Batman Begins

From what I heard is it beats Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin. 9/10.

nolan's interpretation of Batman is definitely a step in the right direction in this post-schumacher world of Batman. yeah i'd have to agree with all the criticism surrounding Holmes as rachel dawes, as insignificant as that may have been to the total feel of the movie. finally somehow has created a Batman atmosphere to fill the darkness created by such Batman works as Hush and the Long halloween. Long live DC comics. what about the revamped and reinvented portrayal of an early Batmobile, many of my buddies absolutely hated it, not for any particular reason other than it wasn't the sports car they had seen in the original Batman. i thought it was a pretty good interpretation of a vehicle for a man intent on fighting crime. function over fashion.

I agree totally, as my friends didn't like it either. I thought the old one is kinda lame looking, compared to this one.

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The new Batmobile was the bomb. At last, a utilitarian vehicle thatfit the style of the dark knight. The old corvette-ish, mid-life crisis mobile had to go. The old mobiles looked like something Bruce Wayne might drive, not Batman. Yup, this film still gets my vote for best super-hero film yet. Best comic film in general goes to Sin City, which edges out Batman Begins and Unbreakable for me....

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Yeah, i would definitely have to agree with that. Batman's (and Bruce's for that matter) garage's are, for the most part, filled with the same style, sleek cars in most of the more recent comics, so i was really glad someone went outside the lines to imagine this one, definitley a risk worth taking.

this movie was good but it seemed so long, not that a great movie isnt worth the time but damn, my ass hurt after sitting there in the freezing cold theater for what felt like eons. but yea, kick ass movie, i just dont want to ever see it again.....ever

I've seen this movie three times in theatres now! Sure it was a bit long, but its a long time well worth it. I can't wait to watch this movie again when it comes out on DVD.

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I agree, this film is the best of all Batman films. I like the trend of re-telling comic book stories in a more realistic way. One of the few things that bothered me was the way Bruce growled whenever he was Batman; seemed unnatural and forced.

This quite dark adaptation of the batman series is a huge leap back into the realm of quality after the shock disgrace of Batman Forever and it's twin Batman and Robin. Returning to the great batmans of the past this film is directed really well and the story is compelling and different in its approach to super-hero movies.

Comparing it to Spiderman or X-men, this movie takes on a realness that makes everything really stand out. It's similar to Unbreakable in this respect but outdoes it in terms of it's awesome action scenes and no hold barred villains (that scarecrow guy was scary!). Liam Neeson was good as the master warrior villain but as others have suggested Katie Holmes was par at best and added little to the movie except for her star status. If you're a fan of action, adventure or thriller movies give this one a go and I'm sure it'll be worth your while.

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"Dark and Sinister. The first batman movie that doesn't compare Bruce Wayne to Clark Kent."

Quite different from the Ka-Pow! and Ker-Plop! seen in the 1960s Adam West version, “Batman Begins” puts the cheese and humor aside and shows the real batman we remember from the comic books.

Batman has always been my favorite superhero, he was always the darker and more troubled character. I was most surprised when I saw this film, we finally get a realistic approach to this story. As the title tells us, much of this film focuses on how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman and why. Introducing more background information makes us closer to the character as well as knowing information such as his troubled childhood, his parents brutal murder and his fear of bats. Thus putting us on a more emotional level with the character, possibly relating to him in some way.

Directed by Christopher Nolan who, since that film has been nominated for 3 academy awards, is known for his success in “Memento,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight” and “Insomnia.” His films have always shared similar dark, ominous vibe; an example being “Insomnia” when Al Pacino is tiptoeing through a foggy Alaskan forest in search for a killer. In my opinion using fog, smoke and shadows have always been more disturbing than any other special effect. This is one of the main reasons I liked “Batman Begins.” Similar to way Daniel Craig portrays the new cold, heartless and emotionless James Bond, Christian Bale gives a similar performance as Batman. Staying away from the special effects, Nolan manages to give both Batman and Gotham City an eerie disturbing aura by using the elements found at night; fog, shadows, sudden movement and whispers.

The film opens in some foreign prison cell. We see our main character, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) being subject to the horrors of prison; random beatings, tortures and frequent fights with other inmates. After the scenes of brutality, Wayne is rescued by the equally mysterious character of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson). It is Ducard that trains Wayne in the jiu jitsu style of fighting, mind control, weapons training and the art of surprise that batman uses. Ducard attempts to enlist Wayne in his gang, “The League of Shadows.” Similar to a gang initiation, Bruce must kill a man to show he has the guts to be a member of this crime fighting organization. When he declines, Ducard goes from the rescuer to the villain.

