Batman Begins Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
The origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect, and an array of high-tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.
For more about Batman Begins and the Batman Begins Blu-ray release, see Batman Begins Blu-ray Review published by Greg Maltz on July 10, 2008 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.5 out of 5.
Many actors have donned the mask and cape and stepped in front of the camera to fight
criminals
in Gotham City--from
Adam West to Michael Keaton to Val Kilmer to George Clooney. But it was the director-actor
tandem of
Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale that finally hit upon the true essence of Batman in their
2005
blockbuster that reset the series. Batman Begins focuses on the darkest side of society
and one man's drive to fight evil without compromise. True to his comic book roots, the Bruce
Wayne (Christian Bale) of Batman Begins is motived more by revenge than by justice,
and
learns important lessons from his faithful guardian Alfred (Michael Caine), criminal prosecutor
Rachel
Dawes (Katie Holmes) and his mysterious martial arts trainer Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson). But
lessons alone will not be enough to save Gotham City from certain destruction at the hands of Dr.
Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) and the evil boss who employed him.
Batman Begins resets the caped crusader series, bringing Bruce Wayne where he belongs: on a
spiritual journey to overcome fear and fight crime in its darkest places.
The story begins as Bruce finds himself in the far east after suffering a series of traumas as a
child
and young adult. The first of these experiences is his fall down a dry well on the grounds of
Wayne
Manor. Alone and injured, the boy is terrified to find himself in the midst of a swarm of bats.
Shortly
thereafter, Dr. and Mrs Wayne (Linus Roache and Sara Stewart) are murdered right in front of
their
son, compounding his fears and establishing patterns of loss, identity crisis and vengeance. After
years of struggling with these issues, having left behind his parents' wealth and his college
education, Bruce resorts to petty theft to try to survive in anonymity and understand the
criminal mind. He is caught and incarcerated in a rough Asian prison. While in solitary
confinement, he gets a visit from Ducard, who is aware of his identity and his past. Ducard invites
Bruce to the mountain estate of Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) to join a gang of vigilantes and
strike fear into those who thrive on the fear of others.
Back in Gotham City, the criminal element is thriving. Mobster Carmine Falkone (Tom Wilkinson)
controls half the city through his influence and underworld connections. Meanwhile, Alfred has
declared Bruce dead, and Wayne Enterprises falls into the hands of its unscrupulous CEO, Earle
(Rutger Hauer), who is taking the company public in an attempt to break all ties with the Wayne
ideals of social outreach and fiscal responsibility. And a criminal mind is at work in the form of Dr.
Crane, who is working with Falkone and a mysterious foreign boss to taint Gotham City's water
supply with a dangerous contaminant. It is against this backdrop that a more confident, assured
Bruce Wayne returns home. As the final step in establishing his identity, Bruce decides to make
himself into a crime fighting symbol using the bat to strike fear into his opponents. With the help
of Alfred and Wayne Enterprises scientist Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Batman is born in a way
far more vivid, hard-hitting and accessible than previous incarnations.
One of the flagship Warner releases on HD DVD, Batman Begins was delayed on BD to
better capitalize on interactive features. Unfortunately, Warner appeared to make no effort to
capitalize on Blu-ray's overarching feature: superior capacity. The bitrates of the BD are no better
than that of the HD DVD. That means the picture and sound are also held back by the HD DVD,
and
appear to have been sourced from the same transfer. The video and audio are not bad at all, but
Batman Begins is not up to reference quality by any accurate assessment. The most
frustrating part of this observation is not just waiting more than a year for no significant
bitrate improvement over the HD DVD, but in comparing Batman Begins to a six-minute
prologue of The Dark
Knight, which is included on the BD. Every frame of the prologue is truly reference quality,
generating a stark contrast to the comparably veiled and constricted dynamics of the main
feature.
Watch the scene on the frozen lake, where Bruce spars with Ducard. The color and detail is a
touch muted, although the resolution is actually quite good. The tonal balance, from light to dark,
appears lifelike, but definition is subdued as if a thin layer of plastic is placed over the
screen. It is this "veiling" from the low bitrate transfer that hinders the picture and separates it
from reference quality BDs like No Country for Old Men. Night scenes show good black
level and adequate 1080p detail, far surpassing the DVD version. Since darkness and gradients of
black are featured so prominently in the film and in Batman's accouterments, it becomes a
necessity to resolve objects in night scenes. Here again, the BD does an adequate job, and many
night scenes show good depth. Unfortunately, some life appears sucked out of the picture.
Like the video, the audio appears to be a straight port from the HD DVD, presented in Dolby TrueHD
5.1 at 16-bit, 48 kHz. While this isn't bad or offensive (there is no audible distortion) it is similar to
CD resolution. Warner again does not capitalize on the capacity or capability of Blu-ray's advantages.
Still, dialog orchestral sound and some effects and explosions are adequate and resolve well, if not
the greatest in definition. LFE content is deep and significantly improves action sequences. In a
word, the TrueHD track is polite. And that's a problem.
