BATMAN BEGINS

Year: 2005
USA & UK: Warner Bros Pictures
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Mark Boone Junior, Linus Roache, Morgan Freeman, Larry Holden, Garard Murphy, Colin McFarlane, Sara Stewart, Gus Lewis, Richard Brake, Rade Sherbedgia, Emma Lockhart, Christine Adams, Catherine Porter, John Nolan, Karen David, Jonathan D Ellis, Tamer Hassan, Ronan Leahy, Vincent Wong, Tom Wu, Mark Chiu, Turbo Kong, Stuart Ong, Chike Chan, Tenzin Clive Ball, Tenzin Gyurme, Jamie Cho, David Murray, John Kazek, Darragh Kelly, Patrick Nolan, Joseph Rye, Kwaku Ankomah, Jo Martin, Charles Edwards, Lucy Russell, Tim Deenihan, David Bedella, Flavia Masetto, Emily Steven-Daly, Martin McDougall, Noah Lee Margetts, Joe Hanley, Karl Shiels, Roger Griffiths, Stephen Walters, Richard Laing, Matt Miller, Risteard Cooper, Shane Rimmer, Jeremy Theobald Alexandra Bastedo, Soo Hee Ding, Con Horgan, Phill Curr, Jack Gleeson, John Judd, Sarah Wateridge, Charlie Kranz, Terry McMahon, Cedric Young, Tim Booth, Tom Nolan, Leon Delroy Williams, Roger Yuan, Joe Sargent, Mel Taylor, Ilyssa Fradin, Andrew Pleavin, Jeff Christian, John Burke, Earlene Bentley, Alex Moggridge, Jay Buozzi, Jordan Shaw, Omar Mostafa, Patrick Pond, Poppy Tierney, Rory Campbell, Fabio Cardascia, Spencer Wilding, Mark Smith, Khan Bonfils, Dave Legeno, Ruben Halse, Rodney Ryan, Dominic Burgess, Nadia Cameron-Blakey, Mark Straker, Tj Ramini, Kieran Hurley, Emmanuel Idowu, Jeff Tanner
Director: Christopher Nolan
Country: USA
USA & UK: 140 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements
UK Certificate: 12A contains strong fantasy horror and moderate violence
USA Release Date: 15 June 2005
UK Release Date: 16 June 2005 (plus BFI London Imax Cinema)


Synopsis

How does one man change the world?

It's a question that haunts Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) like the spectre of his parents, gunned down before his eyes in the streets of Gotham on a night that changed his life forever.

Tormented by guilt and anger, battling the demons that feed his desire for revenge and his need to honour his parents' altruistic legacy, the disillusioned industrial heir vanishes from Gotham and secretly travels the world, seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful.

In his quest to educate himself in the ways of the criminal mind, Bruce is mentored by a mysterious man called Ducard (Liam Neeson) in the mastery of the physical and mental disciplines that will empower him to fight the evil he has vowed to destroy. He soon finds himself the target of recruiting efforts by the League of Shadows, a powerful, subversive vigilante group headed by enigmatic leader Ra's al Ghul (Ken Watanabe).

Bruce returns to Gotham to find the city devoured by rampant crime and corruption. Wayne Enterprises, his family's former bastion of philanthropic business ideals, now rests in the hands of CEO Richard Earle (Rutger Hauer), a man more concerned with taking the company public than serving the public good.

Meanwhile, Bruce's close childhood friend Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), now an Assistant District Attorney, can't secure a conviction of the city's most notorious criminals because the justice system has been so deeply polluted by scum like crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). It doesn't help that prominent Gotham psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) bolsters insanity defenses for Falcone's thugs in exchange for nefarious favors that serve his own devious agenda.

With the help of his trusted butler Alfred (Michael Caine), detective Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) - one of the few good cops on the Gotham police force - and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), his ally at the Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences division, Bruce Wayne unleashes his awe-inspiring alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses strength, intellect and an array of high tech weaponry to fight the sinister forces that threaten to destroy the city.

IMAX Synopsis

BATMAN BEGINS: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (2D) will make its debut at the BFI London IMAX Cinema on 16 June, where audiences will be able to see how the legend all began on a screen five storeys tall. BATMAN BEGINS, which explores the origins of the Batman legend, has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (digital re-mastering) technology. Moviegoers will immerse themselves in the world of Batman and Gotham City as they watch the film unfold on the huge IMAX screen, while surrounded by state-of-the-art digital surround sound.

BATMAN BEGINS: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (2D) represents the fifth IMAX DMR film release from Warner Bros Pictures. The large 15/70 film frame, combined with the IMAX projection technology and remarkable sound system, will provide BFI London IMAX Cinema moviegoers with an immersive, extraordinary cinematic experience.