Upon his return to Gotham City, which is loosely based on the city of Chicago, Bruce lives the life of a hermit seen reminiscing with only his butler, Alfred (played by Michael Caine) and his childhood friend, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). While Bruce walks throughout his home, decorated in the same manner as his parents before their deaths, Bruce has the tendency of having childhood flashbacks. As Bruce walks through his fathers study, he notices various objects which have intrinsic value to them which causes these memories to be uncovered. While looking at his fathers Stethoscope, Bruce remembers playing with it as a child and remembers all the good his father did for the city of Gotham; showing us that Bruce was not only attached to his father (played by
Linus Roache) but the Stethoscope represents physical healing as well as the healing of Gotham. As Wayne turns into the character of Batman, that is one of his parameters - healing Gotham City.

Not only was Bruce’s father a medical doctor, but he (Wayne Enterprises) was also responsible for constructing a free railway system that ran through Gotham and weeding out the local government corruption. During Bruce’s childhood, under the close protection of the evil world by his father, Bruce had to witness his parent’s brutal murder and the killers lack of justice. That lawlessness has a large impact on Batman's character.

After his parents died, Wayne Enterprises is given a greedy and power-hungry associate (Rutger Hauer). We see a nasty transition in Gotham City after the companies new management; we see it riddled with drugs, crime, poverty and rampant, “Mad Max” style gangs. With the help from his late-father’s top science advisor, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Bruce becomes the masked vigilante. Inspired by a childhood well accident, Bruce turned into the one thing he was most afraid of, Bats. He eventually overcomes that fear and incorporates it into his character.

During the day, Bruce assumes the role of the Hugh Hefner type bachelor. He is rich, handsome and often gets drunk at parties and makes a fool of himself. Although he always leaves the party with a new girl in his arm, he has never managed to have the same feelings as he does for Rachel. Since there childhood, Dawes has managed to become a lawyer, assuming the role as Gotham’s ADA. Attempting to end the corruption, Rachel and Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) attempt to take on the local syndicate leader, Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). What Rachel and Gordon do not realize is that the main source of corruption is not from Falcone but from inside Gotham’s government. Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) a.k.a Scarecrow is a corrupt psychiatrist who, similar to other psychiatrists, likes to lock his enemies up and declare them insane. Crane plans to release a deadly hallucinogenic toxin into Gotham's water supply using an enormous vaporizer that, when inhaled, will tear Gotham from the inside out.

In the second half of the film, the actual character of Batman (more alter-personality) is introduced. In the previous batman films, Clooney, Kilmer, Keaton and West all show batman as this proud, perfect individual that never take chances and always fights for others, never himself. In “Batman Begins” we get a different approach. As seen lurking in the gloomy and foggy heights of Gotham City, Batman is more of a clumsy, risk-taker. Often taking chances, doing rash things and attempting to revenge his parents. The previous films were also always obsessed with special effects and excessively choreographed fighting scenes. “Batman Begins” has only a few fight scenes and uses many dark and ominous shots rather than cheery and courageous scenes. Batman is not supposed to be like a superman character, he is a more cold and mentally unstable. Bale does a perfect job at depicting this. Depicted as the Ted Bundy type serial killer in “American Psycho” and as a paranoid schizophrenic in “The Machinist” he has proven to be perfect for this role.

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The Film Critique

I cant wait for a title ,,Batman finish,, or ,,Batman dies and leaves movie industry forever,, or ,,Batman is finally over,,

Batman Finishes would be a hysterical title.

I remember meatwadsprite once posted some list of his favorite Christopher Nolan movies, but intentionally got all the titles a little wrong. I think he went with Batman Starts.

hahahaha I could just picture this

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Batman's Big End would be even better.

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Batman Big Day Out.

Batman Finishes Until the Inevitable Reboot in 10 Years

★★★★★ (out of 5)

Batman Begins is quite simply the greatest comic book movie ever made, and one of the greatest films ever made. With the trilogy now completed, it’s appropriate and easy to look back and realize the full brilliance of the film. The introduction of Ra’s Al Ghul and The League of Shadows as the villains allowed the final chapter to feature Bane in a plot that came full circle. To know Bruce, Alfred, and Gordon at the beginning of their careers allowed us to appreciate Bruce transforming into Batman, Alfred’s growing father figure role, and Gordon’s climb to commissioner.

