Batman Begins is a
action film based on the fictional
DC Comics character
Batman, directed by
Christopher Nolan. It stars
Christian Bale as Batman, along with
Michael Caine,
Gary Oldman,
Liam Neeson,
Katie Holmes,
Cillian Murphy,
Morgan Freeman,
Ken Watanabe,
Tom Wilkinson, and
Rutger Hauer. The film
reboots the
Batman film series, telling the
origin story of the character and begins with Bruce Wayne's initial
fear of bats, the death of his parents, and his journey to becoming Batman. It draws inspiration from classic
comic book storylines such as
Batman: The Man Who Falls,
Batman: Year One, and
Batman: The Long Halloween.
After
a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Batman on screen following the 1997 critical failure of
Batman & Robin, Nolan and
David S. Goyer began work on the film in early 2003 and aimed for a darker and more realistic tone, with humanity and realism being the basis of the film. The goal was to get the audience to care for both Batman and Bruce Wayne. The film, which was primarily shot in England and Chicago, relied on traditional stunts and
miniatures—
computer-generated imagery was used minimally. A new
Batmobile (called
the Tumbler) and a more mobile
Batsuit were both created specifically for the film.
Batman Begins was critically and commercially successful. The film opened on June 15, 2005 in the United States and Canada in 3,858 theaters. It grossed $48 million in its opening weekend, eventually grossing $370 million worldwide. The film received an 85% overall approval rating from
Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that fear was a common theme throughout the film, and remarked that it had a darker tone compared to previous
Batman films. A sequel titled
The Dark Knight was released in July 2008 and also saw the return of both Nolan and Bale to the franchise.
Batman Begins has also popularized the notion of reboots in Hollywood. The film grossed $496,853,783 in both
DVD and
box office sales.
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