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Batman Begins

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Batman Begins is a 2005 Academy Award-nominated superhero film based on the Batman character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. Although it is the 5th live-action Batman movie since 1989, the movie is neither a prequel nor a sequel to either the previous Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher movies, but rather a reboot into its own movie franchise. The film was both a critical and financial success.

Contents

Production

See also: Development Hell

A fifth Batman feature had been in development for several years prior to Begins being greenlit for production. A plan had originally been set to create another addition to the original franchise to take place after the events of Batman and Robin called Batman Triumphant, with Joel Schumacher attached to direct. George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell were reportedly set to reprise their roles as Batman and Robin with an un-named actor to appear as the Scarecrow; Steve Buscemi and Jeff Goldblum were rumored to be in consideration for the part. Owing to Batman and Robin's poor response both from fans and critics, Warner Bros. quickly dropped their plans for the sequel, deciding instead that while the franchise still remained promising, it would be in their better interest to take another approach.

Wanting to remain involved with the project, Schumacher returned to Warner Bros. a year later, this time with a pitch to remove Robin from the equation and film a Batman prequel based on Frank Miller's graphic novel. Warner bit on the concept, but seemed to have no interest in keeping Schumacher on as director, instead hiring Darren Aronofsky to direct the feature and Frank Miller to help co-write a new version of the script. Wanting to have another option available, the studio also began developing a Batman vs. Superman film, to be directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by Andrew Kevin Walker as well as a live action version of Batman Beyond, with Paul Dini and Alan Burnett hired for scripting duties.

Soon after, Warner Bros. ended production on Aronofsky and Miller's project, being dissatisfied with their take on the film, reportedly a revenge tale set in the 1970s. With the Year One story put off, Warner still had eggs in two baskets, but Peterson was unable to make any progress with Batman vs. Superman, and eventually left to make Troy. The Batman Beyond project fared no better, eventually being squashed before almost any work had been done.

By 2003 the plans for a new Batman feature had collapsed one after another. Resorting to desperation, the studio sent out a call for filmmakers to pitch their ideal Batman film, receiving numerous responses, including a "Year One" tale from Joss Whedon. However, they settled on Christopher Nolan's pitch, which he envisioned as a trilogy, with equal parts of Miller's Year One, Jeph Loeb's ' and ' books, story and other popular tales of Batman's early younger days. The studio greenlit the project immediately, while Nolan hired famed comic book writer David Goyer to pen the screenplay.

The film is the first part of DC Comics and Warner Bros.' intentions to compete with a mass of films based on Marvel Comics licences. Their plan is to release one critically and commercially successful film a year, as opposed to a slew of hit-and-miss pictures, with Bryan Singer's Superman Returns following in 2006, Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman in 2007, Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins in 2008, and Singer's sequel to Superman Returns in 2009. This is made possible by Warner's ability to make its own films based on DC properties, and more tightly control the exposure of their "brands."

Plot

Young Bruce Wayne, after his parents' murder.
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Young Bruce Wayne, after his parents' murder.

The film opens with an 8-year-old Bruce Wayne playing with his childhood friend, Rachel Dawes. In the course of a game, Bruce falls down a well where he is attacked by bats as they fly out of the well. Years later, Bruce, aged 24, awakens from his nightmare of the events as a prisoner in an unnamed Asian country (presumably China: the language spoken in the background is Mandarin Chinese). After being attacked by six men in the breakfast queue and defeating them, he is sent to solitary confinement for "protection," where he is approached by Henri Ducard, who speaks for Ra's al Ghul, leader of the League of Shadows. Ducard claims to understand what drives Bruce, and offers the younger man - who, in his relentless pursuit to understand the criminal mind, has lost his way - a purpose in life. Released the next day, Bruce picks a mysterious blue flower and travels to the top of a mountain to reach the League of Shadows' headquarters and begins his training under Ducard and al Ghul. In another flashback, the young Bruce is rescued from the well by his loving father, Thomas Wayne. Bruce begins having nightmares about bats. One night, the Waynes go to a production of the Mefistofele opera where Bruce is frightened by the portrayals of bat-like demons. After begging his father, Bruce and the family exit into an alley where they are confronted by an armed mugger, Joe Chill, who shoots and kills both Thomas and his wife. Bruce briefly meets policeman James Gordon and is taken home by the family butler Alfred Pennyworth, who raises him in the absence of his parents.

