Batman Begins (DVD) > Reviews

Advantages: Great action, atmosphere
Disadvantages: Katie Holmes

The original series of Batman films, started by Tim Burton in 1989, left a few questions hanging in the air with their depiction of a reasonably mature Batman fighting crime with a minimum of backstory. Where in the name of Adam West did he learn how to be Batman? Who taught him martial arts? Where does he get his gadgets and car from? Does anyone help him secretly? Batman Begins, an excellent reboot/rethink of the franchise, answers these questions ... Read review

Advantages: Gritty, darker than previous films, Christian Bale is a great Batman
Disadvantages: Katie Holmes

...a massive fan of the Batman franchise when I was growing up, but I have seen all the earlier movies, although I cannot really recollect them with much detail. However, superhero movies seem to be on a comeback at the moment with Superman, The Hulk, and Spiderman all making a splash on the movie scene, and therefore it was just a matter of time before they somehow bought Batman back again. And indeed in 2005, Batman made a comeback, but not quite as ... Read review

Advantages: Everything
Disadvantages: Nothing

Batman Begins Batman - A Little History Batman is a dark superhero, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in the 1930s, and published by DC Comics. He is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne, millionaire orphaned at a young age. Following the TV series of the superhero's adventures with his sidekick Robin in the 1960s, in 1989 Tim Burton directed Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson in 'Batman', a very dark film which carried a '12' rating (first to have ... Read review

Advantages: Answers a lot of questions, back on good form
Disadvantages: Vehicle for setting up film number 2

...we all know the original Batman film was great and then from then on it was a gradual decline. Tim Burton's dark film was transformed into a farce by the time George Clooney put on the rubber suit - so the only way Batman could go was backwards. Right back to the beginning as the name would suggest. The film sets about establishing how Bruce Wayne (Bale) went from a rich kid, witnessing his parents murder to a rubber clad vigilante. It also delves ... Read review

Advantages: Has a sense of realism, entertaining, good adaptation of the character
Disadvantages: Lacks a classic comic book villain

...Bat logo emerged. Yes folks Batman was back and in a big way. Tim Burton's gothic adaptation of the character was a big box office smash and got even darker with the sequel Batman Returns (which I happen to prefer). But then the franchise moved away from the characters dark origins and became more of an excuse to shift some toys and merchandise around a summer blockbuster. This Joel Schumacher's Batman films were over the top affairs, Batman Forever ... Read review

Advantages: You know the sequel is better
Disadvantages: It's a prequel without any direction

...springs the latest in the Batman series of films, Batman Begins. Having seen the gradual demise of the franchise with films like the heinous Batman forever, it begs the question why they felt a prequel would be the answer. I must admit that I am not a fan of comic books or their associated films; the sci-fi fantasy genres hold very little sway with me. For some reason, perhaps blinded by the dour nature of other films available or the intoxication ... Read review

Advantages: Well produced. Good balance of action. Great cast
Disadvantages: None

Batman begins was release a few year ago (2005) but I recently watched this as I hope to see The Dark night soon. The films title gives a pretty good indication as to what the film is about but in short it goes from the start showing the events that made Bruce Wayne decide to create his alter ego. Christian Bale takes the part of Batman / Bruce Wayne who you first see in a Chinese prison where he is looking bedraggled and fighting 6 other prisoners, ... Read review

Advantages: great film
Disadvantages: wrong roles for some characters

Batman REbegins his movie career right here. Lets get his out the way first, I loved the original Batman film with Val Kilmer and Jack Nicholson, but Batman begins does a fairly better job by focusing more on Bruce Wayne and his reintroduction to Gotham City after his absence, and in building relationships with those around him, i.e. relations with his butler Alfred, city attorny Rachel Dawes, Jim gordon the future commisioner and Lucius Fox. This ... Read review

Advantages: Revives the franchise
Disadvantages: come casting mistakes

Batman is a world wide phenomenon and one of the most successful comic book hero's of all time. The ingredients of his persona mix so well to produce 'The Dark Knight', a man so troubled by his past and the evil he sees around him that he creates an alter ego who can do the good he cannot in his everyday form. Batman excels because he truly is a dark character, relying heavily on fear - a weapon often used by his enemies. Also he really is a normal ... Read review

Advantages: Clearly a labour of love for all involved - an epic undertaking
Disadvantages: Some supporting characters get the rough end of the stick

...his voice an octave for Batman so it's conceivable people wouldn't recognise him behind the mask. But even when playing up Wayne's image as a capricious playboy, there's always a sense of something altogether more menacing beneath the surface. His relationships with his fellow cast members sparkle in some cases, as with Michael Caine as his long-suffering manservant. But where there should be real chemistry with Katie Holmes, there is nothing more ... Read review

Advantages: Batman all grown up
Disadvantages: Too long for some

...their big step in bringing Batman back to the big screen in 2005 with Batman Begins, and boy did they do it in a big way. I'm sure most people have seen a Batman film in the past, although with the special effects directors can now include in their movies, this was going to be something special. Batman Begins shows how the story starts, in this an era of when people want to know what started the chain of events. Christian Bale was cast the big ... Read review

Advantages: Ann interesting plot
Disadvantages: Can be be a little slow at times

The Batman franchise had seemed to have come to an end after the dreadful Batman and Robin (1997); however Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins has successfully managed to give the Cape Crusader a new lease of life. Batman Begins takes us back to the beginning and shows how and why the young multi millionaire Bruce Wayne becomes the superhero of Gotham City. The film begins with Bruce Wayne having sacrificed his privileged background and living among ... Read review