Batman Begins has finally made its way to DVD and I had the great pleasure of seeing it. As a huge fan of the Batman movies I was more than pleased with how this film turned out. I must say though I didn’t think anyone would be able to top Tim Burton's Batman from 1989 with Michael Keaton playing the role that I have always considered to be the ultimate depiction of the character, and the movies that followed that one (Batman and robin, Batman forever, and Batman returns) were in my opinion lacking until this one.

We all know the story of Batman and his crime fighting exploits in Gotham City; we also know his parents were killed by a thief as they came out of a theater but there is a big blank space after that moment up until he was older and fighting crime. That’s what makes Batman Begins a great film. Though not associated directly with the other movies in the series, it answers all those questions we were always asking like where did he learn to fight and where do all his weapons come from. This movie is also the closest movie to the comic books yet.

The story goes that after young Bruce Wayne sees his parents die he grows up to go on to college, but because he still hasn’t recovered from their death he drops out and starts to wander the globe, living like an indigent and getting in trouble until he meets Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) who takes him to his mountain top hideaway where (Ducard) he helps Bruce Wayne master the skills of fighting and all the other mystical secrets that Ducard has to teach. After Bruce Wayne learns all he can, he decides to take his new found knowledge back to Gotham and use these new skills to rid the city of all its dark elements. It’s at this time he runs into his old love Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). This is also the time he meets the villains of the film -- more to the point he meets the scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) who doubles as Dr. Jonathan Crane, the psychiatrist at the local nut house- Arkam Asylum. So with the help of one of the few un-corrupt cops, Jim Gordman (Gary Oldman) and an employee of his father's company Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and his butler Alfred (Michael Caine), Batman begins ridding Gotham of its bad element.

Now there's obviously a lot more to the plot than this, but I’m not about to give it all away because this movie is definitely a must see. I will say that the weapons in this film are excellent and the Bat Mobile, although deviated from the original designs, is by far the coolest to date (in its own way at least). I think the awesome culmination of actors in this film is one of its strong points - I have only couple of qualms about the actors and that is that I felt they made officer Gordon (soon to be police chief Gordon) a little to timid and the character of the Scarecrow, although a great addition to the crazy enemies Batman faces over the years, is a little too effeminate, but this seems to be some kind of strange theme in these films (Chris O'Donnell as robin and Jim Carey as The Riddler for example).

Like many people who have seen all the Batman films, I always thought Michael Keaton did the ultimate job until now.. I've always respected the acting abilities of Christian Bale ever since I saw him in American Psycho but I have a new kind of respect for the diversity in which he can act - he's definitely nailed the character as it was always meant to be played. Another character that has, in my opinion, been out done is that of Alfred (Played by Michael Caine) - everyone knows he an accomplished actor but I really liked what he did with this character, showing his caring side as well as his occasional defiance. There were also a couple of funny scenes that helped add that much more to his character. I guess I’m still a little confused as to why they keep giving Batman a love interest as we all know that an eccentric billionaire playboy can't settle down and that goes double for a superhero crime fighter but maybe they just need to give Batman a woman to rescue to add to every storyline.

Now I have heard a lot of talk about the action scenes in this film with lots of people saying that there not very good but I have to disagree; I think that they have captured a realism we rarely see in action movies.. pay attention to the way Batman flies through the air, it’s the best been done yet. The choreography is top notch, and while the movies and shows of our childhood are great, we’ve come a long way from the POW’s and BAM' s we used to see. You have to respect the way they shot all the action sequences in this film. And even though I felt the camera was a little too close to the characters a couple of times that’s not enough of a complaint to take away from the praise I feel this movie deserves. My highest regards will always go to Tim Burton for his work but I’m happy that Christopher Nolan directed this movie - he’s helped to get the Batman movies back on track. So I guess what I’m saying is that if you haven’t yet seen Batman Begins you should as soon as you can, its out on DVD now from Warner Home Video. Find out more at batmanbegins.com .