BLU-RAY/DVD REVIEWS

Christopher Nolan's origin story of Bruce Wayne, who uses his alter ego Batman to tackle his inner demons and the crime that has infested Gotham City.

After Joel Schumacher’s one-two slap of Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (‘97), Batfans were owed reparations. Most agree they came when Christopher Nolan signed on to direct Batman Begins.

Few others, like myself, an admittedly casual fan, find it littered with flaws.

One of the biggest draws of a Batman movie is the villains. Most of the rogues in the six previous installments have been villains whose names--The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, Two-Face, The Riddler--would immediately ring a cry of “Batman!” Here, Nolan employs crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) and Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson), three cartoons that may have most asking, “Who?”

The main problem with Batman Begins is the same with most origin stories: nobody but the fanboys truly gives a damn where the hero came from. Plot and character development are important, but remember how Tim Burton covered Bruce Wayne/Batman’s beginnings: a mugger kills his parents. The next scene, Batman is atop a building in full costume. It takes about one minute. It takes about 15 for Nolan to cover the murder and another 30--weighed down with a stint in prison, his training in the League of Shadows and even some swordplay--to finally show viewers the familiar Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) they paid to see. It takes until the one hour point (more than 40 % of the film) before Batman, in his signature suit, hits the streets of Gotham City.

The movie does occasionally pick up some steam once Michael Caine chimes in as the loyal Alfred Pennyworth and Scarecrow unveils his plan to exploit the fears of Gotham’s citizens (namely love Rachel Dawes, played by the stiff Katie Holmes), a point that leads to plenty of explosions and gadget-play, both a portion of the film’s justified $150 million budget.

But what’s the point of it all? Did the Batman movie need a jumpstart? Absolutely. Did it need to strip itself so bare that it forgot what the non-fanboys wanted? Debatable. But if Nolan so badly wanted to call his film Batman Begins then he should have began it with Batman and not a scruffy Bruce Wayne wasting away in a Bhutanese prison.

Note: All of the special features from both the 2005 DVD and the 2008 Blu-rays have been recycled for this 2011 SteelBook. For a more in-depth look at these supplements, you can read Sturdy’s review of the Limited Edition Gift Set.

The In-Movie Experience offers “an in-depth and in-context look at Batman Begins with comics, commentary and more!”

The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue (6:37)

Additional Footage: Three segments are housed here: “Reflection on Writing,” “Digital Batman” and “Batman Begins” Stunts. The first has co-writer David S. Goyer discussing the screenplay, the second goes into the CGI used in the film and the third offers behind-the-scenes footage of stuntmen working on making the action scenes thrilling for the audience.

Behind the Story collects 11 featurettes, which clock in a little under two hours They are: “Tankman Begins,” “The Journey Begins,” “Shaping Mind and Body,” “Gotham City Rises,” “Cape and Cowl,” “Batman - The Tumbler,” “Path to Discovery,” “Saving Gotham City,” “Genesis of the Bat,” “Stills Gallery,” and “Confidential Files.” Everything that a fan would want to know about Batman Begins is collected here, including informative looks at Christian Bale’s training, the creation of both the Batsuit and the Batmobile, filming the action sequences, and more.

Like Warner Home Video’s new releases of Goodfellas and 2001: A Space Odyssey (both of which I also reviewed), this SteelBook Blu-ray of Batman Begins is just a repackaged edition of the previous BD, released in 2008, with no transfer upgrades or additional special features. Again, this is just a weak cash-in from Warner Bros. that will appeal to no one except diehard fans.