be accessed through a series of menu screens presented in the form of an interactive comic book called “Inner Demons” that ties into the movie with Batman facing off against all of his on-screen foes. It’s fun the first time but after that you’ll just want to go to the last page in order to get all your options on a single screen, which is what I always do.

The featurettes cover the development of the film, the casting, Christian Bale’s physical and mental transformation into the Bruce Wayne/Batman character, the Tumbler, the production design, the creation of the monorail chase sequence, and the many incarnations of Batman and influences on the film. There’s also “Confidential Files” detaling the film’s characters and the various weapons and vehicles used by Batman, and a gallery of U.S. and international poster art for Batman Begins including concepts for the marketing campaign that were never used.

This is a fine DVD for a classic superhero adventure. Some more substantial extras would have been great though but still it’s a well-presented set worthy of the film it accompanies. Now bring on The Dark Knight baby!

Have fun. Until next time I remain….BATMAN! No wait….BAADASSSSS!