Batman Begins (4K Ultra HD)

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!

I am Shere Khan. This will be my brief review for the Batman Begins blu-ray disc I purchased through Amazon. In my personal opinion, this is a movie every Batman fan has to see and own. It's spectacular on every level. Since Ben Affleck took on the role of Batman and the entire DC universe currently happening like Marvel's doing, this one stands out as a classic. There will never be another like this. Christian Bale is and always will be Batman. I don't care what anybody else says. So many people complain about his raspy voice he uses for the character, I say it's genius. It is a special and unique way of representing Batman as not an ordinary guy, but a monster of the night that criminals fear. If he doesn't change his voice, then he just looks like some man wearing a cool suit but insignificant and I think we all remember George Clooney when we think of a guy dressed in a bat suit looking insignificant. His voice sounded great in this film I think whereas in the films' two sequels, he took the voice up a notch, something noticeable but still great. As Batman he looks and sounds cool and as Bruce Wayne Bale really delivers an emotional performance where we as viewers can relate and understand what he goes through since the death of his parents that eventually leads up to the tragic millionaire becoming the caped crusader. The film did a masterful job exploring Wayne's childhood from the death of his parents to his fear of bats to him coming of age and growing up in anger to him traveling the world looking for a way to leave his old life behind and seek purpose. Bottom line, Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman stands out as the greatest in this tigers' opinion. The other actors do splendid as well. Everyone was casted perfectly for their roles and that being said, the film contains a rare epic cast of actors many know and love. Beginning with Michael Caine who is by far the perfect Alfred. The relationship he and Christian Bale possess is the exact kind of relationship Bruce Wayne and Alfred are meant to have with one another that is more than the master/servant connection they have, Alfred being the only family Bruce really ever had vice versa him being all Alfred had for a son. Katie Holmes is beautiful and perfect for the role of Rachel Dawes, Bruces' childhood friend. She and Bale made for a great love pair that it is unfortunate she was replaced with the other actress in the second film. Liam Neeson rocks as the movies' main villain Ras al'Ghul, leader of the League of Shadows. He comes across as a wise, fatherly figure to Wayne and Neeson does it so well that when his character goes to the dark side, it is clear what a great actor he is as his character switches gears and becomes diabolical. Gary Oldman is the perfect movie Gordon I have ever seen up to date. He and Batman share that relationship of honor and respect for one another as partners in justice, very similar to how the characters do in Batman: The Animated Series. The actor who played Scarecrow in the movie is just as disturbed as his comic book counterpart is supposed to be. The special effects for him looked creepy and amazing. Fianlly, Morgan Freeman brings charisma and warm smiles as Lucius Fox, definitely a worthy comforting presence to have in Batman. This is the best film in Christopher Nolans' Dark Knight Trilogy followed by the third sequel The Dark Knight Rises and then the second one (which contrary to what most believe to be the greatest, I see as the weakest). But for me, it's the only one worth owning from all the Batman films. The movie looks great on blu-ray and sounds just as roaring as the Batmobile. The delivery was perfect and the discs' condition looked fresh and new. To conclude, this is if not the best, one of the best superhero movies ever made. Yes it may not be the most action packed due to the slow pace of it, with the flashbacks and everything in the first act, it's story is epic nonetheless. I like a film with a slower pace than most, with less action than most, but with an excellent story. Kind of like the original Star Wars films. I approve this message. God bless my fellow Amazon shoppers.