Batman rescues Rachel from Arkham.
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Batman rescues Rachel from Arkham.

Ten years later, when Bruce is 18, Joe Chill is murdered after agreeing to testify against mob boss Carmine Falcone, with whom he shared a prison cell. Bruce was planning to kill him himself, but was robbed of the opportunity. After realizing, with the help of Rachel Dawes, now an intern to the District Attorney of Gotham, his own naivete to the differences between justice and vengeance, she tells him that his father would be ashamed of him. He then leaves her, and, following an encounter in which the arrogant Falcone mocks the unprepared young man's attempt at a confrontation, Bruce steals away on a cargo ship, and travels the world for nearly seven years, seeking the means to fight crime and injustice. After his training, (which includes inhaling the fumes of the blue flower as it's burned) Ra's and Ducard tell Bruce his purpose; that he must lead the League to destroy Gotham, which has become a breeding ground for crime. First, if he wants to lead them, he must demonstrate his commitment to justice by executing a local thief. Bruce refuses to become a murderer and battles Ra's before making his escape. Ra's is killed in the chaos and the League's headquarters goes down in flames, but Bruce manages to save an unconscious Ducard. He leaves Ducard with a local Bhutanese family before contacting Alfred and returns home. Things have gotten worse in Gotham, however; Falcone's crime syndicate dominates the city. Falcone is involved in a scheme with Dr. Jonathan Crane, a seemingly friendly and charismatic but corrupt psychiatrist. Bruce, returning to Wayne Enterprises, befriends an unjustly demoted senior company researcher, Lucius Fox of Wayne Enterprises, recruiting him as his armorer in order to gain body armor that makes up his costume and a prototype armored car. Bruce also enlists the help of Sergeant Jim Gordon, one of the few honest and uncorrupted police officers in the city. Gordon is initially skeptical of Batman, believing him to be as brutal as the criminals plaguing Gotham. One night, a drug shipment overseen by Falcone is thwarted by a bat-like figure who easily overpowers the thugs employed by Falcone. Falcone, terrified and alone, is trapped in his car, only to be dragged out through the skylight - and thus becomes the first person to come face to face with Batman, before being handed over to the police. Later, easily overpowering one of Falcone's thugs targeting Rachel Dawes, Batman provides Rachel with evidence capable of indicting Falcone. Meanwhile, Falcone is now in prison and when he attempts to blackmail Dr. Crane into cutting him in for a share of whatever he is involved in, Crane dons his Scarecrow mask and sprays Falcone with a a highly potent fear-inducing nerve gas that drives the mob boss insane.

In the Narrows, Batman is investigating the "unusual" drugs in the shipment, when he has his first encounter with Scarecrow, who sprays him with his hallucinogen and sets him on fire. Wounded and suffering the full effects of the toxin, Bruce wakes up several days later to find that Alfred had contacted Lucius Fox, who was able to synthesize an antidote. Crane later summons Rachel to Arkham Asylum and shows her that the toxin, extracted from the same blue flower used by al Ghul when training Bruce, has been introduced into Gotham's water supply from Arkham for weeks, and once Rachel is infected, Crane demands to know who else suspects him. Rachel is saved by Batman, who overpowers Crane's thugs and sprays Crane with his own toxin and races across Gotham in the Batmobile with police in pursuit, before administering the antidote. He later gives Rachel a vial for Gordon. That night, at Bruce's birthday party, he is confronted by Henri Ducard, who reveals himself to be the real Ra's Al Ghul, and has now arrived in Gotham personally to destroy the city. He has conspired with Crane to poison Gotham's water supply with the toxin, vaporizing it with a stolen microwave emitter from Wayne Enterprises. (The toxin is only effective if inhaled.) As such, Ra's intends to spread panic across Gotham, causing its people to tear the city apart. Ra's henchmen begin to burn down Wayne Manor, leaving Bruce trapped inside. Although the manor is destroyed, Bruce escapes the inferno, with the help of Alfred, and sets off to save Gotham. Rachel and Gordon - both inoculated with Fox' antidote - quickly become the only two people in the Narrows not driven insane. After revealing his true identity to Rachel, Batman enlists Gordon to drive the Batmobile to the central hub of the Gotham subway - Wayne Tower. Ra's has already boarded the train; his objective is to send the microwave emitter on the train to a major water hub located underground near Wayne Tower. Bruce confronts Ra's on the train as Batman and they engage in a fierce battle. As Gordon destroys the subway line, Batman defeats Ra's and escapes the subway car, leaving him to crash into the tower - thus preventing the hub of the water supply from being vaporized.

