Batman Begins (2005) USA, UK
Batman Begins Image Cover
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Director:Christopher Nolan
Studio:Warner Home Video
Producer:Benjamin Melniker, Charles Roven, Cheryl A. Tkach, Emma Thomas
Writer:Bob Kane, David S. Goyer
Rating:4.5 (1087 votes)
Rated:PG-13
Date Added:2008-02-29
ASIN:B00005JNJV
UPC:0012569594159
Price:$14.98
Awards:Nominated for Oscar, Another 7 wins & 39 nominations
Genre:Action & Adventure
Release:2005-10-18
IMDb:0372784
Duration:140
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
Sound:AC-3
Languages:English, French
Subtitles:English, French, Spanish
Christopher Nolan  ...  (Director)
Bob Kane, David S. Goyer  ...  (Writer)
 
Christian Bale  ...  Bruce Wayne / Batman
Michael Caine  ...  Alfred
Liam Neeson  ...  Henri Ducard
Katie Holmes  ...  Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman  ...  Jim Gordon
Morgan Freeman  ...  Lucius Fox
Rade Serbedzija  ...  Homeless Man (as Rade Sherbedgia)
Cillian Murphy  ...  Dr. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow
Tom Wilkinson  ...  Carmine Falcone
Rutger Hauer  ...  Earle
Ken Watanabe  ...  Ra's Al Ghul
Mark Boone Junior  ...  Flass
Linus Roache  ...  Thomas Wayne
Larry Holden  ...  Finch
Gerard Murphy  ...  Judge Faden
Colin McFarlane  ...  Loeb
Summary: "Batman Begins" discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's "Batman & Robin". As the title implies, "Batman Begins" tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role) and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?
Cowritten by the team of David S. Goyer (a veteran comic book writer) and director Christopher Nolan ("Memento"), "Batman Begins" is a welcome return to the grim and gritty version of the Dark Knight, owing a great debt to the graphic novels that preceded it. It doesn't have the razzle dazzle, or the mass appeal, of "Spider-Man 2" (though the Batmobile is cool), and retelling the origin means it starts slowly, like most "first" superhero movies. But it's certainly the best Bat-film since Burton's original, and one of the best superhero movies of its time. Bale cuts a good figure as Batman, intense and dangerous but with some of the lightheartedness Michael Keaton brought to the character. Michael Caine provides much of the film's humor as the family butler, Alfred, and as the love interest, Katie Holmes ("Dawson's Creek") is surprisingly believable in her first adult role. Also featuring Gary Oldman as the young police officer Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman as a Q-like gadgets expert, and Cillian Murphy as the vile Jonathan Crane. "--David Horiuchi"

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