Batman: Uprising (Film 1 in the Batman Series)

After the enormous success of the Batman series starring Christian Bale and directed by Christopher Nolan, Paramount Motion Pictures Group decided that in the year 2019, the time was right to reboot Batman in a new series that felt close in realism to the Christopher Nolan series, but also contain unrealistic themes which were key in Batman comics. Paramount hired director Sam Mendes (who directed the Bond film "Skyfall") to direct the film and writer Billy Ray to screen write the film. This "super" pair immediately set the film out to be a success, and this predicted success continued when Michael Fassbender was cast as adult Bruce Wayne/Batman, with Jake T. Austin as teenage Bruce Wayne. Another cast addition was the inclusion of Cameron Boyce, playing teenage Lonnie Machin, and Eddie Redmayne as adult Lonnie Machin, who now goes by the name of the Anarky. The film was rated 98% by Rotten Tomatoes, with the New York Times stating "it's the best Batman film ever made, even if an unknown villain stars in this film".

Plot
The film begins with a young Lonnie Machin sitting in his room, writing a letter to his pen pall, Xuasus, who has stopped replying to his letters for the last few months. Lonnie sends the letter and the next day, fakes feeling sick so he can stay off of school to wait for a letter from Xuasus. He pretends to be sick for another week until a letter from Xuases arrives through the door. Xuasus explains that he hasn't been writing for the last few months because as he lives in a poor country, his father has starved to death, his mother has been shot, and his brothers and sisters have died due to dehydration. He then tells Lonnie that he is on death row, which scares Lonnie so much that Lonnie burns the letter.

Meanwhile, teenaged Bruce Wayne and his parents (Martha and Thomas) are invited to go to a dinner party to celebrate the new train rails which have now been spread across Gotham City as Thomas was the one who invented the technology to make this possible. Bruce arrives and has a chat with Mayor Higgs, who tells Bruce that he will never be as good as his father. As a result, Bruce punches the Mayor in the face and begins to run away. He soon runs to a cave and accidentally falls down it, where he experiences a massive amount of "bat attacks". However, Lonnie Machin arrives and is able to pull Bruce out. Once the boys are out of the cave, Lonnie reveals to Bruce his story about Xuasus, and knowing that he would not be able to help Xuasus, he came to this cave to kill himself. Bruce encourages him that suicide is not the way onward and that to stop what has happened to Xuasus, Lonnie should stand up for freedom for every one in Gotham to encourage people that poverty is not the way onward.

Bruce and Lonnie part ways, Bruce now heading back to the dinner party and Lonnie now heading back out to explore the streets. However, when Bruce arrives at the party, Thomas takes him outside and begins to shout at him for hitting the Mayor, saying that Bruce will be grounded for what he has done and the police will talk to him. He then tells Bruce that whilst he lives with his parents, he will know no freedom, which Lonnie hears as he walks passed Bruce. Lonnie remembers what Bruce tells him and pulls out a gun which he was going to kill himself with. Lonnie points it at Thomas and shoots him, but not before Bruce notices. Bruce chases Lonnie and pushes him over, causing them to get into a fist fight. Martha runs outside, hearing the gun being fired off, and is also shot by Lonnie. Lonnie then punches Bruce in the face and runs off. However, Lonnie notices that Detective James Gordon has spotted him and as a result, storms after Lonnie but Lonnie gets away, and soon disappears.

Bruce talks to Gordon about what happened, but Bruce decides to forgive Lonnie and declares that he wasn't attacked by Lonnie, but by criminal Joe Chill. Joe Chill is arrested by Commissioner Joey Adams, who beats Joe up so badly that Joe reluctantly accepts the full responsibility for the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne. Bruce is left to be looked after by his butler, Alfred, but doesn't forget what he says to Lonnie. He realizes that Lonnie will be thinking that he has done the right thing for freedom but knows that the way Lonnie will fight for freedom is wrong. Bruce feels that fear should be used for justice instead of being used against everybody, as Lonnie now feels, and so takes his own personal fear of Bats and plans his future as the Batman.

