Monday, July 3, 2017

Batman Begins Re-Review











Batman Begins


Release Date: 16th June 2005 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures
Syncopy
DC Comics
Legendary Pictures (Uncredited)
Palatex III Productions Limited

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 140 minutes


Budget: $150,000,000

Box Office Gross: $373,672,993 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Having witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, Bruce Wayne seeks to avenge their deaths. In his travels, he learns many combat skills to fight injustice. When Bruce returns to the crime-ridden Gotham with the help of his old butler Alfred, ally Lucius Fox and rising cop Jim Gordon, he puts on the cowl as the masked vigilante Batman. Who strikes into the mob's and criminals' hearts and uses strength, intellect and high-tech weaponry to rid the city of crime and corruption.


Cast
Christian Bale - Bruce
Wayne/Batman
Gus Lewis - Young Bruce
Wayne
Michael Caine - Alfred
Pennyworth
Liam Neeson - Henri Ducard
Katie Holmes - Rachel
Dawes
Emma Lockhart - Young
Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman - Sgt. James
Gordon
Morgan Freeman - Lucius
Fox
Cillian Murphy - Dr. Jonathan
Crane/The Scarecrow
Tom Wilkinson - Carmine Falcone
Rutger Hauer - William Earle
Ken Watanabe - Ra's Al Ghul
Mark Boone Junior - Det. Arnold Flass
Larry Holden - Carl Finch
Colin McFarlane - Gillian B.
Loeb
Linus Roache - Thomas Wayne
Sara Stewart - Martha Wayne
Richard Brake - Joe Chill
Tim Booth - Victor Zsasz
Gerard Murphy - Judge Faden
Rade Serbedzjia - Homeless Man
Jack Gleeson - Little Boy
Alexandro Bastedo - Gotham Society Dame
Matt Miller - Gotham Car Cop #3
John Nolan - Fredericks (Cameo)
Lucy Russell - Female Restaurant Guest (Cameo)
Jeremy Theobald - Younger Gotham
Water Board Technician (Cameo)