First, a recap - after the success of the 1978 Superman film, Warner Brothers was eager to bring another DC Comic book character to the big screen, so naturally, they turned their eyes to the only other DC character who could rival/match Superman for pop culture icon status, Batman (although Wonder Woman is in third place). For ten long, seemingly fruitless years, Warner Brothers and DC struggled to bring Batman to the big screen in hopes that the Dark Knight could have back-to-back success with his big brother the Man of Steel (at the same time, sadly, Superman's film franchise went into a slow, steady decline), with various writers, directors and actors coming, going, jumping on, jumping off, jumping back on, jumping back off again, etc. But then Tim Burton, then a new visionary talent on the rise, came along with just enough familiarity with Batman and just enough strength of will and vision to make it happen, and with the backing of the success of "Beetle-Juice", Warners Brothers were just crazy enough to let Tim have a go at it, even if it meant hiring the seemingly less than ideal but in the end very effective Michael Keaton to play the title character. Then in the summer of 1989, with Superman's never ending battle for truth, justice and the American way having died on the big screen, Batman stepped in to fill the void, and a phenomenon of epic proportions so rarely seen before or since was born. Then came 1992's "Batman Returns", which was also a mega-hit but inspired a backlash from parents who found the film to be too dark and mean-spirited for their kids (parents reportedly had to drag crying children out of the theater that summer). In response to this and speculation that Batman couldn't hold the fort, Burton was politely asked to step aside and his friend Joel Schumacher came on board with a new Batman, Val Kilmer, stepping in for an MIA Keaton, with the flashier, more light-hearted "Batman Forever", which was also a hit despite taking a great deal of flack over stuff like rubber nipples on the bat suit. But then everything came falling down with "Batman & Robin", which many complained was too campy while the 2nd film had been too dark, and which featured another new Batman, George Clooney, playing the Dark Knight as a light-hearted scamp (Kilmer at least tried to capture the essence of Batman) in a film that proved to be too much of everything - too garishly bright, too over the top in spectacle, too overly produced and over-exposed it forced the WB to give Batman a time out, leaving Joel Schumacher with a long and bitter battle on his hands as he fought to rebuild his reputation as an actually good director while Clooney went on to bigger, better things. But Warner Brothers wasn't quite done with Batman just yet. After all, he's one of the great iconic comic book characters alongside the X-Men, Spider-Man and of course, big brother Superman. And once again the WB and DC struggled to get the movie Batman back on his feet, but it would require slimming/trimming/toning it down and going back to basics. Once again, writers, directors, and actors came and went in the seven years between now and then, but finally things came together with director Christopher Nolan, writer David S. Goyer and star Christian Bale. But how to make it fresh, appealing, new, not simply a rehash of the previous films but still undeniably Batman? By going back to the beginning, delving into what the earlier films only hinted at or lightly touched upon, so much so to the point that in the beginning it doesn't even feel like a Batman film. The result is the familiar but well told origin story of how Bruce Wayne lost his wealthy and warm-hearted parents to a random mugger, Joe Chill, but still in connection with criminal kingpin Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). Years later the conflicted, spiritually lost adult Bruce (Bale), torn between a genuine desire for justice and his thirsting for revenge, embarks on a journey unto which he confronts his deepest fears, trains and hardens himself to his very limits and then, coming back to Gotham City to become symbolic avenger of injustice, the Batman, aided by loyal man-servant/surrogate father figure Alfred (well played by Michael Caine). Additionally, Batman must fight not only Falcone but the Scarecrow/Dr. Jon Crane (a lightweight Cillian Murphy), and Ra's Ah Guhl (played by Ken Watanabe and Liam Neeson, the latter in a rare villainous/anti-hero role that he plays very well), and he must reclaim his father's company from the unscrupulous Rutger Hauer with help from Morgan Freeman as Luscious Fox, make an alliance with Gary Oldman's Sgt/Lt./eventually Commissioner Jim Gordon, and rescue his foxy/sexy childhood friend turned lawyer brunette Rachael Dawes (Katie Holmes at the beginning of the Tom Cruise fiasco). Batman/Bruce Wayne is well played by Christian Bale. At times reusing his "American Psycho" performance, Bale hits a few flat notes but on the whole he's the best new Batman anyone could hope for: 6-feet tall, good looking, muscular, and actually possessing good solid acting ability, here's hoping they don't lose him.