Following the battle, Batman becomes a public hero, and Bruce gains control of his company and installs Fox as the new CEO, firing Mr. Earle. However, he is unable to hold on to Rachel, who has discovered his identity as Batman and, despite having fallen in love with Bruce, cannot reconcile the two men. Gordon still expresses some reservations about Batman's role as he may lead to a form of escalation in the type of crime that Gotham will face. To prove his point, Gordon explains that the Scarecrow is still missing, half the Arkham inmates are free, and a new criminal has "a taste for theatrics" like Batman. He leaves a Joker playing card at all of his crime scenes. Batman promises to look into it, and he leaves Gordon by telling him he'll never have to thank him. Gotham City has found a new guardian.

Spoilers end here.

Cast

Actor Role
Christian Bale Bruce Wayne / Batman
Michael Caine Alfred Pennyworth
Liam Neeson Henri Ducard
Gary Oldman Jim Gordon
Cillian Murphy Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow
Morgan Freeman Lucius Fox
Katie Holmes Rachel Dawes
Tom Wilkinson Carmine Falcone
Ken Watanabe Ra's al Ghul
Linus Roache Thomas Wayne
Sara Stewart Martha Wayne
Richard Brake Joe Chill
Rutger Hauer Mr. Earle
Mark Boone Junior Flass
Tim Booth Victor Zsasz

Casting

When Nolan signed onto the project, he vowed to find the right actor to portray Batman in his early to mid twenties, which proved to be a long, difficult search. Ashton Kutcher screen-tested for the role and was one of the top few to be considered for it, but he backed down due to scheduling conflicts with The Butterfly Effect. Other actors like Henry Cavill, Joshua Jackson, Hugh Dancy, Eion Bailey, Billy Crudup, and Cillian Murphy were the only others that auditioned for the part. Nolan eventually narrowed it down to two possible choices: Christian Bale, known for his roles in American Psycho, The Machinist and Empire of the Sun, and Jake Gyllenhaal who won acclaim for roles in Donnie Darko and The Day After Tomorrow. Bale, an accomplished actor, was already in his early thirties at the time of casting, but it was felt that he could accomplish playing Batman as a younger man. David Goyer, the writer of the film, was impressed by Gyllenhaal's audition, but he and Nolan were won over by Bale's audition, while Gyllenhaal signed onto what became Brokeback Mountain. They also liked Murphy's audition, which led to him getting cast as Dr. Jonathan Crane.

Kurt Russell and Dennis Quaid were considered for the role of Jim Gordon, before Gary Oldman got it. Elisha Cuthbert and Natalie Portman lobbied for the part of Rachel Dawes, but Katie Holmes ultimately was cast in the role. Anthony Hopkins was supposedly cast as Alfred before Michael Caine came onboard the production. Several people, including Marilyn Manson, Christopher Eccleston, and Ewan MacGregor were considered for the role of Scarecrow before Cillian Murphy won the part.

Inspiration

The film's overall look, feel and story were inspired by several works, primarily the ' stories and the ' and ' graphic novels. In addition, many individual comics from the Frank Miller era were used as inspiration, including Miller's graphic novel, '. However, the films creators have made it clear that, though a major inspiration for the film, Begins is not an adaptation of any Miller comic. Director Nolan also reportedly showed the film Blade Runner to the crew before production, saying "This is how we're going to make Batman."

