| Batman Begins [Blu-ray] | ![Batman Begins [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nZYyCAoIL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Actors: Christian Bale, Jr. Mark Boone, Michael Caine, Rutger Hauer, Liam Neeson
Studio: Warner Bros.
Category: DVD
List Price: $28.99
Buy Used: $12.99
You Save: $16.00 (55%)
New (38) Used (9) from $12.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  1240 reviews
Sales Rank: 88
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Blu-ray
Running Time: 140 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: WARBR21452
UPC: 085391115212
EAN: 0085391115212
ASIN: B000PC6A3E
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 terrible June 16, 2005
5 out of 55 found this review helpful
positives:
1 christian bale is the best batman to date
2 morgan freeman is in it
negatives:
1 the movie is from start to finish: horrible
2 no plot
3 once again, they throw in a couple of bat-villains in poor undeveloped fashion
4 katie holmes is fuggly
5 morgan freeman is too smart to be in movies like this
6 you have to pay at this point to see this movie...wait until it graces the rarefied air of hbo and you'll thank me because you can change the channel to underwaterbasketweavingweaveoff2005 or just go to sleep in your la-z-boy (anything is better than this snooze fest)
seriously though i can't believe how bad this movie was
shockingly bad June 16, 2005
5 out of 44 found this review helpful
i would never have imagined in a million years with all the supposed tlc focused on this flick, that it could have been this poor. it's outrageously bad. the plot...wait what plot? when you see ninjas jumping around closing ranks on bruce, and if you don't fall asleep after the first hour or so...you'll get to 'enjoy' the same disjointed plotless cra#$est that i unfortunately paid to see.
AVOID
 Unusual mix makes it work June 16, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Batman Begins is a slow starter. It goes into great depth about Bruce Wayne's history with flashbacks inside of flashbacks. This is done early on in the movie to such a pain staking degree that some people may think it was a mistake to expect this to be an action movie. People may chalk it up to a boring movie and stop watching before giving it a chance.
Batman Begins may start slow, but it builds momentum so gradually that by the end you're on a roller coaster ride going breakneck speed and your not even sure exactly at what point the true ride started. Instead of being numbed by the non-stop, start to finish barrage of action, you're left with the thrill of having been taken through a progressive ride.
Batman Begins also makes an unusual choice in using some of the more obscure villains. Most writers would typically go for the big names: Joker, Riddler, Catwoman et al. This movie goes for villains that you wouldn't probably recognize without being a fan. Sure anyone who has seen the animated series knows who Ra's Al Ghul and the Scarecrow are. But this has some appearances by some villains even more obscure than that: Zsasz and Joe Chill for starters.
While the character selection may seem to limit the audience to long time Batman fans only, what it really does is open the movie up to being taken to a place that most people have never seen Batman before.
There are several little nuances that make this Batman stand out from any previous incarnations. Newcomers can follow it. Fans can appreciate it. This is said with all possible respect due to the amazing movies done by Tim Burton. Batman Begins truly is the best of the Batman films out there.
 Finally, a Batman movie to rival Burton's first June 16, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Today, on opening day, I watched "Batman Begins." And while I am no expert on the associated comic books and graphic novels, I have seen Tim Burton's "Batman" movie from 1989 more times than I can count. It's the only one that really mattered, until now, so the contrasts I draw will reference this movie more than Joel Schumacher's two lackluster attempts ("Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin") and Tim Burton's own "Batman Returns."
Director Christopher Nolan is an appropriate choice for directing this franchise in that his work has, so far, been enigmatic and dark. "Memento" and "Insomnia" both played out as creepy yarns which demanded some attention from the viewer, and if "Batman Begins" feels a little too straightforward compared to those two films, remember the kind of subject matter we are dealing with. Batman is a cultural icon like Darth Vader or Frodo Baggins, and as such, any tricky storytelling for its own sake is out of the question.