As a small child, Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his multi-millionaire father and mother in an alley. Thankfully before their death, they imbedded Bruce with good teachings to make him a good man when he grows up. Later on in life, as a young man, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) comes back to Gotham City seeking revenge on the man that killed his parents. When plans don't go accordingly, and also when he lets someone know what his intentions were, he realizes that his path for doing good for the city, isn't the correct path to do it in. So he leaves Gotham to escape and to find his way. And then a man by the name of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) finds Bruce and tells him of a secret place that will teach him to fight for justice, but he must get there alone. When Bruce gets there, he begins his training in martial arts, ways of the ninja, and fighting what he fears most. After 7 years, Bruce finally returns to a Gotham City that is slowly falling into the bad guys hands. And Bruce takes it upon himself to help rid Gotham of the bad. To make them fear what he fears. To make them face Batman. As Batman begins to clean up the city, he finds out about a plan that will destroy Gotham City schemed up by Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) and someone from his past. A toxin that will make everyone go crazy is about to be released in Gotham and Batman is the only one that can stop it. After some really bad Batman sequels (4 and 5 in particular), the franchise seemed to have been shot like a race horse with a broken leg. How could you ever come back from nipples on the bat suit? And then Christopher Nolan steps up and says "Hey yo, WB, I'm bout to hit you up the side of the head with a sweet Batman cause you know, I did Memento and Insomnia". Ok he didn't really say that, but he did promise them greatness, and greatness was delivered. While at first you think Batman starts off a little slow, you have to realize that we are delving into the persona of Batman himself. The reasons why he became the bat. The way he learned to fight the way he does. And to realize the biggest thing of all... that Batman is just a man. He has no super powers. He gets hurt just like the rest of us, except his been in some rigorous training to help ignore a lot of the pain. And it's great to see the two separate entities when it comes to Bruce and the Bats. Batman is the true man now, while Bruce is just the disguise that hides him. While Batman is fighting crime and avenging justice, Bruce is the cocky and fun playboy millionaire that no one would suspect is Batman. Christian Bale was great as both. I still think Michael Keaton is my favorite Bruce though because he just has a `coolness' about him, but Christian was definitely great also and is my favorite Batman, even with his kind of weird Batman voice. Christian Bale isn't the only awesomeness going on here in this movie either. Gary Oldman plays, perfectly, Detective Gordon. Even down to the look of him in the graphic novel `Batman: Year One'. Oldman usually plays bigger roles, but man I'm glad he played Gordon. Just perfect. And then you have Alfred, the butler/second father, played, well, once again, perfectly, by Michael Caine. Morgan Freeman is even here, playing Lucius Fox, a man that works in the `basement' of Wayne Tower inventing and making up some insane items for the military, that Batman eventually uses for himself. Think of `Q' for James Bond. Crooked smile Katie Holmes plays Bruce's best friend and love interest Rachel Dawes. She's also a woman that holds her own and tries to bring down the bad guys through the justice system. She's ok I guess. Some of the extras on the 2 disc were great. I knew Bale just got done making `The Machinist', and was Ethiopian like skinny for that movie, so I was amazed he got huge again for Batman in such a quick time. I mean it's hard for me to just lose 10 pounds. What I didn't know what that when Christopher Nolan told him to get as big as he could, Bale did just that. He got fat. So fat that Chris was baffled and thought he'd never lose the weight in time. Some of the crew would tell Bale "What are we making again? Fatman?" So Bale had cut up the weight he regained. Crazy! Watching the scenes where he is learning to fight, you can tell he was still losing some weight, but he's still thick. They really didn't think the suit was going to fit him...hehe. Also the scene where Bruce and Henri Ducard are fighting on the frozen lake by the glacier was crazy. They had to rush that scene with almost no preparation. After they were done filming, the next day the lake became unfrozen and was a lake again. Talk about lucky. There was a lot of good stuff on those discs that will keep you busy for awhile. When you see what they did to make Gotham City, you'll be blown away. Talk about some work. Even though the movie does have some hokey scenes in it, such as the rooftop Batmobile scenes, it really doesn't hurt the movie at all for me. Great movie. Plain and simple. I thought nothing could beat it, but I was wrong when Dark Knight came out. So make sure you watch this first before Dark Knight...heh. Own it. Own it. Own it. And make sure you own it in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. P.S. - Some of you know I'm reviewing my DVDs in order because it gives me something to do. How did I go from Be Cool to Batman!?!? Bad Matt...bad. P.P.S - I'm a top 1000 reviewer now! YAY!

