Batman Begins

Watched: 16th August 2015
Top 250 position: 109 (correct at 22/11/2015)
Rating: 8.3/10 from 889,803 users (IMDB rating)

Who's In It:
Christian Bale
Michael Caine
Liam Neeson
Katie Holmes
Gary Oldman
Cillian Murphy
Tom Wilkinson
Morgan Freeman

Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2005
Duration: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
Accolades: Nominated for an Oscar (Best Achievement in Cinematography)

Plot:

Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) parents are killed in front of him as a young boy. He flees his sorrows and trains to fight evil, mentored by Henri Ducard (Neeson).
Wayne returns to Gotham City, with the help of his trusted and valued employees (Caine and Morgan) he takes on the guise of Batman (The Dark Knight). But will he be able to conquer the evil that lurks in Gotham City? As well as keep his disguise from his childhood sweetheart (Holmes)?

Interesting Facts About the Film:

• Apparently Christian Bale found his Batman outfit so uncomfortable that it helped his performance as the Dark Knight as he was perpetually in a foul mood when wearing it.
• While shooting on the streets of Chicago, a person accidentally crashed into the Batmobile. The driver was apparently drunk, and said he hit the car in a state of panic, believing the Dark Knight's vehicle to be an invading alien spacecraft!
• Christian Bale performed many of his own stunts.
• When Christian Bale and Liam Neeson were fighting on the frozen lake they could hear the ice cracking beneath their feet. The next day, the lake was completely melted.
• Christian Bale lost his voice three times during filming after altering his voice while playing Batman.

(Source IMDB)

Review:

I watched this with a friend at University some years ago and was thoroughly confused by the storyline. This could have been due to the combined efforts of a small television, in a small room and the fact that we probably talked all the way through the movie. So to be honest I wasn't thinking I would actually enjoy the film.
How wrong I was.

This is such a good reboot of the old movies, but who would blame the need for a good reboot after Batman and Robin (no offence George Clooney). It is a bit darker in its take. But it is gripping (if sometimes a bit confusing when the storyline hops around a bit). The 2 hours and 20 minutes seemed to go quite quickly.

Christian Bale plays such a dark and brooding Batman which makes it more believable and gripping. I can not believe for a moment that he is Welsh though from watching him in this.

Being the total nerd that I am the name Bruce Wayne is synonymous with Batman. But I think now it is the name Christian Bale which will be just that as well to the name Batman. I cannot believe that they are doing more Batman films with a different actor.

I can't wait to watch the other Dark Knight films now.

Gotham City is so well designed and dark to show the sinister-ness of it all. No wonder this was nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar. It is well laid out and seems planned to show everything off to its sinister best.

There are famous faces everywhere in this movie.

With everything considered it not surprising that this movie cost an estimated $150,000 to make. And in my opinion it was well worth it, even though I got a bit lost (I'm sure I'll understand fully what's going on when I watch it again).

The suspense builds throughout the movie, ready to lead into The Dark Knight.....

For more information about the film visit, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/