Over the next eight years, Bruce trains in seven different martial arts so that he will be ready to be the Batman, whilst running Wayne Industries. He makes friends with his worker Lucius Fox, who has a hobby in creating different types of armor and is part of the weapons industry of Wayne Industries. Together, they begin to make the Batsuit and Bat gadgets. But suddenly, the weapons department is attacked by a mysterious machine gun wielding, armored man who goes by the name of Anarky. Anarky shoots Lucius's co-worker, Paulo Green, in the leg, demanding that Wayne Industries stop creating weapons and selling them to terrorists. As a result, Bruce gets in the batsuit for the first time and confronts Anarky, demanding Anarky to stop. Anarky doesn't listen to Batman and instead shoots Green in the arm. Lucius appears in front of Anarky and promises to stop the weapons business, which causes Anarky to jump out of the window and escape.

Bruce gets out of his suit and checks to see if Green is okay, which responds in Green quiting due to Wayne not defending him. Bruce decides that he needs to hunt down this Anarky, but all he finds in the police records (which he has stolen) is informating on an associate, Humpty Dumpty a.k.a Humphry Dumpler. Humpty Dumpty feels the urge to tear Gotham apart so that he can rebuild it perfectly again, which reminds Bruce of what Lonnie Machin used to want. Bruce gears up as the Batman and sneaks to Humpty Dumpty's hide out (Laybour Manor House) where he finds Humpty telling Anarky that he is already preparing the big tear down of Gotham which Anarky has demanded. He also tells Anarky that only one other criminal is standing in the way of their big plan: Killer Croc. Humpty Dumpty notices Batman and so begins to attack him, but Batman thinks nothing of it until a police helicopter also attacks Batman as he tries to escape. Batman is able to escape and return to Wayne Manor.

Bruce tells Alfred that he thinks that this Anarky person has infiltrated the police and is going to use the police to tear it down and build it up again as perfectly as possible. Alfred tells Bruce to stay out of this, but Bruce refuses, saying that he needs to talk to an old friend to see if he has noticed a change in the police... Bruce gears up as Batman and gives Commissioner (used to be Detective) James Gordon a visit. Gordon is shocked to see Batman and raises a gun at him, and so as a result, Batman takes off his mask in front of Gordon to show that it is Bruce, the boy who Gordon protected throughout Bruce's childhood. Gordon reveals to Bruce that he has convincing documents that proves that General (used to be Commissioner) Joey Adams has connections with Anarky and Humpty Dumpty, which is why both of them are out of jail. He also tells Bruce of a few loyal police who can help Batman stop the pair before it is too late.

Batman and Gordon call in a small force of loyal SWAT police and plan an assault on Laybour Manor House. Together, they use sneak tactics to get into the building without being noticed by officers but Anarky is not there. Instead, they see guards and Humpty Dumpty being attacked by an extremely strong man with a rare skin disease which makes him look like a crocodile: Killer Croc. Killer Croc kills Humpty Dumpty but then gets in a fight with Batman when he spots the Batman watching them. Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon and his men fight Anarky's guards. Killer Croc wins the fight and escapes, but Commissioner Gordon and his men are able to take out a large number of Anarky's guards without being identified as "rouge police". The pair go their separate ways, hoping that Killer Croc has finished Anarky's plans.

The next day, Bruce goes to a meal with corporation leaders from across America. Many other leaders, such as Mr Liam Stark and Mrs Lesly Camen, suggest that the corporations begin one big company with the aims of protecting America with new, more powerful technology. However, Anarky arrives declaring that he will kill Mr Stark if this plan goes ahead, as he believes the weapons will only wreck his plans for America. Bruce refuses to back down, which leads to Mr Stark being shot dead by Anarky. Anarky then prepares to leave, declaring that "tonight, I will change Gotham forever, whether I have Humpty Dumpty or not."

