Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.
Christian Bale
Bruce Wayne / Batman
Michael Caine
Alfred
Liam Neeson
Ducard
Katie Holmes
Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman
Jim Gordon
Cillian Murphy
Dr. Jonathan Crane
Tom Wilkinson
Carmine Falcone
Rutger Hauer
Earle
Ken Watanabe
Ra's al Ghul
Mark Boone Junior
Flass
Linus Roache
Thomas Wayne
Morgan Freeman
Lucius Fox
Larry Holden
Finch
Gerard Murphy
Judge Faden
Colin McFarlane
Loeb
Sara Stewart
Martha Wayne
Gus Lewis
Bruce Wayne (Age 8)
Richard Brake
Joe Chill
Rade Šerbedžija
Homeless Man
Emma Lockhart
Rachel Dawes (Age 8)
Christine Adams
Jessica
Catherine Porter
Blonde Female Reporter / Assassin
John Nolan
Fredericks
Karen David
Courthouse Reporter #1
Jonathan D. Ellis
Courthouse Reporter #2
Tamer Hassan
Faden's Limo Driver
Ronan Leahy
Uniformed Policeman #1
Vincent Wong
Old Asian Prisoner
Tom Wu
Bhutanese Prison Guard #1
Mark Chiu
Bhutanese Prison Guard #2
Turbo Kong
Enormous Prisoner
Stuart Yung Sai-Kit
Chinese Police Officer
Chike Chan
Chinese Police Officer
Tenzin Clive Ball
Himalayan Child
Tenzin Gyurme
Old Himalayan Man
Jamie Cho
Stocky Chinese Man
David Murray
Jumpy Thug
John Kazek
Dock Thug #2
Darragh Kelly
Dock Thug #3
Patrick Nolan
Dock Cop #1
Joseph Rye
Dock Cop #2
Kwaku Ankomah
Dock Cop #3
Jo Martin
Police Prison Official
Charles Edwards
Wayne Enterprises Executive
Lucy Russell
Female Restaurant Guest
Timothy Deenihan
Male Restaurant Guest
David Bedella
Maitre D
Flavia Masetto
Restaurant Blonde #1
Emily Steven-Daly
Restaurant Blonde #2
Martin McDougall
Gotham Dock Employee
Noah Lee Margetts
Arkham Thug #1
Joe Hanley
Arkham Thug #2
Karl Shiels
Arkham Thug #3
Roger Griffiths
Arkham Uniformed Policeman
Stephen Walters
Arkham Lunatic
Richard Laing
Arkham Chase Cop
Matt Miller
Gotham Car Cop #3
Risteard Cooper
Captain Simonson
Shane Rimmer
Older Gotham Water Board Technician
Jeremy Theobald
Younger Gotham Water Board Technician
Alexandra Bastedo
Gotham Society Dame
Soo Hee Ding
Farmer
Conn Horgan
Monorail Driver
Phill Curr
Transit Cop
Jack Gleeson
Little Boy
John Judd
Narrows Bridge Cop
Sarah Wateridge
Mrs. Dawes
Charlie Kranz
Basement Club Manager
Terry McMahon
Bad Swat Cop #1
Cedric Young
Liquor Store Owner
Tim Booth
Victor Zsaz
Tom Nolan
Valet
Leon Delroy Williams
Pedestrian
Roger Yuan
Hazmat Technician
Joe Sargent
Narrows Teenager #1
Mel Taylor
Narrows Resident
Ilyssa Fradin
Barbara Gordon
Andrew Pleavin
Uniformed Policeman #2
Jeff Christian
Driving Cop
John Burke
Arkham Lunatic Cell Mate
Earlene Bentley
Arkham Asylum Nurse
Alex Moggridge
Arkham Asylum Orderly
Jay Buozzi
Asian Man / Ra's al Ghul
Jordan Shaw
African Boy In Rags
Omar Mostafa
Falafel Stand Vendor
Patrick Pond
Opera Performer #1 Faust (Bass)
Poppy Tierney
Opera Performer #2 Margaret (Soprano)
Rory Campbell
Opera Performer #3 Mefistofele (Tenor)
Fabio Cardascia
Caterer
Spencer Wilding
League of Shadows Warrior
Mark Rhino Smith
League of Shadows Warrior
Khan Bonfils
League of Shadows Warrior
Dave Legeno
League of Shadows Warrior
Ruben Halse
League of Shadows Warrior
Rodney Ryan
League of Shadows Warrior
Dominic Burgess
Narrows Cop
Nadia Cameron-Blakey
Additional Restaurant Guest #1
Mark Straker
Male Restaurant Guest #2
T.J. Ramini
Crane Thug #1
Kieran Hurley
Crane Thug #2
Emmanuel Idowu
Narrows Teenager #2
Jeff Tanner
Bridge Cop
Mark Strange
League of Shadow Warrior (uncredited)
Dean Alexandrou
League of Shadows Warrior (uncredited)
Jonathan Patrick Foo
League of Shadows Warrior (uncredited)
Joey Ansah
League of Shadows Warrior (uncredited)
Adam Kirley
Steiss (uncredited)
