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!