Batman Begins

Having never seen this in the theater, I can only comment on the DVD.

In a word.......WOW!! Lots of meat to this movie. The story unfolds wonderfully, never veering off course. I must admit, never having followed the DC comic series, my introduction to Batman came from the 60's TV show, where Batman and Robin were campy characters along with the villians. So, after the first Keaton film, I wanted more. The second Keaton film, "Batman Returns", stepped things up with multiple bad guys/gals. Still, those two movies had a "Burtonesque" quality to them, taking any possibilty of realism out of the picture.

Batman Begins is presented in a very realistic way, so you understand the logic of his abilities, and why he becomes Batman.

Picture quality was great, but I'm running component(non-prog scan)into a JVC 20" set, so everything looks good that small.

The sound: Awesome! Plenty of bass, not over done. Very effective use of the surrounds. Some scenes have Batman "Fluttering" around from above, and the sounds panned around the room putting you in the middle. The scene with Liam Neeson, when Bruce inhales some halucinatory smoke while training, has Neeson's voice panning around the room from all directions. Great stuff!

I don't think I will let my son watch it. He refused to see it with me when in theaters, saying he felt it would be too scary for him. I have to agree. Some scenes would definitely keep him up at night.

Don't miss this one. Can't wait for the next one!

I also watched it this past week and enjoyed it.

The only thing I didn't like was the voice change between Bruce Wayne and Batman....not sure why, but I almost found it annoying. Of course, every time Katie Holmes showed up I kept saying to myself "yeah right...why are you marrying Tom Cruise?" :D

Yeah, what's the attraction to Cruise?

Bruce has to protect his identity, so altering his voice is only natural. It was, at times, a bit over the top, but remember, this is the beginning of Batman. He has to develop and grow. Maybe Bruce can integrate an electronic voice altering device into the mask, a-la Darth Vader! :D

Everyone in my family (even my wife) really enjoyed this one. Having grew up with the original Batman series, I think, provides an added dimension. I think this will be added to my "own it" list.

As far as Katie goes, please, lose the creep.

Randy