Batman Begins (2005)
AKA: Batman 5 (2003), Batman: Intimidation (2003), Batman: Intimidation Game (2003), The Intimidation Game (2003), and Batman: The Frightening (2003)
2/3 rankings
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Written By: David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan, Bob Kane (characters)
| Starring: | |
| Christian Bale | Bruce Wayne/Batman |
| Michael Caine | Alfred Pennyworth |
| Liam Neeson | Henri Ducard |
| Morgan Freeman | Lucius Fox |
| Gary Oldman | Lt. James Gordon |
| Cillian Murphy | Dr. Jonathan Crane |
| Ken Watanabe | Ra's Al Ghul |
| Katie Holmes | Rachel Dodson |
| Rutger Hauer | Richard Earle |
| Mark Boone Junior | Flass |
| Richard Brake | Joe Chill |
| Cool Line(s): | |
| Bruce Wayne | They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. |
| Bruce Wayne | And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge. |
| Bruce Wayne | Me. |
| ... | ... |
| Lt. James Gordon | I'll get my car. |
| Batman | I brought mine. |
| Lt. James Gordon | I have got to get one of those. |
| ... | ... |
| Dr. Jonathan Crane | Dr. Crane isn't here at the moment, but if you would like to make an appointment.... |
| ... | ... |
| Lt. James Gordon (hearing bat sounds) | What's that? |
| Bruce Wayne | Back-up. |
| ... | ... |
| Flass | I never knew! I swear to God! |
| Batman | Swear to me! |
Summary: When fate prevents him from avenging the deaths of his industrialist parents, young Bruce Wayne flees to Asia. When he returns, he finds that evil has taken over Gotham City. He also finds a cave under Wayne Manor, and becomes ... Batman.
Review: Batman Begins is the darkest Batman movie so far, but this is a good thing. Needing to re-invent the franchise or watch it fade away, Warner Brothers and Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer went back to where it all began to re-make it in their image. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time the Batman has been re-imagined. Each new generation has created a new Batman to better reflect their societal values as a sign of their times. In the 60's you had Adam West's campy kitschy Batman, in the 90's you had Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin with rubber nipples, and now Batman has returned to his roots, literally as well as figuratively.
Hopefully Nolan and Goyer have done it and this will re-start the Batman series back up. Judging from its box office rankings and DVD sales, we should see Batman 6 in the future; I for one can't wait. Rumours abound that this was to become part one of a three-part movie deal assuming it was successful.
In order to re-create the Batman character, the original murder of his wealthy industrialist parents had to be re-visited to remind movie watchers of what really happened. Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered before his very eyes when he was just eight years old, not by the Joker, a homicidal serial killer scarred and disfigured in an industrial accident caused when escaping from the police, but by a petty thief named Joe Chill, who robbed them in a dark alley. Although Tim Burton's 1989 version of Batman and the new back story of Jack Napier who goes on to become the Joker, allowed him to introduce the character of the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, by blaming their murders on him, this never occurred in any other Batman story. Now having returned to his roots the adventures of Batman can continue.
One more point from the comics and books which seems to have been adhered to faithfully in this movie adaptation is that unlike with Spider-Man, Batman doesn't wear a mask to protect his true identity, the Batman is the true him, Bruce Wayne is his disguised alter-ego. Ever since his parent's murder, revenge has driven the Batman, that and a strict moral code. The eccentric billionaire playboy industrialist Bruce Wayne is simply a means to an end for the Batman. When Batman returns from fighting-crime, only to find a high-society party going on in his mansion, a party to which he is expected to put in an appearance at as Bruce Wayne, and a party in which he has no interest in so doing, he ends it as soon as he can unconcerned with how people will see Bruce Wayne. This is finally the true Batman.
To Purchase: Batman Begins (2005) on DVD, Batman Begins Soundtrack on CD, Batman Begins The Book in Hardcover, Batman Begins The Game for Play Station 2, Batman Begins Official Strategy Guide in Paperback, or Batman Begins anything else.
Please Note
Special Features: Two Disks, DC Comics Comic Book, Behind the Scenes, Batman Begins Game, Documentaries, and Movie Commentaries.
Others in the Series: Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997)
Copyright (c) 2005, 2008 A. Ryan Robbins. All Rights Reserved.