'

Batman Begins

Play trailer

2:19

Batman Begins

PG-13

Released Jun 15, 2005

2h 20m

Action

Fantasy

Adventure

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

287 Reviews

94%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

A young Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels to the Far East, where he's trained in the martial arts by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows. When Ducard reveals the League's true purpose -- the complete destruction of Gotham City -- Wayne returns to Gotham intent on cleaning up the city without resorting to murder. With the help of Alfred (Michael Caine), his loyal butler, and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a tech expert at Wayne Enterprises, Batman is born.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Brooding and dark, but also exciting and smart, Batman Begins is a film that understands the essence of one of the definitive superheroes.

Read Critics Reviews

Namrata Joshi

Outlook

Batman has been all about darkness, Nolan just makes it a shade darker. Go see it.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 8, 2019

Full Review

Christy Lemire

Associated Press

Nolan takes an admirable stab at developing a character-driven drama, only to give in to generic action-movie conventions with a blinding, deafening, explosion-laden finale that could have capped off any number of interchangeable Jerry Bruckheimer flicks.

Apr 14, 2013

Full Review

Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

Batman Begins summons up moments of great eloquence and power. If only its cast of characters was as fully inhabited as its turbulent city.

Apr 14, 2013

Full Review

Martin Carr

CBR

Batman Begins might have rescued the franchise from ignominy, but much of Christopher Nolan's DC debut suffers from pacing issues. The production design and grounded realism may elevate things, but this film has its flaws.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 29, 2024

Full Review

Stella Papamichael

Radio Times

Batman Begins swoops you up and doesn't let go till the end.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 22, 2024

Full Review

Akhil Arora

AkhilArora.com

This is the moment Nolan began to establish his blockbuster tendencies: dynamic camera movement, rich cinematography, and heavy use of a majestic background score.

Oct 17, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Pamela

We really enjoyed the movie! Lots of action going on.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/18/23

Full Review

Michael

Best movie of 2023! Cant wait for the sequel!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/16/23

Full Review

Ben W

So great! As an origin story, it works incredibly well. The groundednessand grittyness was great.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/16/23

Full Review

Ryan N

This is one of the best origin stories for a comic book hero. Director C. Nolan did a fantastic job with Year One (his take on on it). When I first saw it back in 2005 in theaters, I didn't know what to except but I was blown away! Christian Bale was perfect as Batman. I am still torn between him and Michael Keaton as Batman, but Bale fits the character more. Michael Caine was great as Alfred and Liam Neeson as great as Ras Al Ghul. 1st time in a while to see Gary Oldman as a good guy (Lt Gordon). The way Nolan crafted the story from Bruce's journey to be a becoming Batman was great. Scarecrow was a great secondary villian! Was hoping he would continue in the other ones (had a small part in the 3rd one but not as Scarecrow). I recommend this movie!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/26/25

Full Review

Jesse K

It’s just amazing. Start to finish

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/25/25

Full Review

Matt O

“A solid, well-rounded Batman origin story” – 3.5/5 Batman Begins is an all-around good film that successfully rebooted the Batman franchise with a fresh, darker take. Christian Bale is excellent as Bruce Wayne, really capturing the complexity of the character. That said, I’m not as sold on him once he’s in the Batman suit—there’s something about his Batman persona that didn’t quite click for me as much. Michael Caine is fantastic as Alfred, arguably the best Alfred in any Batman movie. His warmth and grounded presence add a lot of heart to the story. Liam Neeson does well as Ra’s al Ghul, bringing a calm but threatening presence. However, since Ra’s is supposed to be a master martial artist, I was hoping to see more of those skills in action, but the movie doesn’t really showcase that as much as I’d like. Cillian Murphy stands out as the Scarecrow, delivering a creepy, unsettling villain that fits perfectly with the film’s darker tone. The story and plot are solid, balancing Bruce’s origin story with the larger threat to Gotham City. The fight scenes are well choreographed and intense, keeping the action engaging without going over the top. Overall, Batman Begins strikes a nice balance between character development, plot, and action, making it a strong foundation for the trilogy.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/22/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Christopher Nolan

Director

Christian Bale

Bruce Wayne

Michael Caine

Alfred Pennyworth

Liam Neeson

Henri Ducard

Katie Holmes

Rachel Dawes

Gary Oldman

Lt. James Gordon

The Dark Knight

94%

94%

The Dark Knight

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Dark Knight

Fantastic Four

27%

45%

Fantastic Four

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Fantastic Four

Batman Forever

39%

33%

Batman Forever

Watchlist

Spider-Man 2

93%

82%

Spider-Man 2

Watchlist

Spider-Man 3

63%

51%

Spider-Man 3

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Best Superhero Movie of Each Year Since 1998

Batman Vs. Iron Man: Who’s the Ultimate Billionaire, Playboy, Superhero?

New on Netflix in September 2019: New Movies, TV Shows, Netflix Original Series

Batman Begins: Trailer 1

2:19

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A young Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels to the Far East, where he's trained in the martial arts by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows. When Ducard reveals the League's true purpose -- the complete destruction of Gotham City -- Wayne returns to Gotham intent on cleaning up the city without resorting to murder. With the help of Alfred (Michael Caine), his loyal butler, and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a tech expert at Wayne Enterprises, Batman is born.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Producer: Larry J. Franco, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas
Screenwriter: David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan, Bob Kane
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: DC Comics, Warner Brothers, Syncopy, Di Bonaventura Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Some Thematic Elements|Disturbing Images|Intense Action Violence)
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 15, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 9, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $206.9M
Runtime: 2h 20m
Sound Mix: SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now