Batman Begins
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Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero/action film based on the fictional character Batman. The film was first released on June 15 2005, was directed by Christopher Nolan, and was written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. This movie is neither sequel nor prequel for the previous Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher films, but rather a complete reboot of the Batman series which follows the original comics more closely. The film was particularly influenced by the Batman: Year One story arc.
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Plot summary
Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham City.
A young Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis), while playing with Rachel Dawes (Emma Lockhart), falls down a well and is attacked by a flurry of bats. After his father pulls him from the well, Bruce starts having nightmares about bats. One night the Waynes go to the opera where Bruce becomes scared at some of the dancers' portrayals of bats. Bruce experiences a panic attack and asks his father if they can leave. The family exits the theater into an alley, where they are approached by a mugger who murders both Thomas and Martha Wayne. Before he dies, Thomas Wayne tells his son, "don't be afraid."
After being comforted at the police station by police sergeant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and being told "good news" about the shooter, Joe Chill, being arrested, Bruce is taken home by family butler Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) who raises him in the absence of his parents.
Now a young adult, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has returned from college (Princeton University) for his parents' murderer's parole hearing which was arranged as part of a deal to testify against the crime boss, Carmine Falcone. The adult Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) is now an assistant Gotham City district attorney. The killer is granted parole, but is soon thereafter murdered by a mob operative. We learn that Bruce Wayne was planning to kill him as well, but was robbed of the opportunity. When Rachel learns this, she explains the difference between vengeance and justice to Bruce, and then tells him how his father would be ashamed. Bruce becomes ashamed of himself and promptly goes to confront Carmine. After the fateful meeting, Bruce steals away on a cargo ship.
The disillusioned Wayne travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and "turn fear against those who prey on the fearful", but becomes misguided in his quest and soon becomes a criminal himself. He is approached by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), representing Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) of the League of Shadows, a group of fanatical assassins. Traveling to the home of the League of Shadows, Wayne learns to use theatricality and deception as his greatest weapons. However, after his training, Ra's and Ducard tell Wayne that he must lead the League to destroy Gotham, a source of evil according to the group. Wayne refuses to destroy the city he loves and battles Ra's before making his escape. Ra's is killed in the battle and Wayne manages to save Ducard.
Bruce eventually does return again to Gotham with the help of Alfred who establishes his new approach to dealing with the evil in Gotham. In addition, he strikes up a friendship with an unfairly demoted board member, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) whose job as a caretaker of abandonned equipment prototypes allows him to become his armorer. Thus prepared, Wayne unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high-tech gadgets to combat the sinister forces that threaten the city. Two of his first foes come in the forms of local mob boss Carmine Falcone and Dr. Crane (Cillian Murphy), who would become better known as the Scarecrow. Batman eventually discovers that Ducard is actually Ra's, and has conspired with the Scarecrow to poison Gotham's water supply with a fear toxin that would cause the inhabitants of the city to riot, destroying each other and Gotham itself. They battle and Batman eventually defeats Ra's. As the movie ends, a promoted Gordon expresses gratitude for what Batman has done, but also asks Batman about the inevitable technological escalation in criminal behavior his presence will bring (criminals get automatics and armor piercing bullets to counter police with semi-automatics and bullet-proof vests - indicating they will in turn start wearing masks and adopting theatrical tactics in response to the Batman). Gordon explains that a criminal in the lost "Narrows" area of Gotham has left calling cards at all his crime scenes... in the form of a Joker playing card.
Critical Reaction
Early reviews have been very enthusiastic with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who panned all the previous live action adaptations of the character, calling it one of the best films of the year. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times also gave it high praise, dubbing the film "the most successful comic-book adaptation alongside Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World." The response from audiences has also been positive, with the film currently placed at number 74 on IMDb's Top 250 films list. [1] (http://www.imdb.com/top_250_films)
Box Office Success
As of 22 June 2005, the estimated $135-million movie earned approx. $85 million domestically. This is considered by Warner Bros. to be a sucessful return of the Batman saga as it announced its intentions to make a sequel, with most of the film's main cast except Katie Holmes (because of her highly-publicised relationship with Tom Cruise) coming back, including Christian Bale, making him the first actor since Michael Keaton to play Batman more than once.
Cast
- Christian Bale – Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Michael Caine – Alfred Pennyworth
- Katie Holmes – Rachel Dawes
- Ken Watanabe – Ra's al Ghul
- Cillian Murphy – Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow
- Liam Neeson – Henri Ducard
- Morgan Freeman – Lucius Fox
- Gary Oldman – Lt. James Gordon
- Tom Wilkinson – Carmine Falcone
- Rutger Hauer – Richard Earle
- Linus Roache – Dr. Thomas Wayne
- Richard Brake – Joe Chill
- Rade Serbedzija – Homeless man
- Alexandra Bastedo – Mrs. Delane
- Tim Booth – Victor Zsasz
Trivia
- In the movie, Bruce Wayne is shown arriving at a fancy hotel in a Lamborghini Murciélago. Although the car was named for a famous bull, the word murciélago is also Spanish for bat.
- The track listings on the soundtrack are all named after different bat species.
Quotes
- Batman: "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."
- Scarecrow: "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!"
- Ra's Al Ghul: "To manipulate the fears of others, you must first master your own."
External links
- Batman Begins official web site (http://batmanbegins.warnerbros.com/)
- Template:Imdb title
- Picture of Christian Bale in Batman costume (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/batsuit.jpg)
- Batman Begins at BYTB (http://batmanbegins.batmanytb.com/)
- Batman: Yesterday, Today, & Beyond (http://www.batmanytb.com/)
- Review by (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050613/REVIEWS/50525003) Roger Ebert
- Batman & Sobbin': Village Voice Review (http://villagevoice.com/film/0524,atkinson1,64916,20.html)
- Batman Begins' reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/batman_begins/)es:Batman inicia
