Strap on your utility belts and get ready for action my cloaked companions, BATMAN BEGINS is here, and the old days of cheesy one liners and ridiculously stupid villains are gone.
I'm gonna jump right to the punch here, this might very well be one of the best Comic to Big screen movies ever done. Without a doubt in the same league as Spiderman 1&2 as well as the XMen, DC Comics breaks the old batman mold, rebuilds it, and smashes the hell out of it again. This movie is more of the internal struggle and tightrope of emotional turmoil of our Capped Crusader Bruce Wayne, than it is about any sinister plots and cackling villains (No offense to jack nicholson as the joker, he's the exception). The particular scene where Bruce comes very close to committing murder and crossing the line to become what he hates the most, might be one of the most powerful emotional scenes in the movie. We learn about the murder of his parents, and TRULY what fueled young Bruce to take on the mantle of the "Dark Knight".

Now lets get to the Cast. Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale, Ken Wantanabe, Katie Holmes (Congrats Tom Cruise you bastard) Rutger Hauer, Michael Cain, Gary Oldman.... the only thing we're missing is the tuxedos and we could be at an Oscars awards table for dinner. One word, INCREDIBLE. Now without a doubt, Liam Neeson steal the show, he dominates almost every scene he's in. The man is an incredibly powerful actor and he truly shines here as Ducard. Bruce's Mentor, Teacher, and companion. Michael Caine is equally brilliant as the aging Wayne Family butler, Alfred; Providing emotional support, encouragement, and an occasional stern lecture. Morgan Freeman, Wayne enterprises most dangerous asset, the man tucked away in a corner of the building handling all of wayne enterprises military contract development, now shunned into the abandoned projects department. And last but not least, the second show stealer. Gary Oldman as SEARGEANT Gordon....that's right, this is NOT commissioner Gordon, well, at least not yet. He gives the impression of a struggling policeman surrounded by corruption, and fighting against the tidal wave of evil that seems to consume everything around him. The dialogues are sharp and pointed, powerful yet deep and meaningful, and they stick with you. The fight scenes are the least interesting part of the movie, but watching them still DEFFINATLY holds a wonderful appeal, especially with the modern day Master Swordsman Ken Wantanabe leading a particularly powerful battle scene in a mountain monastery surrounded by ninja. I wont spoil it but if action is your groove, you'll get plenty of it here.

The bottom line here is this, Do not miss this movie. If you're a comic fan and know anything about "The Dark Knight" series, this movie is very true to it, if you're an action fan, the CGI and sword / Weapon / Hand to hand scenes are fantastic, If you're a drama fan, It's an extremely powerful moving story. And if you don't like movies, you better learn to love em, because you'll find this one in everyone's DVD collection eventually. Let me add as a last note, the villan...or one of them... The Scarecrow. He employs some tactics that i would seriously think twice about exposing anyone under the age of 14 to. Parents be warned. So, let BATMAN BEGIN....

Overall- 5 out of 5 (Fan-Frikin-Tastic)

Reviewed by Harvest

A possible download for this movie is HERE.

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