Forget about all the previous Batman films. "Batman Begins" blows every single one of them out of the water. No Contest. Christian Bale is Batman/Bruce Wayne. This is the first film of the series where the hero is the focus resulting in a much more compelling and more focused storyline. This isn't "The Joker" co-starring Batman, ala the 1989 film and the strongest of the previous incarnations. The problem with that film was that Jack Nicholson was just too over the top as the Joker (if that's possible). It seemed for the audience that it was all about "hey , look at the chances Jack is taking in this role" rather than getting lost in the character. Jack's hammy acting seemed to place the story in a secondary role. Not the case here. There were two themes present in this movie: 1) Fear and 2)Relationships. When we meet Bruce early in the film, we see he originally has a fear of bats after a very harrowing(and fateful) incident. We then see Bruce's attempts to conquer his fear after the tragic and very brutal murder of his parents, by throwing himself into the heart of the criminal element. This eventually leads Bruce to a "Monastery" where he meets Ra's Al Ghul and comes under the tutelidge of the enigmatic Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) who teaches Bruce how to use fear as an effective weapon. This weapon, the most important in The Batman's arsenal, is used skillfully in this film, showing us, from the perspective of the criminals, what it's like to be hunted by The Batman. Fear is also the weapon of the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) used to chilling and sometimes disturbing results. Finally, The Batman must overcome fear to defeat the Scarecrow and "Ra's Al Ghul." "Batman Begins" has more emphasis on strong relationships than any of its recent contemporaries. The strength of young Bruce's relationship with his parents, especially his father, manages to make their inevitable deaths all the more horrifying. Equally important is the mentor/student relationship of Henri Ducard and Bruce. Ducard becomes a father figure to the young man which figures prominently in the film's climactic battle. Thomas Wayne instills in his son moral strength and the courage to stand against evil. Henri Ducard instills in Bruce unwavering focus and, when needed, ruthlessness. I especially loved the relationships between Bruce and the supporting cast: Bruce and Alfred - Hearfelt, touching and believable. Michael Caine is the best Alfred. Period. Batman and Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) - Loved the intial mistrust, turning into mutual respect. Lt. Gordon is one good cop in a sea of corruption in the Gotham Police Force. Batman needs Gordon and Gordon needs Batman, a truism only alluded to in Tim Burton's initial outing. Bruce and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) - Addresses the question of how and where Batman gets his gadgets (especially the very cool Batmobile). Loyalty and trust are very important in this relationship. As mentioned in a previous review, Fox is like James Bond's "Q". As for Katie Holmes, she's not as weak as many reviewers have reported. Her role as a tough attorney who grew up with Bruce worked for me. She was certainly the most resourceful and down- to- earth of the all the series' love interests. Great action sequences, excellent acting and a compelling back-to- basics story make this the ultimate Batman film.

Let me say first up, I love this film. Other superhero films have a tendency to be subject to the whims of their filmmakers (I'm looking at you, Tim Burton). As a result, I feel they don't totally embrace their comic book roots. That's not the case here. The film borrows heavily from the Denny O'Neil era only adds to its appeal, as this was my favourite perios of the Batman comics. This is also the first live-action Batman film where Ra's Al Ghul is the main villain. It's delightful to finally see such accomplished filmmakers pay tribute to one of Batman's greatest enemies. And now onto the DVD itself. I bought the Special Edition which consists of two discs. The first disc contains the film. My untrained eye makes me the worst person to judge film transfer quality, but it looks pretty good to me. The biggest dissapointment is the lack of a commentary track from director Christopher Nolan, or the other main cast members. The 2nd disc contains documentaries on different aspects of making the film. Unfortunately, the docos are buried within a rather lackluster comic book. My suggestion? Just scroll to the very end and click on the page icon. You'll get a list of all the documentaries, which is much easier to navigate through. The docos don't quite reach the heights of the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions, but they still make for interesting and informative viewing. In summary, if you loved Batman Begins then I strongly recommend buying this Special Edition. I'm taking one star off for the ridiculous comic book on the 2nd Disc. But this disc is worth buying based purely on the film alone.

Great movie to have in the batman series.

Movie - 4.5 Prior 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: 2.39:1 Some 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 - 5.0 Languages - 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 5.1 Subtitles - 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 Experience A 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 Gallery Pictures. - Confidential Files Pictures 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 - 4.5 By 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.