Watch the scene where Batman eludes the police in the Batmobile, jumping from rooftop to
rooftop. At one point, as the tumbler cruises along a sloped roof, the wheels rip off ceramic tiles in
rapid succession, like machine gun fire. When I saw the film in the theater, the wheels made a
distinct sound as the Batmobile drove over each of these tiles, but the detail, impact and dynamic
punch of this audio sequence was a bit lost on the Blu-ray. The sonics are not badly muddied, but
they lack the
punch, realism and extension of the best BD content. This is a prime example of how HD DVD held
back the HD formats. Hopefully, Warner's days of using low bitrate content on BD are coming to an
end.
� Prologue: The best supplementary material by far is the six-minute prologue of The
Dark Knight presented in a 1.80:1 aspect ratio at 1080p resolution. Rarely has video quality
this good been achieved in home video. The scene shows a bank heist orchestrated by The Joker
(Heath Ledger) and his cohorts--each with a clown-face mask. The scene is shot, acted
and produced impeccably for IMAX. In addition to whetting viewers' appetites for the sequel, the
reference quality of the prologue shows the shortcomings (both video and audio) of Batman
Begins.
� Picture-in-Picture: This is why we had to wait so long for the title to appear on BD? The
interviews, behind-the-scenes sequences, and commentary are all quite interesting, but I would
have much preferred that Warner focused its efforts on delivering the feature film in the best
possible quality. The PiP material showcases director Christopher Nolan and all the major actors of
Batman Begins. Much of the content is very instructive; however, there are lags in which
no picture or commentary is included for a couple minutes at a time, which hurts the
pacing.
� Genesis of the Bat: Clocking in at 15 minutes, this featurette is in standard definition
like all remaining supplementary material (aside from the theatrical trailer). Genesis of the
Bat is an amalgam of several on-set interviews--mostly from Nolan and screenwriter David S.
Goyer--to explain the conception of Batman Begins to reset the Batman saga.
� Batman: The Journey Begins: At 14 minutes, this featurette is among the least
rewarding supplementary features on the BD. It focuses on the film's casting of such stars as
Christian Bale, Katie Holmes and Cillian Murphy, among the other actors that helped Batman
Begins achieve success.
� Path to Discovery: Another 14-minute, standard definition featurette, Path to
Discovery documents the film's opening footage shot in Iceland and the challenges of
shooting in a cold climate.
� Saving Gotham City: Clocking in at 13 minutes, this featurette focuses on the film's
action sequences. Nolan sought to minimize computer-generated graphics and developed better
ways to shoot the scenes. This not only makes Batman Begins impressive from a
technical standpoint, but it eliminated the need to integrate CGI into the film, which can
dynamically squash the image.
� Shaping Mind and Body: At 13 minutes, this documentary shows why Bale, a
questionable candidate for a superhero, is actually the most successful actor to try on the Batsuit.
The behind-the-scenes footage and interview commentary document the way Bale worked hard
at his role while effortlessly latching on to the concepts laid out by Nolan and Goyer. Easily one of
the best
featurettes on the BD.
� Gotham City Rises: Another fascinating featurette clocking in at 13 minutes showcases
the design team that put together the most elaborate incarnation of Gotham City. By combining
designed sets with existing structures, the film achieved an amazing metropolitan look, ranging
from the luxurious sets of Wayne Manor to the precarious elevated train to the slums of
Gotham's "The Narrows" district.
� Cape and Cowl: This eight-minute documentary focuses on the Batsuit from a
conceptual, technical and practical perspective. It shows how much work went into every detail of
Batman's outfit.
� Batman: The Tumbler: Clocking in at 14 minutes, this featurette showcases the
Batmobile, from Nolan's original vision as a cross between a Hummer and a Lamborghini to Katie
Holmes' take on the vehicle. Some interesting technical details, but mostly fluff.
Rounding out the supplementary content is a still gallery from standard definition PR campaigns,
a set of SD confidential files showing conceptual animated text pages, an MTV spoof entitled
Tankman Begins, from the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, and the high definition theatrical
trailer (abbreviated version).
Part of what makes Batman Begins succeed is the way it
focuses on Bruce Wayne's psychology and motivations. The film carefully and chronologically
documents how he goes from frightened and orphaned child to the ruthless caped crusader.
While Bale is excellent in his portrayal of Bruce Wayne, he seems tentative in becoming Batman.
Bale admitted struggling to get Batman's voice and other mannerisms, and this seems apparent,
but this just makes the caped crusader more endearing and believable. Unlike other superheroes,
Batman does not have any superhuman powers. He relies on manmade technologies and his own
martial arts training to outwit, overpower and defeat his enemies. So it makes sense that the
confidence and character to become Batman should build more gradually. Bale's vulnerabilities are in-character. That is why his approach works.
There are a few
amateur moments in the film--Dr. Crane's delivery was sometimes off, as was Dawes'--but with
Bale's
solid portrayal of Bruce
and Nolan's ability to pull the entire story together, the new saga of Batman is off to a riveting
start. Throw in some fine effects, excellent sets of Gotham City and dark cinematography, and
Batman
Begins may be the best superhero film ever. Even though there are some negative vestigial
effects of Warner playing both sides of the fence with BD and HD DVD, this is an easy BD to
recommend, and an important addition to any Blu-ray collection.
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