Rick Avery
Gotham Car Cop (uncredited)
Director, Screenplay
Christopher Nolan
Characters
Bob Kane
Screenplay
David S. Goyer
September 25, 2014
9
It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.
Bruce Wayne is constantly tortured by his childhood memories when he witnessed his parents being murdered. Taken under the wing of The League Of Shadows, a deadly ninja assassin army devoted to erasing crime with their own brand of harsh justice. After completing training, Wayne refuses to join them on account of not agreeing with their methods, he returns to Gotham City to reek his own one man war against crime.
Director Christopher Nolan literally goes back to Batman origins to not just give the dead franchise a kiss of life, but actually to spark it into a sort of triumphant homecoming. Gone is all forms of camp veneer so evident in Joel Schumacher's offerings, and in place we have a darkly rich picture intent on fleshing out Batman's motives, and crucially, his fractured persona.
One of the most pleasing things to me was that Nolan paced this picture to perfection, the build up of character, and then birth of the Bat, dominates for practically the first hour of the piece. This gives Batman Begins some crucial heart, it really helps us to focus on this weird super-hero now that we have some meat on his bones. We then follow Wayne from a Chinese prison to The League Of Shadows monastery, watching his transformation from brawling man of anger into a controlled fighting machine. A machine that still roams with a revenge laden heart.
Then its to Gotham City where he then births Batman and all bad guys are on his agenda. Mob boss Falcone, the mysterious Scarecrow, and also a face from his past that rears its surprising head. Wayne is driven by powerful motives, and it's here in the second part of the film that Batman Begins rewards those who indulged in the character build up. In come the stunts and outrageous sequences, all played out in Nolan's desperately dank Gotham City (a far cry from Tim Burton's dark Oz like scapes). This Gotham is pot boiling to disaster and is crying out for the Bat to sweep all before it, and thankfully Nolan and his cast fulfil all the early promise to deliver a wonderful action fantasy that caters for all ages.
Christian Bale dons the Batsuit and it fits like a glove, his Bruce Wayne may lack the ebullient charisma that Michael Keaton's had, but his Batman is mean and moody and comfortable with the zippy dialogue. Michael Caine plays Alfred the loyal servant to the Wayne family, much heart and emotive drive from Caine ensures the role is a roaring success. Cillian Murphy is Dr Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow who actually scares more as Crane with his piercing eyes and devilishly smirky leer, whilst both Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon) & Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) are solid with what little they actually have to do. Liam Neeson gets his teeth into a meaty role as Henri Ducard, and as a character arc he gets the best scenes (Nolan clearly having great fun here).
Minnor let downs to me without hurting the picture are Katie Holmes (pretty but hardly convincing as Assistant D.A. Rachael Dawes) and Rutger Hauer as Earle (a little bit of menace wouldn't go amiss here Rutger old man). Still, as I said they are very minor let downs because as comic book adaptations go, Batman Begins is from the top draw, a franchise re-suited, rebooted and completely reinvigorated. But now the test comes with that all important sequel... 9/10