FAQ for
Batman Begins (2005) More at IMDbPro »

No. This film is a reboot, the beginning of a new series with its own internal continuity, and has no ties to the previous four films. This accounts for apparent contradictions between the films, such as having Joe Chill, instead of the Joker, kill Bruce Wayne's parents, the new origin of the Bat-Signal, the use of the Joker at the end of the film, and Batman's relationship with Lt. Gordon.

Batman Begins is not connected to any of the previous theatrical incarnations of Batman, including either of the 1940s chapter serials, the 1966 movie, the Burton/Schumacher films, or the animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

Nolan's film is loosely connected to the 2008 direct-to-video, animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight. And, of course, 2008's The Dark Knight is a direct sequel.

Warner Bros. Animation has teamed with Japanese animators to produce Batman: Gotham Knight, an anime-style direct-to-video prequel to Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight (2008).

An internal DC/Warner Bros. Animation marketing document described the project as follows: "Set in the period between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, this brand new adventure follows Batman as he unravels a mystery over six original stories done in the style of Japanese anime. Each of the six original stories has been written by a highly respected screenwriter or comic book creator. The talent includes Academy Award nominee Josh Olsen (A History of Violence), screenwriter of the Blade films and Batman Begins David Goyer, and famed comic book writer Brian Azzarello, among others."

Warner Bros. Animation is anticipating this to be rated PG-13 (most likely for animated violence). The featured voice cast includes Kevin Conroy, Gary Dourdan, David McCallum, Parminder Nagra and Ana Ortiz. Segment directors are Shojiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashede, Hiroshi Morioka, Yasuhiro Aoki, Toshiyuki Kubooka and Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

Batman: Gotham Knight was released on July 8th, 2008, ten days prior to the theatrical release of The Dark Knight. A sneak peek of Batman: Gotham Knight is included as a DVD extra on Justice League: The New Frontier, the direct-to-video animated movie that was released on February 26th, 2008.

No. The buildings were miniatures, and the Batmobile (aka The Tumbler) was a real working prototype. The film had very few CGI shots, because the director does not like the use of computer animation in movies. However, in the DVD it is shown that some shots of Gotham were augmented using CGI, such as the exteriors of the monorail, and the wide establishing shot of a distant Gotham City was a rendered effect.

In addition, there were several miniature models of the Tumbler made for the rooftop chase sequence. The bonus disc of the 2 disc DVD set shows the various stages of production for the Tumbler.

According the the movie novelization by Batman writer and editor Dennis O'Neil, Bruce spent his first several weeks getting the crap beat out of him on the freighter that he boarded in Gotham City. The ship's bosun provided practical lessons in dirty fighting.

Eighteen months after leaving Gotham, Bruce was starving in the African market where he first steals for food.

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The next day, Bruce got himself hired by a tramp steamer and in the following months saw a lot of Africa and some of Asia. He jumped ship in Marrakesh, slept under a bridge for a couple of nights, and signed onto a tanker bound for the United Kingdom.

He hung around London long enough to learn something about stealing cars from the ship's cook, then shipped out on a freighter and found himself in Shanghai. One of the deckhands from his last ship had a way to make some quick, easy money, and Bruce was interested.

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The hijacking in the movie took place in Shanghai. However, according to the novelization, Bruce was actually sent to prison for something else, an unspecified illegal operation in Bhutan. This is where Bruce was imprisoned when he met "Ducard."

Bruce then trained with the League of Shadows for almost one year (again, according to the movie novelization): "Later, [Bruce] reckoned that he had been at the monastery just under a year and that, after the initial period of adjustment, he was happy in the rambling building above the glacier."

Since the human body contains 60% water, why is it that the microwave emitter heated up water in sewers but didn't fry the humans near them?

Answer 1: This is a plot hole. See the discussion at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/board/nest/111980229?p=1

Answer 2: It's stated in the film that the device uses "focused microwaves" to vaporize an enemy's "water supply." No additional information is given, but apparently the device has a sensing/targeting system of some kind, or was aimed at the underground pipes by its users. If the latter is the case, it might well have killed anyone below the train as it moved across town, though this is never shown.

As Lucius Fox points out, simply spiking the water wouldn't be a workable method of distributing an inhalant. Many drugs are effectively deactivated by the digestive system, requiring that they be administered intravenously or via absorption through the lining of the nose, which places it directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive tract.

Joe Chill - the man who killed Bruce Wayne's parents.

Carmine Falcone - a crime boss who rules Gotham's criminal underworld.

Dr. Jonathan Crane - aka The Scarecrow.

