Batman Begins: Encyclopedia II - Batman Begins - Reaction

Batman Begins - Reaction

Early reviews from professional film critics were enthusiastic, with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times (who panned all the previous live action adaptations of the character) calling it one of the best films of the year. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times also gave it high praise, dubbing the film "the most successful comic-book adaptation alongside Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World."

The movie was also received quite favorably by audiences and many fans, earning the highest rating of any film released in 2005 by users of the website boxofficemojo.com and garnering an 83% score at rottentomatoes.com. The film is currently on the IMDb's list of the Top 250 films of all-time [1]. All told, this movie is considered to be the favorite Batman movie for critics and audiences alike.

The film takes many liberties, despite being hailed for its more accurate portrayal of Batman as he is depicted in Bob Kane's comic universe. For instance, Batman's first comic book run-in with Ra's Al Ghul involved Robin being kidnapped, whereas in Batman Begins, Robin doesn't yet exist. Other criticisms of Batman Begins included the delayed first appearance of Bale in Batman regalia. It is worked on from roughly the 45 minute mark, but only appears fully almost an hour into the movie. Also, some felt that the dark and erratic cinematography on the fight scenes make it difficult to discern what's happening; others feel that that is precisely the point (the ambiguity and confusion is an organic interpretation of what the criminals experience). The redesign of the Batmobile also evoked mixed reviews.

According to boxofficemojo.com, the $135-million movie has earned $205.3 million during its North American theatrical run and approximately $166 million elsewhere in the world, making it the second most successful Batman movie (next to the 1989 movie) and fifth most successful of summer 2005 (next to Revenge of the Sith, War of the Worlds, Wedding Crashers and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). However, taking ticket price inflation into account, Begins is only ahead of 1997's Batman and Robin, which had an adjusted U.S. gross of $150 million. (The inflation-adjusted U.S. gross of the other movies would be as follows: Batman $403 million, Batman Returns $251 million and Batman Forever $271 million). A recent poll at IMDb marked the film as #1 as the best summer movie of 2005 with Revenge of the Sith at second.

The movie also solidified Christopher Nolan's capability of directing a major blockbuster. Before then, he was known for directing low-budget movies that focused mostly on dark themes, but had substance and depth. Hiring him for this kind of movie, particularly one of Warner Brothers' biggest franchises, was a risky endeavour on the studio's part. But the movie marked a successful return of the Batman saga, erasing the legacy of its predecessor Batman and Robin and ensured the studio's plans to greenlight a sequel.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Reaction", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki