Customer Reviews

Batman Begins (Limited Edition SteelBook) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are a hard core batman fan of the originals, you may not like this movie, much like some of the previous reviewers said. However, as a movie itself Batman Begins is brilliant. It's dark and serious, it gets down to why Batman really is Batman. The Burton movies were obviously supposed to have a very comic book feel to them but his movie is completely different. You actually believe that Batman could exist, and that he really is justified in doing what he believes in. There is a lot more emotion in this movie, and some great acting by the cast. When it comes down to it, I rate this movie one of the best of the year and highly recommend it.

"Batman Begins" brings an interest back to the DC character, not seen since the original. Christian Bale turns out to be a good choice for a much darker Batman. This movie focuses more on Bruce Wayne, then on his super hero alter ego. Unlike the smooth Bruce Wayne of past movies who had endless amounts of charm and charisma, this Bruce Wayne is a much more realistic person with flaws and fears. The more flashy and over the top fight scenes have been toned down, for this dark more edgy Batman movie. Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard, provides the most interesting Batman villain since Jack Nicholson's Joker. Other past villains like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Ice Man have been much less memorable. Neeson's jaded character has more depth to it. The movie's biggest weakness is the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Katie Holme's Assistant D.A. character Rachel Dawes. The dialogue between the two characters is uninspired and somewhat boring. Morgan Freeman plays Lucius Fox, a friend of Bruce Wayne. He helps Bruce Wayne get access to Wayne Enterprise's many inventions. Freeman is solid in this role as in most everything he is in. Michael Caine is also solid as Alfred the Butler. Alfred has always been more than just a butler, but acts as Bruce Wayne's advisor. Caine plays the part of the humble and wise servant very well.

Previous performances by George Clooney and Val Kilmer as Batman felt more like copies of Michael Keeton's original performance. It seemed as though they were trying to replicate the success of the original by following the same formula. That forumlaic approach combined with characters like Robin and BatGirl, did nothing to add to the series. This movie did a better job of giving its characters some substance and as a result more intrique. This time around, a less perfect Batman, makes for a much better movie.

I own 'Batman Begins' on DVD, Blu-ray and now this giftset which will remain unopened for some time. It's neat. The front picture is actually holographic, it comes with post cards,movie tickets to see 'The Dark Knight' in theaters (now useless, obviously), a 16 page comic book of the prologue of 'The Dark Knight' and an additional 32 page booklet of storyboards, script and stills from the movie! This is the beginning of what is one of the greatest trilogies ever created!

The product was exactly what I wanted and was in perfect condition. I recieved the DVD very quickly. Thank you.

The movie itself: Batman Begins is different from the Batman movies previously made, Nolan's Batman is darker, quieter and in my opinion closer to the comic book hero. Batman Begins gives you a much better understanding of the two sides of Bruce Wayne/Batman character than previously portrayed and also gives us a different insight as to what Batman thinks and feels like when he is not Batman and what he does as Batman sometimes doesn't agree with his principles but he does it to save the wonderful city his father helped build. Christian Bale is perfect as Batman, some have complained about the voice transition but in my opinion its great, since he keeps his identity completely secret unlike Spidey or Iron Mans of the movies who tell the entire world about who they are and collect awards.

The Video: Presented in 2:40 widescreen and 1080p/VC-1 video the transfer is breathtaking. Colours are very rich & vivid. The picture appears to be completely saturated even in the darker shots (yes there are a lot of them, this is a REAL Batman movie after all). I have seen this movie on DVD as well, and this Blu-Ray transfer is a HUGE improvement over the SD-DVD version. The transfer is so pristine that it can also be a demo disk for your 1080p sets.

The Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround track (48kHz/16-bit) included is a high quality track which offers superb mixing and full use of rear channels. The ice scene with Liam Neeson & Christian Bale, and the Highway car chase is where you can really feel the thump. No complains, Warner did an amazing job porting this soundtrack and utilizing BD's high disc capacity.

Final Words: Batman Begins is a must see movie, almost everyone on this planet has seen its sequel The Dark Knight at least twice but some I know haven't seen this one. To those, I only have this to say, its a must see Prequel and there are moments when you feel that between the two this probably takes the cake (at least from a character development and storytelling point of view). Nolan's Batman starts his adventure here, and believe me he's here to stay for years to come (in our libraries). Highly recommended.

This is the real story and shows how someone gets out from under hate, revenge, and fear of what he can not control to what he can and makes a world more safe than when he came in it.

Upgraded this movie, had it on dvd. Just the quality of the blue ray itself has amazing sound and excellent picture.

So, I saw this movie in theatres and thought it was above my head. Where's the villain? Years later, I aged and bought the DVD, being a huge Bat-fan. Gotta say, it's pretty revolutionary

Great casting. Christian Bale is a great actor, and makes the Batman persona believable, his supporting team are all superb too. The return to the original "Dark Batman" role, along with excellent directing makes this action movie TOP NOTCH. Blue Ray quality looks perfect on my 60" Plasma. Can't praise this movie 'Must buy' highly enough. Normally I do not buy kids type movies, but I rate this one exceptional along with Bale's follow up "The Dark Night". It makes Peter Jackson's great "King Kong schoolboy movie" look a bit 'Corny'. You would have to go to a different category of recent 3d kids type stories like "Avatar" and "Hugo" to surpass these two quite adult Batman blue ray DVD's. If you're more patient than me, look forward to Bale's 'maybe coming' trilogy set, and only if you can bear biting your nails for a year or two.

Just bought this item and it looks great, the details and quality are amazing. This is a great purchase and I would recommend it to anyone who is a batman fan.