Victor Zsasz - a serial killer who has cuts all over his body by how many victims he's killed with a knife http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Zsasz#Batman_Begins.

Ra's al Ghul - A "cheap parlor trick" employed by Henri Ducard, who is the real Ra's al Ghul.

Henri Ducard - In reality, he is the real Ra's al Ghul in disguise. Ducard trains Bruce in ninjitsu, a form a martial arts.

There were no indications that Loeb was corrupt, although his comic book counterpart was. The subsequent installment in the series, The Dark Knight, also shows him to be an honest if somewhat ineffectual civil servant.

Yes.

- In the comic books, Ducard and Ra's al Ghul are two separate beings. Unlike the comic incarnation, there is no direct indication that al Ghul has any supernatural powers. He also ran the League of Assassins in the comics, whereas he leads the League of Shadows in the film. Also, his ultimate goal is to rid the world of injustice in the film, rather than saving the environment in the comics.

- When Batman first started fighting crime, Jim Gordon was already Lieutenant. Instead, he is Sergeant. He is, however, promoted to Lieutenant in the end of the film.

- Flass, while having a similar characterization, is physically the opposite of his comic doppelganger, who is tall, well-built, and blonde.

- Harvey Dent was the Gotham D.A. when Batman started fighting crime in the comics. Instead, Finch is the D.A.

- Batman never met Ra's al Ghul during his years before Batman, and did not train under him. He did train under Ducard, though.

- Commissioner Loeb is a portly, old white man and corrupt in the comics, but in Batman Begins, is a tall African-American, with no indications that he's corrupt.

- Gordon, in the comics, transferred to Gotham from Chicago shortly before Batman appeared. Gordon in Batman Begins has been with the Gotham City Police Department since Bruce was a child.

- Rachel Dawes is a character created for the film, and has no doppelganger in the comics.

- Joe Chill had no encounters with Carmine Falcone in the comics.

- Bruce's parents were killed in Crime Alley in the comics, while in Begins, they are killed outside an opera house. Also, in the comics, they were killed after seeing a Zorro picture, while in Begins, they are seeing an opera.

- Gordon and Batman become allies much faster in Begins. In the comics, their alliance wasn't formed for a while after Batman appeared.

Because he refused to speak with his Welsh accent while promoting this film, as he wouldn't want fans, especially kids, picturing Batman with a British accent while watching the film.

Ra's al Ghul's age isn't given in Batman Begins; however, in the Confidential Files found in the extra features of the Two-Disc Deluxe Edition of the film, it is noted that Ra's claims to have lived for over 600 years. This profile also notes that Ra's has a daughter--Talia.

Ra's al Ghul is approximately 450 years old according to comic-book sources. "I appear to be a vigorous fifty. I am actually a very vigorous four hundred and forty-eight . . . or is it four hundred and fifty-three? I lost count during the Black Plague. No matter." - Ra's al Ghul in AZRAEL #6 (July 1995) written by Dennis O'Neil (co-creator of Ra's, along with illustrator Neal Adams). Ra's is periodically rejuvenated by immersing his body in his alchemical "Lazarus Pits."

In the continuity of "Batman" (1992), a.k.a. Batman: The Animated Series, Ra's claims to have been alive for over 600 years.

Ken Watanabe is credited with playing Ra's al Ghul.

However, Liam Neeson's character, Henri Ducard, is later revealed to be the real Ra's al Ghul. Some have speculated that because Ra's al Ghul is Arabic for "The Demon's Head," this was simply a title transferred to Liam Neeson's character after the death of Ken Watanabe's character. But the script makes it quite clear that Neeson was Ra's all along. During the reveal it states, "Ducard (THE REAL RA'S AL GHUL) smiles acknowledgment." Therefore, Watanabe played a decoy, while Neeson played the real Ra's al Ghul. The credits read as they do so as not to spoil the surprise.

According to comic-book sources, the real name of Ra's al Ghul is lost to history--remembered only by Ra's himself.

There are three editions. The single disc edition (Widescreen or Full Screen) Two-Disc Edition (DVD & Blu-Ray) Limited Giftset Edition (DVD & Blu-Ray)

This subject was actually touched upon in the video game adaptation of the movie, where characters would talk about seeing strange things, etc. and Batman would actually use this to his advantage.

Any instance where someone was inhaling water vapor could have caused people to start feeling the effects, such as having a hot shower, boiling a pot of water, tea kettle, etc.... This could be a plot hole, though nothing states that such instances didn't occur offscreen during the course of the film's timeline.