Outside the Beltway

Batman Begins Movie Trailer

Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale in the title role, looks quite interesting. It's scheduled for release on June 17, 2005.

James Joyner · Monday, December 6, 2004 · 5 comments

Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale in the title role, looks quite interesting. It’s scheduled for release on June 17, 2005.

As a young boy, Bruce Wayne watched in horror as his millionaire parents were slain in front of him–a trauma that leads him to become obsessed with revenge. But the opportunity to avenge his parent’s deaths is cruelly taken away from him by fate.

Fleeing to the East, where he seeks counsel with the dangerous but honorable ninja cult leader known as Ra’s Al-Ghul, Bruce returns to his now decaying Gotham City, which is overrun by organized crime and other dangerous individuals manipulating the system.

Meanwhile, Bruce is slowly being swindled out of Wayne Industries, the company he inherited. The discovery of a cave under his mansion, along with a prototype armored suit, leads him to assume a new persona, one which will strike fear into the hearts of men who do wrong; he becomes Batman!!!

In the new guise, and with the help of rising cop Jim Gordon, Batman sets out to take down the various nefarious schemes in motion by individuals such as mafia don Falcone, the twisted doctor/drug dealer Jonathan ‘The Scarecrow’ Crane, and a mysterious third party that is quite familiar with Wayne and waiting to strike when the time is right.

Ra’s Al-Ghul should translate well to the movies and the cast is quite impressive:

Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman)
Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth)
Ken Watanabe (Ra’s Al Ghul)
Gary Oldman (Lieutenant James Gordon)
Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox)
Rutger Hauer (Mr. Earle)
Katie Holmes (Rachel Dodson)
Cillian Murphy (Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow)
Liam Neeson (Henri Ducard)
Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone)

The trailer captures the spirit of the post-Frank Miller-Dark Knight Returns era wonderfully.

Hat tip: James Hudnall