Vague Visages’ Batman Begins essay contains spoilers. Christopher Nolan’s 2005 movie on Max features Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Liam Neeson. Check out more VV film essays at the home page.

Batman mythology was not prevailing in the entertainment circuit prior to the release of Christopher Nolan’s 2005 film Batman Begins. As a “hungry” director, the British filmmaker injected new interest in the caped crusader by extensively humanizing the character and tangibly detailing his origin. A key ingredient of the director’s success in his fresh re-introduction of Batman to DC fans (and the general public) was his casting of primarily B–list performers, including Christian Bale as the title character. Nolan’s radical approach with Batman Begins forever changed multimedia synergy and the very nature of action films.

For most studio executives, the casting of largely B-list actors screams danger. However, Nolan hoped to universalize Batman. Except for a few self-indulgences — like hiring Rutger Hauer as William Earle and Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard — the Batman Begins cast was mostly unknown to many 2005 moviegoers. Even Nolan’s own uncle, John Nolan, got 15 minutes of fame as Fredericks. The director’s most notable and successful use of “table scraps” was his casting of Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow. Upon deselecting the Irish actor as Batman, Nolan awarded the runner-up role to Murphy, in turn freeing up Oldman for a supporting performance. The filmmaker gave both men redemptive arcs for their characters, impacting future graphic novels and video games. Murphy’s superb performance elevated Scarecrow from a dime store extortionist to one of the most feared villains in the rouge’s gallery, second only to the Joker, and became the main villain in the “Batman: Arkham” video games series (2009-). And in Batman issue #42, James Gordon dawns his very own bat suit, a bold idea by Scott Snyder, and one that likely has its roots in Oldman’s bold and versatile live-action performance from 2005.

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Another unsung hero of Batman Begins is the late Tom Wilkinson as Carmine Falcone. Prior to the English actor’s debut as the Machiavellian Don, the Dark Knight’s top criminal adversary was Rupert Thorne, as voiced by John Vernon in Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995). Appearing as a self-absorbed, oafish brute, I could never take the character seriously, but this wasn’t the case with Wilkinson’s Falcone. Following in the footsteps of fellow stage actor Jack Palance ( who portrays Grissom in 1989’s Batman), the actor wastes no time getting the camera to gravitate to his point of view. With his Springfield Armory M1911A1 cocked, the audience, Bruce Wayne and, most importantly, the director, Nolan, are momentarily under the mob boss’ thrall. “This is a world you don’t understand, and you’ll always fear what you don’t understand.” This Falcone sound bite isn’t just there for style. It keeps a director like Nolan on his toes. It’s a reminder that he too has entered a new world, one where he must always stay committed and push himself farther than any Batman director has come before. And make no mistake, nowhere is this truer than in the dynamic between Bale as Batman and Caine as Alfred Pennyworth.

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“It was important for me, in the case of this project, to figure out who was going to put on that cowl, before we really nailed down that script,” says Nolan in Batman Begins’  bonus features. In the days leading up to the film’s 2005 release, fanboys eagerly anticipated seeing if Bale had what it took to make the grade. None of his predecessors had yet come close to mimicking the allure of heroism, first embodied by Christopher Reeve 27 years prior in Superman (1978). Nolan wasn’t vexed. Instead of trying to match Reeve’s suave demeanor (a trait inherited from French aristocracy), the director coaxed Bale to lean into his working-class roots. This essence continued throughout Nolan’s entire Batman trilogy. As explained by Bale, “The idea [of Batman] was to be a symbol. Batman could be anybody, that was the point.” This attitude is exactly what Nolan needed to recapture the working class appeal of a film like 1978’s Superman. It is “realistic” cinema as Nolan calls it. Sealing the deal, the director chose a “kitchen sink” underdog, Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, whose grit rubs off onto Bale. Starting with Batman Begins and continuing through the very end of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the title character’s preferences align with working class cat burglars, not fashion model-shaped psychiatrists, like Nicole Kidman’s Dr. Chase Meridien from Batman Forever (1995).

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To emphasize this newfound Batman perspective, composer Hans Zimmer ditches gothic lullabies in favor of a musical arrangement that captures the essence of a damaged man with the motivation and drive of a beast. The first hints of this appear in Batman Begins’ introduction. As bats swarm overhead, war drums and crackling resound in the distance. It’s the calm before the storm and an ominous warning of events to come. This quickly changes to a tune of loss and melancholy as Bruce makes his way to the prison breakfast. It’s as if we, the audience, are walking along Bruce — a self-imposed prisoner of his mind, housed within a larger prison (or perhaps a flying dutchman dead for seven years), and yet this “beast” demands more. The action track “Molossus” serves as Batman Begins’ climax. It pops up throughout the rest of the Batman trilogy, too, remixed into several variations, but never too far away from Bruce’s subconscious. “Molossus” serves as a reminder of the title character’s solemn vow to avenge his parents’ deaths and save Gotham. In The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the track is featured again, but the heroic lion’s roar has faded, with only a whimper remaining — a sign of the burdens this “beast” has forced Bruce to carry all these years. Death closes in.

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On June 1, 2005, DC Comics president and publisher Paul Levitz issued the following statement, “This summer’s Batman Begins will reclaim the title of fans’ favorite comic book movie for DC… it’ll be clear that we’re back — and we’re staying on the silver screen with a steady stream of surprising and great DC- based films.” Not since Robert Evans’ initial announcement of The Godfather (1972) has there been a clearer systemic shift in pop culture sensibilities. Warner Bros. bet it all on Nolan with the entire Batman trilogy, and they did win two Oscars for The Dark Knight (2008) and became a trend-setter. Both Marvel’s Iron Man (2008) and Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) copied Batman Begins’ formula. The former advanced its origin story to new heights, ditching the secret identity and  allowing for a closer allegory about the war on terror, while the latter built upon the notion of intricate, multi-layered schemes and turning all the supporting characters into valuable crime fighting assets.

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Well in advance of Batman Begins’ release, writer David Lapham and artist Ramon Bachs ditched the yellow oval. Sooner than later, DC characters were donning Nolan-inspired body armor. For new readers at the time, like me, a plethora of immersive and cinematic comics started to hit stands following the success of Batman Begins. This included All-Star Superman (2006), a comic series that gave Superman his very own solo hero epic, later to become the template for Superman (2025).

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In the context of the Batman comics, Jim Gordon considers Gotham City as his time in hell. For a particular 15-year-old boy in 2005, watching The Tumbler on the other side of cathode–ray tube, it was the beginning of one hell of a ride.

Peter Bell (@PeterGBell25) is a 2016 Master of Arts – Film Studies graduate of Columbia University School of Arts in New York City. His interests include film history, film theory and film criticism. Ever since watching TCM as a child, Peter has had a passion for film, always trying to add greater context to film for others. His favorite films include Chinatown, Blade Runner, Lawrence of Arabia, A Shot in the Dark and Inception. Peter believes movie theaters are still the optimal forum for film viewing, discussion and discovering fresh perspectives on culture.

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