Batman (film)

**Batman** is a 2010 superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name. It was directed by David Ayer and was written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan. It stars Hugh Jackman, Angelina Jolie, Katie Cassidy, Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, and Jon Hamm. The film ran 148 minutes and was released on March 26, 2010.

## Plot

Bruce Wayne is a 42-year-old billionaire playboy and CEO of Wayne Enterprises, whose founder was Bruce's father, before his and Bruce's mother's deaths at the hands of a mugger when Bruce was only 12. Bruce operated as the superhero vigilante, Batman, for fifteen years before retiring after one of his worst foes, the Joker destroyed half of Bruce's city, Gotham City. The Joker was arrested and put into Arkham, where he has been for the past five years. When he escapes, Bruce leaves it to the police, including Commissioner Jim Gordon, who Bruce worked with for years as Batman. However, the Joker continues to terrorize the city without being stopped, making Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon contact Batman to try to convince him to come back. Bruce reveals his identity to her, but refuses to help.

However, the Joker kidnaps Barbara and hides explosives throughout the city. He forces Gordon to choose, and he ultimately has to stop the bombs. As Joker prepares to kill Barbara, Batman shows up and saves her, though Joker gets away. The city believes Batman is back to save them from the Joker, but Bruce does not want to continue. Barbara finally convinces him to come back. Bruce learns that in Batman's absence, Selina Kyle took up the mission of protecting the city as Catwoman, though she is not as experienced, and has broken her arms and back several times. Bruce and Selina team up to stop the Joker. Barbara tries to help, but Gordon prevents her from going out as a superhero.

The Joker reveals his plan to the Gotham City Police Department that he wants the city to believe in Batman again, before killing him to show the city that Batman is not the hero they think. Bruce learns that Selina has a criminal record and was in prison for eight years for murdering her step-father before coming to Gotham for a fresh start. Bruce refuses to help her anymore and goes off on his own. However, Selina manages to get through to him by Barbara and Bruce eventually forgives her, with the two spending the night together. The Joker gets Detective Harvey Bullock to help him with planning out his master plan by threatening his family. Bruce rescues Bullock's family, while Selina convinces him that his family is safe. The Joker learns Batman took out his look-outs ready to shoot Bullock's family.

The Joker and Batman finally go face-to-face, resulting in Batman throwing the villain off of Gotham Harbor's ledge into the water. Batman and Catwoman celebrate until it is revealed the Joker survived. However, Gordon shoots him before he can kill Bruce. The Joker is arrested, having survived the shot also. Bruce and Selina agree to continue their roles as Gotham's protectors even after the Joker was stopped. Barbara also manages to get Bruce Wayne to come out of the shadows and go back into the public. In a mid-credits scene, the Joker is approached by an unseen figure about forming a league of villains. The Joker asks who he is and the man gives him a business card with the letters LL1. In a post-credits scene, Bruce returns to Wayne Enterprises and finds a woman named Amanda Waller in his office, approaching him to form a league of heroes.

1Although not confirmed in the film, David S. Goyer confirmed after the film that the man is Lex Luthor.

## Cast

* Hugh Jackman as Bruce Wayne/Batman
* Angelina Jolie as Selina Kyle/Catwoman
* Katie Cassidy as Barbara Gordon
* Tom Cruise as Harvey Bullock
* Kenneth Branagh as Jim Gordon
* Jon Hamm as Joe Chill/The Joker

William Hurt appears as Alfred Pennyworth, while Angela Bassett appears in an uncredited role as Amanda Waller.

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Batman* grossed US$292 million in the United States and Canada and US$531 million in other countries for a total of $823 million worldwide.

### **Critical reception**

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 336 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Smart, innovative, and thrilling, *Batman* is a surefire hit that is the perfect way to open up possibilties for more films." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In polls conducted by CinemaScore during the opening weekend audience members gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.