Batman Begins (2005)

The Legend of the Batman Begins

After the first Batman franchise was driven into the ground by a succession of terrible sequels, it seemed unlikely that there would ever be a respectable Batman film again. But then there came a hope from an unexpected source. Christopher Nolan (director of Memento and Insomnia) wanted to reinvent the character in a more realistic and epic way. He teamed up with screenwriter David S. Goyer (The Blade Trilogy and Dark City) and together they wrote an exceptionally smart screenplay. The filmmakers have thoughtfully evaluated the mistakes made in the previous films (mainly poor acting, shallow characterization, campy humor and mindless action) and avoided repeating them. They've brought a new level of depth to a genre that has recently been overexposed and streamlined. This is an intellectual superhero film. It deals with dark thematic subject matter, which is only appropriate considering that Batman is essentially a guilt-ridden vigilante who symbolically avenges the death of his parents.
The story looks at the origins of Gotham's Dark Knight. As a young boy, Bruce Wayne fell into a dilapidated well where bats attacked him. The incident would haunt him much of his life and helped to shape who he was to become. His parents, the wealthy Thomas and Martha Wayne, are altruistic and philanthropic. His father owns Wayne Enterprises, a large manufacturing company but he spends most of his time volunteering at the hospital. But one night when the Wayne family was leaving the opera, they were approached by a desperate criminal who shoots Bruce's parents. Years after their death, Bruce tries unsuccessfully to get revenge but ultimately learns that it wouldn't solve anything to perpetuate the cycle of killing. He attempts to infiltrate the criminal underworld so that he might better understand what drives people to "prey on the fearful", but he is caught stealing from his own company. He's thrown into a prison in an unnamed Asian province, where he daily fights the other inmates for "practice". A man calling himself Ducard visits him unexpectedly. He offers Bruce a "path" and suggests he joins a secret fraternity, The League of Shadows, which seeks to bring balance and sanity to the world. When he agrees he is subjected to a brutal training regiment that takes him to the breaking point. Mentally and physically exhausted, he is accepted into their ranks providing that he display his devotion to justice by executing a criminal. Bruce refuses to knowingly take a life and a great battle ensues. After barely escaping and saving Ducard from a fiery demise, he heads back to Gotham alone. He is reunited with his former girlfriend, Rachel and his parental butler, Alfred. He secretly assumes the identity of Batman. When Alfred asks, "Why bats, Master Wayne?" he responds, "Bats frighten me. It's time my enemies shared my dread." Soon Batman uncovers corruption within the police force, the legal system and even within Wayne Enterprises. But at the heart of this new crime wave is an insidious conspiracy being carried out by a psychotic psychiatrist and an old acquaintance. Ducard returns and reveals his intentions to destroy Gotham City by releasing a "fear-inducing toxin" upon the population. And only Bruce, his former apprentice can stop him from succeeding.
The film features an excellent cast featuring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Liam Neeson as Ducard, Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Gary Oldman as Police Lieutenant Jim Gordon, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Crane / The Scarecrow, Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone, Rutger Hauer as Earle, Ken Watanabe as Ra's al Ghul, Linus Roache as Thomas Wayne, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.
Arguably the best "comic book movie" ever made, Batman Begins resurrects the Dark Knight with style and sophistication. Rarely do these kinds of films touch upon philosophical beliefs, psychological disorders or social corruption and yet this film does so with ease. Batman Begins breathes new life into the legend and is the first chapter in a thrilling new Batman saga, which will be continued in 2008's The Dark Knight.

Also recommended:
Batman Begins
Batman: Year One
Batman: The Long Halloween
Batman (Shadow of the Bat, No. 52)
Batman Begins June 23, 2008

One Of The BEST Movie I Have Ever Seen

This is such a maseter piece and can't wait til the dark kinght comes out. June 19, 2008

The Truth Behind the Myth

It is exciting to finally reach an understanding of why there is such a
character called Batman. We are taken into the life and times of Bruce
Wayne whose personal expierences are responsible for his dedication to
fight injustice and bring brightness into the lives of people who are
being preyed upon by unscrupulous villians. This crusading Dark Knight is
aided in his quest by his loyal butler Alfred. June 14, 2008

Thank God they started over from scratch.

The original batman? Michael Keeton couldn't pull off being a leading man or a toughguy. Nicholson just annoys the living *%$#%@ out of me.

Batman returns?
Boring, it dragged, didn't hold my interest. And the penguin was just not an interesting enough bad guy.

The third one is probably the only one I can stand to watch with both eyes open. It's loud and obnoxious, and it strays too much from the comics. Who cares, Tommy Lee is brilliant, Carey is hilarious, and Val Kilmer was the best dark knight of the original four.

Then we had the disaster of the fourth one.
I won't even go into how horrid that movie was.

And this installment. Wise of the film makers to go back to the beginning.
The story is better, the acting is better. Christian Bale is the ideal leading man. He has the looks and the acting chops to do the role justice.
The leading lady for once isn't a complete annoyance.
The Scare Crow, my favorite from the superfriends cartoon is truly nightmarish.

Great acting, great writing, great everything......
A brilliant rebirth and I cant wait for the sequel.
R.I.P. Heath Ledger.
This may end up being your defining role.
A shame, after Brokeback you were ready to take your place in Hollywood history, you may have already.
You had the world at your finger tips.
Thanks for the greatness you did give us. June 13, 2008

"Bats frighten me, its time my enemies shared my dread"

Batman and Batman Returns were two of Tim Burton's finest work. After Batman Returns, Tim passed the torch to Joel Screwmacher who drove the franchise into the ground with Batman Forever and the absolutely dreadful Batman & Robin. in 2005 Christopher Nolan breathed life into the series with Batman Begins.

Plot: The movie details the origins of Batman as well as Bruce Wayne(played by Christian Bale). It tells the story of a young boy who loses his parents to some punk and has a fear of bats. It details plot to destroy Gotham by the same rogues headed by the same guy who taught Bruce how to fight so well. It details crime and corruption caused by a crime lord and a neurotic psychologist named Scarecrow.

Opinion: Batman Begins has a great storyline as well as interesting characters. Christian Bale is perfect as Batman/Bruce Wayne. He gives Batman more edge than the Batman of the Schumacher films ever had. Michael Caine is perfect as Alfred. Ra's Al Ghul and the Legion Of Shadows are interesting villians as well as Scarecrow(who uses a hallucinogenic gas that causes its victims to have a illusions about their worst fears). And I LOVE the new Batmobile. Nobody seems out of place in Batman Begins and the storyline grabs you and never lets go. Its is a definite improvement of the last two Batman films and is worth the bucks. Does it make up the the Schumacher disasters? I dont know, those wounds run pretty deep but I can say that it is great step in the healing process and is an excellent installment to one of the best superhero movie series ever made. I cant wait for The Dark Knight. Two thumbs WAY up. June 10, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...