Batmobile

The Tumbler, the Batmobile used in Batman Begins.
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The Tumbler, the Batmobile used in Batman Begins.

Unlike previous Batman films, which have all included a version of the Batmobile inspired by the comics, director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David Goyer decided to go in another direction with the new film. According to interviews and their commentary on the Begins DVD release, the two wanted everything about the "new" Batman to seem realistic, as Bruce Wayne has no super powers and must work with technology that is readily available to him in the real world. Although early Batman comics show him driving a highly customized street car, most of the series depicts the Batmobile as being a custom built one-off vehicle designed by Bruce and built in secret to his specifications; Batman Returns features a scene of Bruce forced into repairing the vehicle himself, as very few others would be capable of doing so and it would be impossible to simply take the Batmobile out for repair (although certain episodes of the Batman Animated Series show Batman taking the Batmobile to a garage for repair, and one episode copies Batman Returns scene in which the Penguin jury-rigs the Batmobile with remote control).

In order to satisfy their desire to make the Batmobile a realistically plausible vehicle while still allowing it to have the kind of mobility, functionality and battle-readiness necessary for it to be Batman's transport of choice, Nolan and Goyer decided that the unit would have needed to start life as a military design. Working with that as their primary parameter, the design team came up with the new vehicle, calling it "The Tumbler", rather than the Batmobile, to signify that the design (and thus its name) had originated prior to Wayne. Within the world of the film, we find that The Tumbler is a Wayne Enterprises product, designed by a team within the company working under contract to the United States federal government and tasked with creating a bullet-resistant, all-terrain vehicle capable of forcing open heavily guarded enemy lines and moving at high speed. Although we are informed in the film that the government chose to pass on the final design, Bruce finds use for it as his Batmobile. It has been speculated that the Tumbler is meant to look like the Batmobile in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.

Although more than one unit was built and not all the units were fully functional, four mostly-working Tumblers were built for the film. Driveable versions were powered by 5.7 litre(350 in³) Chevrolet V8 engines producing more than 300 horsepower, giving the vehicle the capability to accelerate from a standstill to sixty miles per hour in about six seconds; one stand-in Tumbler featured a working jet engine, while another had working flaps.

Reaction

The film was critically and financially successful. Most fans gave the film positive reviews, especially for keeping what many of them feel is the proper tone for a Batman story as well as for creating a world that is both akin to that of the comics and plausible.

Despite the overall good marks, there have been some criticisms of the film, generally from dedicated fans of the comic books and mainly directed at the distinct appearance of the Batmobile used in the film, the changing of several story elements, and the introduction of the Rachel Dawes character, who does not exist in the comic books. There was also some amount of debate over the introduction of the Ra's Al Ghul character into the film, who did not appear in the comics until years after Bruce's creation of the Batman and was introduced after having kidnapped Batman's sidekick, Robin, who does not yet exist in the new film franchise. The dark and erratic cinematography in the fight scenes was also criticized as being too confusing to discern what is happening, although some fans maintain that this is deliberate, giving an organic interpretation of the action sequences from the point of view of the villains. Some people criticized it for being "slow, talky drama" most of which under the belief this was a prequel. Some minor complaints have been made about Bale's distinctive "Batman voice", as well as the music composed by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer.

Critical reactions to the film were generally enthusiastic. Roger Ebert, who had panned all previous live-action Batman movies, gave Batman Begins 4 stars out of 4, calling it "the Batman movie I've been waiting for". Empire magazine declared it the second best film of 2005. IGN gave Batman Begins its award for best movie of the year.

Awards and nominations

At the 78th Academy Awards, Wally Pfister was nominated for Achievement in Cinematography, and was also nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers in 2005. Nathan Crowley was nominated at the 2005 BAFTA Awards for the Excellence in Production Design Award, Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects, and Best Production Design, and Best Sound. It also received various minor awards.

