Batman Begins

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2:19

Batman Begins

PG-13

Released Jun 15, 2005

2h 20m

Action

Fantasy

Adventure

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Popcornmeter

85%

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287 Reviews

94%

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Stella Papamichael

Radio Times

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

Rated: 4/5

Aug 22, 2024

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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

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Pamela

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/18/23

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Michael

Best movie of 2023! Cant wait for the sequel!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/16/23

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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

Audience Member

The quintessential Batman origin story that hits all the marks!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/17/25

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John S

I've been (re)watching all the Batman and Superman films in alternate order. I've been looking forward to starting the Dark Knight Trilogy and Batman Begins is still amazing. I was blown away again. If there's a perfect film, this isn't quite it, but it's so close to perfect it gets a full 5 stars and I won't even mention the only thing that bothered me. I've already forgotten it because everything else about this movie was perfect.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/17/25

Full Review

Audience Member

While at times it felt a little cartoonish and the villains weren’t as developed as I would have preferred, batman’s origin story and character is very fleshed out and explained and his development satisfies. The action was fun and the story was smart. The final villain was truly unexpected as intended, and the performances were dedicated. 8/10

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/10/25

Full Review

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Christopher Nolan

Director

Christian Bale

Bruce Wayne

Michael Caine

Alfred Pennyworth

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Rachel Dawes

Gary Oldman

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Batman Begins: Trailer 1

2:19

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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)

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