Batman Begins (2005)

After training with his mentor, Batman begins his war on crime to free the crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption that the Scarecrow and the League of Shadows have cast upon it.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Bob Kane (characters), David S. Goyer (story),

Stars:

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson

Top 250 #104 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 43 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Bale	...	Bruce Wayne / Batman
Michael Caine	...	Alfred
Liam Neeson	...	Ducard
Katie Holmes	...	Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman	...	Jim Gordon
Cillian Murphy	...	Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow
Rade Serbedzija	...	Homeless Man (as Rade Sherbedgia)
Rutger Hauer	...	Earle
Tom Wilkinson	...	Carmine Falcone
Ken Watanabe	...	Ra's Al Ghul
Mark Boone Junior	...	Flass
Morgan Freeman	...	Lucius Fox
Larry Holden	...	Finch
Linus Roache	...	Thomas Wayne
Gerard Murphy	...	Judge Faden

Storyline

When his parents were killed, millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne relocates to Asia when he is mentored by Henri Ducard and Ra's Al Ghul in how to fight evil. When learning about the plan to wipe out evil in Gotham City by Ducard, Bruce prevents this plan from getting any further and heads back to his home. Back in his original surroundings, Bruce adopts the image of a bat to strike fear into the criminals and the corrupt as the icon known as 'Batman'. But it doesn't stay quiet for long.

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Plot Keywords:

gotham | fight | fear | cave | murder | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros [fr]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Urdu Mandarin

Release Date:

15 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman 5

Filming Locations:

Coalhouse Fort, East Tilbury, Essex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$119,727 (Sweden) (19 August 2005)

Gross:

$205,343,774 (USA) (28 October 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Syncopy, DC Comics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henri Ducard was created by Batman screenwriter Sam Hamm. The character was in the movie's original script, however was dropped. Hamm later during his comic book writing debut on Detective Comics series incorporated the character into the Batman mythos.

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Goofs

In the scene where Batman saves Rachel and the Little Boy from the released Arkham maniacs, the boy is seen holding his arms around Rachel and with his face against her chest. Yet when the camera angle changes he is sitting and facing in a completely different direction.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bruce Wayne - age 8: Rachel, let me see! Can I see?

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Crazy Credits

In some countries, the film title is shown at the very end of the closing credits, whereas in most other countries it's seen at the beginning of the closing credits.

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Fat Quiz of the Year (2010)
Reference to Christian Bale as Batman

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Soundtracks

"Happy Birthday To You"
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill
Performed by Cavendish String Quartet

User Reviews

Finally!!!

I got a chance to see 'Batman Begins' just this past Friday evening. I must say that before seeing the film, I felt in my heart this is the 'Batman' film we've been waiting for. Within ten minutes into the movie, I turned to my date and said to her, "This is it! This is the movie!" I just can't believe that after all these years, Warner Bros. finally got it right. For me the most intriguing part of the film, apart from the great script, and great acting, was Christopher Nolan's decision to base the film in reality. Deciding that Batman could really exist in our universe and our world was a stroke of genius. Another aspect of the film that's so refreshing is that instead of the focus being on the villain, Batman is the film's star. And rightly so. It's amazing what can happen when a studio leaves a respected director, and the creative team alone, and allow them to make the best movie possible. The only two negatives that I can think of is Katie Holmes and the fight sequences. Holmes does indeed look like a teenager playing grown-up. Her performance isn't bad per SE, it's just that you really don't buy her as an Assistant D.A. As for the fight sequences, I felt the cameras angles were too tight on the action, edited too quickly, and lit too dark so that you really couldn't tell what was going on and determine who was hitting who. Maybe we can attribute this to the fact that Nolan is not an action director. Hopefully the next film will open up the fight sequences so we can actually see Batman use the martial arts skills he developed during his exile. But apart from those relatively minor quibbles, the film is excellent, and I'm definitely going back on opening day June 15th, and seeing it a second time. A third and fourth viewing is definitely not out of the question.