Batman Begins The Dark Knight Returns on DVD

Batman has always been the most realistic of the comic book icons. He has no special powers and is for all practical purposes a vigilante. He is someone who could actually exist in the real world (provided he has the kind of money Bruce Wayne does). Batman Begins takes the Batman mythos at face value. It doesn’t try to ham it up; this is deathly serious stuff. It’s the main reason it’s one of the most successful comic book movies ever. 

The movie opens at a prison camp in an unnamed Asian country. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is a prisoner there trying to live among criminals so he can learn what makes them tick. Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), who works for Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe) spring’s Wayne out and invites him to learn how to fight crime from the League of Shadows. 

We learn about Bruce’s fear of bats and see in flashback, his parents gunned down by a mugger (for which he blames himself). Bruce learns much about himself and martial arts while under Ducard‘s watch. The League has noble intentions, but they’re no more than a terrorist group and before he’s made an official member, Wayne escapes. 

Bruce returns to Gotham City to try and make it safe again. Alfred (Michael Caine), the dutiful butler, helps his master as much as possible. Wayne goes to the family company, where he finds his own Q, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) – a neglected engineer. Fox gives Wayne all sorts of gadgets he worked on for the US military, but were turned down for whatever reason (including a really mean looking Batmobile). 

Soon the Dark Knight descends upon the criminal underworld, headed by Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). Batman enlists the help of Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) in his quest to bring crime to its knees. Unfortunately there are bigger fish to fry, including psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) soon to be known as the Scarecrow.