Crew
Screenplay/Director - Christopher Nolan
Batman Creators - Bob Kane
and Bill Finger (Uncredited)
Characters: Alfred Pennyworth &
Dr Thomas Wayne - Jerry Robinson (Uncredited)
Story/Screenplay - David S. Goyer
Executive Producers - Benjamin Melniker
and Michael Uslan
Producers - Larry J. Franco, Charles Roven,
Emma Thomas and Lorne Orleans (IMAX Version)
Casting Directors - John Papsidera
and Lucinda Syson
Production Designer - Nathan Crowley
Storyboard Artists - Martin Asbury
and James Cornish
Supervising Art Director - Simon Lamont
Supervising Art Director: Cardington -
Steven Lawrence
Senior Art Director - Alan Tomkins
Art Directors - Peter Francis, Paul Kirby,
Dominic Masters, Su Whitaker and
Shane Valentino (Uncredited)
Art Director: Chicago - Patrick Lumb
Standby Art Director - Stuart Kearns
Assistant Art Directors - Stephen Morohan
and Sloane U'Ren
Set Decorators - Andrew Hodgson,
Paki Smith and Simon Wakefield
Property Master - Ty Teiger
Costume Designer - Lindy Hemming
First Assistant Costume Designer - Guy Speranza
Costume Supervisor - Dan Grace
Prosthetics/Bait Suit Consultant -
Nick Dudman
Makeup & Hair Designer - Peter Robb-King
Director of Photography - Wally Pfister
Aerial Photography - Hans Bjerno
"A" Camera Focus Puller - Clive Mackey
First Assistant Camera: Vista Vision, Chicago -
Wayne Baker
Unit Production Manager - Nigel Gostelow
Production Managers - Suzie Wiesmann
and Sam Breckman
Unit Manager - Steve Harvey
Location Managers - Joanna Beckett,
Robin Higgs, Tom Crooke and Mark Somner
Location Manager - James McAllister
First Assistant Director - Cliff Lanning
Key Second Assistant Director - Matthew Sharp
Stunt Coordinator - Paul Jennings
Assistant Stunt Coordinator - Sy Hollands
Assistant Stunt Coordinator: Chicago Unit -
Rick LeFevour
Fight Arranger - David Forman
Fight Consultants - Andy Norman
and Justo Dieguez
Horse Master - Daniel Naprous
Aerial Coordinator - Craig Hosking
Action Vehicle Coordinator - Darren Litten
Special Effects Coordinator - Chris Corbould
Special Effects Workshop Supervisors -
Kevin Herd, Paul Knowles, Roy Quinn and
Andrew Smith
Visual Effects Supervisors - Dan Glass,
and Janek Sirrs
Visual Effects Supervisor: Double Negative -
Paul J. Franklin
Visual Effects Supervisors: MPC - Rudi Holzappel
and Andrew Morley
Visual Effects Supervisor: BUF - Stephane Ceretti
Visual Effects Supervisor: The Senate VFX -
Sean Farrow
Visual Effects Producers: Double Negative -
Hal Couzens and Ellen Walder
Miniature Unit Supervisor: Model VFX Unit -
Steven Begg
Art Directors: Supervising Models,
Model VFX Unit - James Hambidge and
Michael Lamont
First Assistant Director: Model VFX Unit -
Simon Emmanuel
CG Sequence Supervisors: Double Negative -
Pete Bebb, Graham Jack and Alex Wuttke
Sequence Supervisors - Jody Johnson
and George Zwier
Compositing Sequence Leads: Double Negative -
Chris Burn, Matthew Twyford, Jody Johnson,
Jeremy Hattingh, Victor Wade, Andy Lockley,
Steve McKee and George Zwier
2D Supervisor: Double Negative - Charlie Noble
Film Editor - Lee Smith
First Assistant Editor - John Lee
Sound Effects Design - Jimmy Boyle
and Andy Kennedy
Supervising Sound Editors - David Evans
and Stefan Henrix
Re-Recording Mixers - Lora Hirschberg
and Gary A. Rizzo
Foley Mixer - Ed Colyer
Foley Artists - Andi Derrick and Peter Burgis
Music - James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer
Additional Music - Ramin Djawadi and Mel Wesson
Music Programmer - Lorne Balfe
Score Coordinator - Becky Bentham
Music Recordist - Geoff Foster


Awards

2006 Academy Awards
Best Cinematography - Wally Pfister (Nominated)


Review
Widely seen as an exceptional reboot of the titular character, BATMAN BEGINS was a breakthrough in Chris Nolan's career, which has been uphill since a few films, like Memento and Insomnia, came out as critical achievements. After viewing BATMAN BEGINS, I thought it was a great movie. I have re-watched it several times and now revised my opinion that the feature was spectacular. Although its successor, The Dark Knightwas a more popular film in its hype, this is the first instalment, which brought together a whole trilogy. Still dark and tense, the movie re-tells the origins of how Bruce Wayne became the dark-winged avenger through a painful childhood experience. Many comic-book fans were sceptical of this movie in its pre-release before it opened, and it was a huge surprise to win them back for its return to the dark atmosphere. It still maintains the tone that Nolan conspicuously uses in his spectacles, though it contains psychological themes unseen in a Batman movie for a long time.

Christian Bale was an ideal actor to portray the dark knight, and before Ben Affleck, he was still the greatest that ever lived. I liked how his performance displayed determination and physical prowess, which proved integral to his character. His predecessors like Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and, to a lesser extent, George Clooney have nothing against the lead actor who replaced them. He has two movies to go before the saga reaches its climactic finale, with The Dark Knight Rises as his last. Other actors like Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, and Cillian Murphy were understated and well-privileged in their performances.

One actress I had forgotten to mention in my older critique of the movie, Katie Holmes, was a bit inexperienced as Bruce's love interest, Rachel Dawes, and for some reason, she may not be a natural for the role that suits her. The music score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard was brilliant in over-perfection. It accompanies the movie in its setting of seriousness.

BATMAN BEGINS has evolved from the Batman movies of my youth. It's an amazingly uptight start of a trilogy, and though it was the best movie, it's second only to The Dark Knight. It is now my third personal favourite Batman movie. Those who have seen the film before will enjoy it with its later two entries in order of its continuity.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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