Sequel

Warner Brothers has already voiced its intentions to make a sequel to Batman Begins, and has confirmed that most of the film's cast will be returning; upon its release, Christian Bale will become only the second actor to have portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman in more than one motion picture (Michael Keaton being the other). Christopher Nolan is again slated to direct, although it is rumored that his brother Jonathan will be co-scripting the film in David Goyer's place. Although there has not been any distinct confirmation, it is widely believed that The Joker will be the villain of the second film, owing to a reference at the end of Begins; several actors are reportedly being considered for the role. Sean Penn is rumored to be in the running for the role of The Joker in the sequel.Ain't It Cool News (June 24th, 2005) ["The Joker... to be played by the most humorless actor in Hollywood?"], aintitcool.com, retrieved July 12, 2006 According to Blighty's Now Magazine, Christian Bale allegedly let slip at the premiere of Batman Begins that Christopher Nolan was courting the actor, but other reports suggest that Australian actor Lachy Hulme is likely to be cast. Hulme is reportedly "in talks" with the studio, having met with producer Charles Roven.[link] Fans have even gone as far as posting up mock ups of certain actors (including Hulme) as The Joker. The film is slated for release in 2008.

Rumors suggest that Two-Face (Harvey Dent), Black Mask and The Penguin may make appearances in the second film, although it is unknown if these characters will remain part of the story through future script revisions or if they will be more integral parts of a third film. Keeping with the idea of Joker as an integral part of the plot, speculation has risen that Harley Quinn, the Joker's female partner in crime, might at least cameo. Another rumor, unsubstantiated thus far, states that Talia, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, shall make her appearance in an attempt to take out her vengeance upon Batman. If this is the case, we may see the League of Shadows yet again. It has officially been confirmed by Nolan that there will be no Robin in the sequels, as long as he is involved with the Batman franchise.

DVD release

DVD cover of the Widescreen Deluxe Edition of Batman Begins.
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DVD cover of the Widescreen Deluxe Edition of Batman Begins.

The Batman Begins DVD was released on October 18, 2005 in both single disc and two disc "deluxe" editions. In addition to the film disc, the deluxe edition contains a second disc of bonus materials and a small paperback booklet containing Detective Comics #27, and an excerpt from Batman: The Long Halloween.

Owing to the popularity of the film, DVD sales were high and for several weeks after the film's release to DVD, many retailers had only very small batches in stock, with some stores being unable to keep a continuous stock on the shelves. The deluxe edition proved to be the more popular of the two releases initially, making it more difficult to find. This lead to rumors that it would only be available in limited numbers for a short period of time, and that many retailers would soon no longer be able to get any more of them. As of May 2006, most retailers appear to still have a stock of the deluxe release, and many retailers, including Amazon, even sell the item at a discount. Recently another version of the film has come to market as a sort of "compromise" release, as it contains the two-disc set from the deluxe edition package but without the paperback booklet. Warner Home Video announced that the film is to be released on HD DVD sometime in 2006.

Video game

On June 15, 2005, a video game adaptation was released onto the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance consoles. It featured all of the principal cast members and their likenesses reprising their roles from the film, with the exception of Gary Oldman. It was released on the same day as the highly-anticipated movie, Batman Begins follows the film as it explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. There are 14 locations in Gotham to explore.

The game has a unique system where you intimidate enemies. Whereas most games require you to just attack them out and out, Batman Begins has you use an aspect of the environment to frighten your opponents, e.g. One scene requires you to make a shelf of spare car parts collapse to scare some enemies. You are also given a set of gadgets designed to frighten enemies during combat, such as a smoke grenade, a flash bang grenade, and a 'HF Transponder', which summons bats to fly around your enemy. There is also a system where you have to accomplish certain things to progress through areas. This includes finding keys and interogating enemies for passcodes to open security doors. On top of this is the traditional stealth gameplay, such as sneaking and taking out enemies from behind.

Trivia

References

External links

The Batman movies
Batman serials The Batman | Batman and Robin
Adam West movie Batman
1989-1997 series Batman | Batman Returns | Batman Forever
Batman & Robin
Bruce Timm series ' | '
' | '
The Batman series The Batman vs. Dracula
Christopher Nolan series Batman Begins | Untitled Sequel (in development)
Other films

 

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