Batman Begins

Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. It stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Blake Lively, Gary Oldman, B.D Wong, Antonio Fagundes, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, and Morgan Freeman. The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of Bruce Wayne from the death of his parents to his journey to become Batman and his fight to stop Ra's al Ghul and Hugo Strange from plunging Gotham City into chaos.

Plot Summary
As a child, Bruce Wayne is playing with Catherine Klass while her father, a city council member named William Klass, is meeting with Bruce's parents Thomas and Martha Wayne. Bruce falls down into a dry well and is attacked by a swarm of bats, subsequently developing a phobia of the creatures. While watching an opera with his parents, Thomas and Martha, Bruce becomes frightened by performers masquerading as bats and asks to leave. Outside, mugger Patrick 'Matches' Malone murders Bruce's parents in front of him. Orphaned, Bruce is raised by the family butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

Fourteen years later, Malone is freed in exchange for testifying against alleged mafia boss Rupert Thorne, who is running the Wayne family business Wayne Enterprises until Bruce comes off age as requested by the Board of Directors. Bruce intends to murder Malone, but one of Thorne's assassins, a reporter named Harleen Quinzel, does so first. Catherine enrolled in law school and got an internship at Gotham's District Attorney's Office during her first year. After Malone dies, Bruce reveals to Catherine that he intended to kill Chill himself. Catherine is upset and tells Bruce that his parents would have been ashamed of him. Bruce confronts Thorne to tell him not everyone in Gotham is afraid of him despite Catherine telling Bruce about Thorne making people miserable as well as leaving the bad people rich and the good people scared. Thorne insults Bruce by mocking him about the death of his parents and that real power comes from being feared. Bruce decides to travel the world and learn how to confront injustice. While serving a prison sentence for theft in Bhutan, he meets Henri Ducard, who trains him as a member of the League of Shadows, led by Ra's al Ghul. After completing his training and purging his fears, Bruce learns that the League intends to destroy Gotham, believing it to be corrupt, decadent, hypocritical and beyond saving. Bruce rejects the League's cause and burns down their temple during his escape. Ra's is killed by falling debris, while Bruce saves the unconscious Ducard.

Bruce returns to Gotham intent on fighting crime. Inspired by his childhood fear, he takes up the vigilante identity of "Batman" and sets up a base in the caves beneath Wayne Manor. In the meantime, police commissioner Frank Pike is meeting with Lieutenant James Gordon. Gordon has moved to Gotham City with his wife, Barbara, after a transfer from Chicago. Gordon is swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violence of Gotham City when several officers led by Detective Henshaw attack a homeless woman in the train station. Pike and Gordon work together to protect the woman. In the aftermath, Pike gives the woman some money. Gordon angrily demands to know why the police are corrupt but Pike coldly tells him that hope is for losers. Gordon then sees the hidden sadness that Pike has realizing that Pike tried to deal with police corruption long ago, but decided to give up trying. Bruce takes an interest in Wayne Enterprises, still being controlled by Rupert Thorne. At first, Thorne is paranoid thinking that Bruce has come to take back his company, however, Bruce relieves Thorne by telling him that all he wants is just a job. Thorne then decides to assign Bruce to the weapons designing division that he has Lucius Fox run. Fox allows Bruce access to prototype defense technologies, including a protective bodysuit and a heavily armored car, the Tumbler. As the vigilante, Bruce meets Gordon asking for a way to defeat Thorne and Gordon Bruce poses as a shallow playboy to allay suspicion. In the meantime, Catherine has become an assistant D.A serving under D.A Harvey Dent. Catherine has made her father, Mayor William Klass, proud by working to eliminate crime in Gotham. This has brought Catherine into conflict with Thorne though.

In the meantime, police commissioner Frank Pike is meeting with Lieutenant James Gordon. Gordon has moved to Gotham City with his wife, Barbara, after a transfer from Chicago. Gordon is swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violence of Gotham City when several officers led by Detective Henshaw attack him. Batman comes to the aid of both Gordon and Pike by subduing the corrupt officers with Henshaw running away. Gordon angrily demands to know from Pike about why the police are corrupt, Pike then tells Gordon to come with him. Gordon could then see the hidden sadness inside Pike realizing that he tried to deal with police corruption a long time ago, but gave up fighting. After Gordon becomes a celebrity for minor brave acts, Bruce visits Gordon when Gordon is in his office doing some paperwork. Bruce asks him about Rupert Thorne and the inability of local law enforcement to stop him. Bruce presses a stapler to the back of Gordon's head, making Gordon assume that it is a gun, Gordon tells him they need leverage over Judge Faden. Bruce then tells Gordon Gordon that together they could clean up the city. Gordon is unconvinced, simply believing the man to be "just some nut".

Batman intercepts a drug shipment that Rupert Thorne is supervising with help from corrupt detective Henshaw and Hugo Strange, the corrupt chief psychologist of Arkham Asylum. Thorne has been smuggling drugs into Gotham that is inside teddy bears. In return, Strange would diagnose Thorne's goons as mentally ill when they are arrested so they could avoid prison. After foiling the drug shipment, Batman knocks Thorne unconscious and leaves him tied to a searchlight for the police to find. The trussed-up mobster, surrounded by his tattered overcoat, projected a bat-like shape into the sky. While in prison, Thorne sends two thugs to kill Catherine. Catherine anticipates this which is she has a taser on her. Catherine threatens one of the thugs in front of her, although the thug flees mostly because his partner (who has followed her off the train) is beaten down by the arrival of Batman. Batman gives Catherine the photographs connecting Judge Faden to Thorne to have leverage over the corrupt official in order to give Thorne an unbiased verdict.