"Batman Begins" begins with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) raising hell in a prison somewhere in Asia. Liam Neeson, the mentor du jour for action stories, plays a martial arts expert named Ducard. He recruits Wayne and encourages him to seek vengeance for his parents' slayings back in Gotham City, as part of a bigger housecleaning project he has in mind. Nolan also goes to some trouble to set up Bruce Wayne's motivations: he thinks that his own fear caused his parents' deaths, hence his guilt, anger, and shame. All of this is fine except that it takes a bit too long. Where Tim Burton's "Batman" of 1989 skimped on the backstory, and just laid pieces of Wayne's past for the viewer to assemble, here the backstory ends up being a good chunk of the film. It's action-packed enough, but a bit cumbersome.
When the story gets back to the States, Nolan avoids the eternal nightscape of a highly stylized, comic book style Gotham City ("Batman" '89), populated by blocky American cars and one-dimensional yet entertaining characters, and instead creates a Gotham City that feels more like something we might actually encounter in the USA circa 2005. It's the classic Gotham City crossed with the futuristic Los Angeles of "Blade Runner." It's a city with slums, skyscrapers, and elevated trains, like Chicago or New York.
Bruce Wayne's metamorphosis from confused rich kid to tormented superhero is also depicted in some detail. Where in previous movies Batman's existence is just taken for granted, here his transition comes into focus. The effect is much like the explication in Sam Raimi's recent "Spider-man," and although it answers many practical questions about our protagonist, it also leads to many other questions. For example, Wayne Enterprises has for some reason created a $300,000 piece of body armor which Bruce uses for his alter-ego, but now we have to wonder: why did the company design it in the first place? The Batmobile, while very cool, falls under the same category. It seems to exist, complete but for black paint, only because Batman needs a Batmobile.
The supporting cast is rather hit and miss. Of the ones that Nolan got right, Morgan Freeman does well what he knows how to do, and Rutger Hauer is laudable as a condescending corporate man with ambitions. Cillian Murphy is appropriately icy in his role as Dr. Jonathan Crane. Michael Caine is flawless as Wayne's father figure and right-hand man Alfred. Here he actually represents an important character, a moral compass in a murky world, whereas in previous iterations, Alfred was little more than a cliche. The biggest surprise, however, is perennial villain Gary Oldman as Sgt. Gordon, the one honest cop in a city of crooked ones. Who knew?
The misfires include Katie Holmes as D.A. Rachel Dawes; how exactly does a perky twenty-something pole-vault her way to the top of Gotham City's law enforcement community? Tom Wilkinson is also miscast, as crime boss Carmine Falcone. Wilkinson is an excellent actor ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "In the Bedroom" both come readily to mind), but here he lays it on pretty thick. I can't help but think Danny Aiello or James Caan would have been a more appropriate choice.
The action is good though, and there is plenty of it. It's got those dazzling moments you'll remember long after you leave the theater. Naturally the end of the movie sets up sequels, but not in an obvious way -- more in a way that makes you go "hmmmm."
Overall, "Batman Begins" is a pleasure to watch, and Christian Bale inhabits his character ably and credibly. This rendition of the Batman story weighs in at 140 minutes, and although it does not feel extremely sluggish, it could have used just a bit of streamlining in the editor's room. Recommended.
Batman Begins. Batman Explodes. Batman RULES. June 16, 2005
Normally I'd try to write something literal and cohesive to describe the assets of movie I appreciated seeing. Unfortunately I just came out of a theater showing Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" and that's not going to happen.
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
Go for other reviews for in-depth analysis of this person's performance or the script's cohesiveness or the breathtaking quality of the cinematography. I'm keeping it simple. It freaking rocks.
I feel like I just rode the best rollercoaster at the fair, and now I can't wait to use the rest of my ride tickets to do the same rollercoaster over and over again. It's been years since an action movie elicited this kind of excitment from me and it feels great.
Will someone please buy George Lucas a ticket to this movie, so he can see how it's done?
This is what movie theaters were made for. Go see it right now. Awesome.
(Is it too early, on opening day, to predict that this movie will be the hands-down blockbuster of 2005? And furthermore, who's ready to go again?)
As a lifelong Batman fan, at 36 I can say that Batman has finally been captured on film. There's one Batman, and his name is Christian Bale. There's one Batman movie, and it's called "Batman Begins." Nothing else is remotely in the same league.
Someone get Christopher Nolan on the sequel right now....
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