After Anarky leaves, police surround the building to begin their "investigation" but Bruce is able to sneak away from them and escape back to Wayne Manor. There he gears up as the Batman and begins to plan how he is going to fight Anarky. Batman returns to the streets of Gotham to find it in panic; the police are tearing up Gotham City under General Joey Adams's control. Batman beats Adams to a pulp but the riots don't stop until Commissioner Gordon and his SWAT team arrive on the scene. Batman goes to an even worse part of Gotham which is being torn down by police riots and finds that Anarky is ordering the police around. Batman is about to take on Anarky but then is attacked by Killer Croc, who thinks that Batman is working for Anarky.

Batman is able to beat up Killer Croc (although it is a difficult fight) and as a result, Commissioner Gordon and the SWAT team arrive and arrest Killer Croc. Batman then takes on Anarky and the rest of the rouge police. Whilst he is fighting Anarky, he knocks of his mask to find the face of a usual young man inside. Anarky reveals himself to be Lonnie Machin to Batman, before saying that he knows that Batman is in fact Bruce Wayne as he has worked this fact out from the fact that Bruce had a fear of Bats and a fear of getting into trouble, but is now willing to cause it by funding the weapons for America. Batman tells Anarky that he is crazy to think that he is Bruce Wayne, and as a result, Anarky tries to kill Batman. Batman tries to talk to Lonnie, but the evil Anarky side of him refuses to listen, and as a result, Batman has to try and beat up Anarky, however, Anarky pulls a gun to Batman's head and is about to kill him but Paulo Green appears and shoots Anarky in the back, killing him. He tells Batman that he had a right to kill Anarky; Anarky had shot Paulo in his left arm and left leg.

Paulo is arrested by Commissioner Gordon for murder, although Gordon makes it clear to Paulo that he had saved Batman's life and he was grateful for that. However, it is proven that Anarky and the rouge police were in fact bad guys and Paulo is released from prison as a result for this. Batman goes to visit Paulo to thank him for saving him, but Paulo tells Batman that he didn't kill Anarky for him; he killed Anarky for Gotham. Commissioner Gordon is also able to convince the police to consider Batman as an ally, not an enemy, and as a result, Batman is not arrested either.

The film ends with General Adams being proven guilty by the jury and being thrown in Arkham Asylum. He is put in the same cells as someone who he will apparently know, and is terrified to arrive and find out it is Killer Croc. Killer Croc reveals to Adams that he had always wanted to tear down Gotham by himself, and not have to watch other people do it, before he beats Adams to death and is pushed back by Police as a result.

Cast
The film starred many famous actors and many new ones, although after this film, many of these not so well actors were left very famous. The film starred:

Michael Fassbender as Bruce Wayne/Batman

Jake T. Austin as Young Bruce Wayne

Eddie Redmayne as Anarky/Lonnie Machin

Cameron Boyce as Young Lonnie Machin

John Hurt as Alfred Pennyworth

Bryan Cranston as Detective/Commisioner James Gordon

Vin Diesel as Humpty Dumpty 

Dwayne Johnson as Killer Croc

Dayo Okeniyi as Paulo Green

Denzel Washington as Lucius Fox

Tom Hanks as General/Commisioner Joey Adams

Richard Armitage as Thomas Wayne 

Naomi Watts as Martha Wayne

Joan Allen as Lesly Camen 

Tim Roth as Liam Stark

The actors achieved several oscars: Michael Fassbender as best male lead and Dayo Okeniyi as best male side. As a result of Dayo's great acting, it was announcened by Sam Mendes that he would appear in the sequel film along side John Hurt, Bryan Cranston, Denzel Washington and Dwayne Johnson once more. This has confirmed the rumours that Killer Croc will appear in the next film.

To find the sequel, go to this page: Batman: Knight of Gotham (Film 2 in the Batman Series).