The plot is complex. When Bruce witnesses his parents’ death, he travels to Asia to learn about the criminal underworld. Along the way he meets Ducard and The League of Shadows who train him in the ways of ninja. Bruce escapes The League after learning of their plans to destroy Gotham. He returns to Gotham and takes on the alter ego of Batman to fight crime and return Gotham from the cesspool of criminals that rule the city.

The hero origin story has been seriously overplayed over the past 10 years. They’re a dime a dozen and follow the same arc. What makes Batman more compelling than the others is that he’s just a human that actively acquires his powers. He wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider, or shipped off from Krypton, or born as the God of Thunder. He’s a tortured soul who finds relief in this alter ego he creates. The story of Batman isn’t about Bruce Wayne, it’s about Batman.

Batman Begins does the best job of showcasing the central character whereas TDK focused heavily on The Joker and TDKR on Bane and Lieutenant Blake. Christopher Nolan’s touch is on every element of every frame. There’s a scene after Bruce returns to Gotham where he has to act like he’s having fun running around town in his sports car with European Supermodels. Leaving a party at a hotel, he runs into his oldest friend, Rachel Dawes. He tries to convince her that what she sees isn’t him, but it’s all for naught as the women in the background yell “We have some more hotels for you to buy.” Nolan decides to drown out the sound, choreographed perfectly with the visuals as the sharp focus is on Bruce’s tortured face, with the car and women heavily blurred in the background. It’s one of the greatest shots ever captured.

Director of Photography Wally Pfister deserves much of the accolades. He frames Gotham in an almost sepia hue without the Instagram cheesiness. It works to showcase the poverty and depression of the city yet give it a very comic book feel. This may be a realistic version of Batman, but it is still Batman. Much has been made of the action sequences being the largest weakness of the film. I agree that the hand-to-hand combat scenes are disappointingly weak. They’re shot too close and edited too choppy. The rest of the action, mainly the Batmobile chase sequence, is skillfully handled. The fear in Bruce’s voice channels to the audience as Rachel fades further and further from reality after being blasted with Scarecrow’s fear toxin.

For the aforementioned chase, Nolan relied on no visual effects, even as the Batmobile flew across rooftops and through narrow underground roads. Nolan found a sort of empty playground in Chicago’s upper and lower Wacker Drive that allowed for the chase to come to life as realistically as possible.

Much of the realism is thanks to the incredible cast. There’s no over the top scene stealing actors here. There is terrifying amounts of talent. Christian Bale is the perfect choice to play the dark, brooding Batman and emotionally detached playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne. One of my favorite actors, Michael Caine, plays his butler/confidant/father figure, Alfred. Caine is so detailed that he gives Alfred just a slightly different tinge of his cockney British accent so as to be more appropriate for a butler. The cast is filled out with pitiful lesser actors like God, a.k.a. Morgan Freeman, perennial bad ass Liam Neeson, accent chameleon Gary Oldman, and ol’ blue eyes Cillian Murphy.

Aside from the action scenes the biggest complaint has been the casting of Katie Holmes. After seeing TDK, I’m sure a lot of people wanted Mrs. Holmes back. The truth is that much of her negative press was centered around the Tom Cruise Scientology scandal. The character of Rachel Dawes was one of the weaker points of the first two films. Holmes isn’t to blame. If anything she held her own against some of the greatest names in the industry.

Begins plays much like a great gangster film with all the right hints of comic book fantasy. Even if TDK and TDKR were never made, Batman Begins exists fully in its own skin. There is the Joker cliffhanger at the end, but you don’t feel like the rest of the movie was setting you up just for the cliffhanger like every other big blockbuster these days. It’s these subtle differences and detailed touches that make each frame of this movie such an absolute wonder to behold.

I still think Batman Begins is the best Batman movie (and I liked TDK and TDKR) and probably the best Superhero movie.

Sounds like an adult movie.

Excellent review, but I The Dark Knight did not focus on The Joker. He was the antagonist. I know it feels like he's a big focus because of how dominant Heath Ledger was, but I would argue that both Batman and especially Harvey Dent were the focus of that awesome film.

Rises is definitely a Bruce Wayne centered film, though. Again, Bane's a villian, and yes, you get a backstory, but only a briefish one.