Mayor Klass becomes enraged because of the Batman despite Lieutenant Gordon believing that the Batman is only trying to help Gotham. Klass ignores Gordon and orders Commissioner Pike to bring in the vigilante by whatever means necessary, telling Gordon that when he became mayor, he promised to rid Gotham of crime and Klass has an opinion that vigilantism is wrong. Hugo Strange becomes a consultant in the task force that Klass assembles and Catherine is set up on a date with him by her father. Thorne meets with Strange and threatens to reveal his involvement in the smuggling operation unless Strange declares him to be mentally unfit for trial. Strange sprays Thorne with a gas that drives him insane and has him taken to Arkham Asylum. Catherine visits Arkham after learning Strange had Thorne transferred there. When Catherine sees Thorne, Thorne keeps screaming in fear for hours. Catherine decides to contact Dr. Leland and have her form another assessment on Thorne due to not trusting Strange. Strange captures Catherine and keeps Catherine tied up to his bed in her underwear, and Catherine begins to coldly deny his advances of romance from him.

After learning from Alfred that Catherine is missing, Batman goes after Strange knowing that William set Catherine up on a date with him and that Strange was at the docks with Thorne the night that Thorne was arrested. Strange exposes Batman to the same hallucinogen and leaves him incapacitated. Batman locates Catherine, saves her, and subdues Strange, who claims to work for Ra's Al Ghul. Batman leaves to go to his birthday party at Wayne Manor not before giving Catherine several vials for her, Gordon, and for mass production. Ducard reappears at Bruce's birthday party and reveals himself to be the true Ra's al Ghul. Having stolen a powerful microwave emitter from Wayne Enterprises, he plans to vaporize Gotham's water supply, rendering Strange's drug, which is derived from the blue poppies, airborne and causing mass hysteria that will destroy the city. Fearing for the safety of his guests, Bruce insults everyone by pretending to be drunk and calling them leeches as well as gold diggers. Ducard then sets fire to Wayne Manor and leaves Bruce to die, but Alfred rescues him.

Ra's loads the microwave emitter onto Gotham's monorail system, intending to release the drug as the train travels toward the city's central water source. Catherine gives a vial of the anti-toxin to Gordon as the League starts a riot in one of Gotham's slums. Strange attacks Catherine only for Catherine to gun him down in order to defend herself and little boy looking for his mother. Catherine and the boy are surrounded by lunatics led by Thorne's henchman, Victor Zsasz, who has a grudge against Catherine for prosecuting him for mass murder. Batman saves them at the last minute and gives Catherine a hint about his secret identity. As Catherine realizes that her masked savior is Bruce, he leaves to save the remaining innocent bystanders.

Batman pursues Ra's onto the monorail and fights him just as Gordon uses the Tumbler's cannons to destroy a section of the track. Batman refuses to kill Ra's but also chooses not to save him since Ra's ordered for his parents to be killed, gliding from the train and leaving Ra's aboard as it crashes and explodes, killing him.

Bruce gains Catherine's respect but loses her love, as she decides she cannot be with him while he is Batman. Bruce takes an active role in Wayne Enterprises and has all the corrupt company members arrested for helping Rupert Thorne in his illegal activities. The security guards escort the corrupt members to the G.C.P.D., who arrests them. Bruce then appoints Fox to be the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Pike and Gordon explain to Mayor Klass how Strange was corrupt and the Batman saved her. Grateful, Klass disbands the anti-Batman task force so the police can concentrate on the “real criminals”. Gordon meets with Batman to show him the Bat-Signal. Gordon jokingly tells Batman that he couldn't find any mob bosses to strap to the light. Gordon tells Batman that despite the fact the mayor and the public now support him, there will always be people who resent and demonize him in some way because of what he does; but either way, Gordon believes that Gotham needs Batman so he will continue to work with him. Gordon tells Batman about somebody called the Joker, who is plotting to poison the reservoir. Batman promises to investigate, and disappears into the night.

Cast

 * Christain Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
 * Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox
 * Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul
 * Blake Lively as Catherine Klass
 * Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent
 * Sean Blakemoore as Frank Pike
 * Gary Oldman as James Gordon
 * Ken Watanabe as decoy Ra's al Ghul
 * Mark Boone Junior as Henshaw
 * Linus Roache as Thomas Wayne
 * Antonio Fagundes as Rupert Thorne
 * Margot Robbie as Harleen Quinzel
 * Christine Adams as Jessica
 * Vincent Wong as an old Asian prisoner;
 * Sara Stewart as Martha Wayne, Bruce's late mother
 * Richard Brake as Patrick 'Matches' Malone
 * Gerard Murphy as the corrupt High Court Judge Faden
 * Charles Edwards as a Wayne Enterprises executive
 * Risteárd Cooper and Andrew Pleavin as uniformed policemen
 * Shane Rimmer and Jeremy Theobald as Gotham Water Board technicians
 * Jack Gleeson as the boy
 * Rutger Hauer as Mayor Wilson Klass
 * John Foo, Joey Ansah, Spencer Wilding, Dave Legeno, Khan Bonfils, Rodney Ryan and Dean Alexandrou as members of the League of Shadows.