Batman Begins (Ultimate Collector's Edition) (Steelbook)

I got his copy @ 499/-, pretty low price compared to its usual price... this is my first original Bluray movie purchase. I bought this movie out of all others as my first because "Batman" is my favourite comic character among all others and I wanted to have at first all Batman bluray movies.. obviously i am gonna buy the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy not the old ones..I am giving this review aftwer watching this movie from this disc..I played this movie in my PS4(yet to play on XBOX ONE).. and let me tell u guys nothing can beat original picture quality.... most think the 10-20 gb ripped copies from 40-50 gb Full Bluray copies have same picture quality but in original bluray copy the glaze is just amazing. the detailing is just marvellous considering it is a 2005 movie when bluray was not marketed and later this movie was remastered for bluray copies.. I urge every batman fan out there to have this copy..[Note: the image shown is incorrect. you can clearly see in my pics provided here.. but that should not be a concern. Nevertheless the sellers should provide correct images when they are selling in worlds largest online retailer..]

Ok

Nolan's Batman trilogy is anyways a must have. You can go for it in 3 ways -1) Buy The Dark Knight Trilogy2) Buy The Dark Knight Trilogy Ultimate Collector's edition3) Buy all 3 steelbooks and make your own Trilogy CollectionAs you can see, I am going for the lattermost. Yes, I wont be owning some of the extra features in this case that come with other editions, but the extras in SD (Standard Definition) do not really matter. This is the start of the Batman saga and the most badass origin movies I have ever seen. I own the Steelbook of "The Dark Knight Rises" and now this. If I get a good price on "The Dark Knight" steelbook, I WILL go for it.

It's a best movie of Batman Trilogy and Recieved with perfect quality of Packing.One of My favorite movie after Batman The Dark knight.

A great movie for collection. The DVD print is good and the sound quality is upto the mark. Worth the cost. One of the best motivating super hero movies.

Awesome movie awesome price , must have movie

Best price for a SteelBook, Dolby True-HD was just amazing and picture clarity is very sharp and crisp and finally worth buying. Thanks to Seller and Amazon

The best reboot and Batman origin story ever made.Must buy for all fans of the trilogy.However,Blu-Ray quality is not epic like that of TDK and TDKR since this movie came out in 2005.Also print quality of the cover is just okayish.

Movie - 4.5Prior 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: 2.39:1Some 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 - 5.0Languages- 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 5.1Subtitles- 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 ExperienceA 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 GalleryPictures.- Confidential FilesPictures 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 - 4.5By 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.

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!

Thank You for collectors Edition, I`m really happy. Thanks

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!

Any fan will tell you that when Tim Burton announced that Michael Keaton was his Batman, there were gasps of disbelief and horror. Tim Burton and Michael Keaton, however, made us believers. After the first two movies, Burton and Keaton had the good sense to move on before the inevitable: WB going sequel crazy. In the third movie, Val Kilmer almost pulled it off; the inclusion of the Robin storyline actually worked. Director Joel Schumaker turned the Gotham into a black-light world of flourescent paint and was immensely heavy handed in constantly tilting the camera back and forth. Seldom was there a nice, level camera scene. The sucker was saved by the one-two punch of Jim Carrey as the Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones (who replaced Billy Dee Williams, sadly) almost as over the top as Carrey in playing Two-Face.Even then WB couldn't let it go - exit Schumaker (and the need to take Dramamine to combat motion sickness) and Kilmer. Enter George Clooney, who had the looks for the part, but didn't make it work at all. It might have to do with his recent response to a question if he would ever play a gay character; he responded that he already had when he played Batman. Suddenly the movie made more sense, particularly with those damned nipples and 'who gets the larger codpiece' argument on the costumes. Uma Thurman gives a simply horrible performance and Ah-nold the now girlie-man governor was beyond horrific. Thus was the death of the Batman series.Then along comes Chris Nolan, et al. The first thing he did was, as Christian Bale thanked him for upon receiving an MTV award, 'got rid of those bloody nipples'. Amen, brother. Rather than try to fix that which was badly broken, Nolan decided to explore Bruce Wayne's journey to become Batman. By default you also get to see Jim Gordon's journey from an actual uncorrupt cop, helpless to do anything about a system that was essentially owned on all levels by crime.Christian Bale has been an absolute chamelion since being discovered as a child by Spielberg during a miniseries about Anastasia, in which (looking like Alexei's reincarnated doppelganger) he made the miniscule role of the doomed Tsarovich more memorable than the rest of the four hour monstrosity. Spielberg then cast him as the lead in the huge and harsh world of Empire of the Sun. Since then Bale has been in so many movies that to list them here would take forever. He has learned how to sing and dance, all types of accents, been everything from an innocent child to a literal pschopath, and sculpted his own body to fit whatever role he is playing. In this instance he was coming off of playing a role where he dropped to 140 lbs. for the dark, psychological "The Machinist". He then bulked up to 220 lbs, working out, to the point when he showed up for the martial art training he was actually too big. So he lost weight and re-sculpted his body to the shape they wanted him to be in. Even during interviews on the extras disk, as well as when he was doing the publicity tour for the film; he speaks with the American accent, not wanting his British accent to sideline people's focus on the fact that he, unlike his character, is not American. Dedication doesn't even begin to describe Christian Bale.The same could be said for Gary Oldman, also a chamelion of an actor. He IS Jim Gordon. Never once do you think of the various villains and other odd characters he has played during his career.Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman perfectly round out both Bruce Wayne and Batman's inner circle of supporters. Caine perfectly played both the paternal role as well as the keeper of the Wayne family's legacy and honor. You will find yourself saying, "Nevah," with utter conviction in your own life. Freeman's character is brilliant, hidden in the bowels of the Wayne building with scientific and just plain cool items that would be wonderful to make use of in Iraq right now. As Freeman's character notes, however, the military doesn't think that a $300,000 body army suit is worth protecting their soldiers with, so even if the various military prototypes were not fictional - you know that they would be shoved in a drawer waiting for Bruce to 'borrow'. Most well-played was Freeman and Bale's unspoken acknowledgment of what Bruce is doing, even as he aids him under the guise of cave diving and base jumping.WB and fans no doubt want sequels, and there are already things set up for the next film; nonetheless you wonder if it should stand alone rather than trying to make it into another franchise that will eventually be mishandled.My only complaints are that there is no commentary and the extras disc is out and out annoying in its cutesy attempt to use a small comic strip as a way to find 'Easter Eggs', i.e. all the extra features. Just list the damned documentaries. Katie Holmes did a good enough, albeit annoyingly self-righteous, character. You can't help watching her and thinking, "Yep, that's probably the last movie she'll be doing now that she's been sucked into Scientology as a breeder for Tom Cruise.I'd actually give the movie 4 1/2 stars for the above reasons, as well as a few logistical issues. Most people wouldn't notice them, so it likely won't matter. All in all the movie is brilliant in its story, the acting, and the return to classic scenes of the stoic Batman perched like a gargoyle on various older buildings, watching silently over Gotham.