Blu-ray Movie Reviews

As a young boy, Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) witnessed the murder of his parents in Gotham City. As he matures into a man, criminals begin to rule the streets of his beloved city, and the only way to fight back is to become Batman, a vigilante hell-bent for revenge.

The camp depiction of Batman from the 1960s changed dramatically in 1989 when Tim Burton modernized the iconic hero with a new cinematic version of the Dark Knight with Batman. Keaton was a surprising casting choice to play the hero, and Jack Nicholson turned in a fantastic performance as The Joker. It revitalized the franchise and spawned three additional sequels and an eventual reboot by Christopher Nolan in 2005 with Batman Begins.

Released earlier this year in a four-movie boxed set, Batman debuts as a single title on Blu-ray with the same VC-1 encode. It's a little rough around the edges with heavy grain and inconsistent detail—from very sharp to pathetically soft—depending on the scene. Burton wanted a darker tone, and the inky black levels certainly create the mood. The Joker's elaborate clothing leaps off the screen with its vivid hues against the dark backgrounds.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is very front-loaded with the surround speakers relegated to general ambience and score bleed. Dialog is intelligible and clear, but the dynamics are hit or miss, especially with inconsistent LFE.

All the supplements from the boxed set that pertain to Batman are found on the BD50 and include a commentary from Tim Burton, a boatload of featurettes on the history and evolution of the character through the years, production featurettes, music videos, and the theatrical trailer. Befitting a 20th-anniversary edition, Warner includes "Digibook" packaging, which offers a 50-page bonus book with excerpts from the official film book, script pages, and the DC comic-book adaptation. Rounding things out is a digital copy compatible with iTunes and Windows.

Aside from the steep price of the boxed set, some fans may only like a couple of films from the franchise and appreciate the ability to purchase them separately. This offering of Batman fits the bill with a decent presentation, Digibook packaging, and the added bonus of not having to own Batman and Robin—one of the worst films of the '90s.

Release Date: May 19, 2009
Studio: Warner

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics