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Batman Begins

Batman Begins (2005)

tomatometer

85

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 261
Fresh: 222 | Rotten: 39

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

61

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Critic Reviews: 44
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 17

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

audience

90

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 969,838

My Rating

Movie Info

The origins of the Caped Crusader of Gotham City are finally brought to the big screen in this new adaptation of the perennially popular comic-book series. The young Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis) leads a privileged life as the son of wealthy, philanthropist parents, both of whom stress their commitment to improving the lives of the citizens of crime-ridden Gotham City. After his mother and father are murdered by a mugger, however, Wayne grows into an impudent young man (Christian Bale), full of rage

Oct 18, 2005

$205.2M

Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

All Critics (262) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (237) | Rotten (40) | DVD (58)

It's not just the birth of Batman we're seeing in this triumphant interpretation, it's also the dawning of Gotham City's age of greed.

September 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Here's how any great franchise should start: with care, precision and delicately wrought atmosphere.

February 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A nonstarter.

May 12, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comments (16)
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

For all the hype about exploring Batman's damaged psyche, Nolan and Goyer haven't added much beyond a corny opening in which he falls down a well and is attacked by bats.

June 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (12)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

If you love Batman, then Batman Begins will the best Batman movie ever made. On the other hand, if you love Batman movies, Batman Begins may leave you wondering where the Joker went.

June 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | Comments (2)
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Batman Begins is for morons.

June 16, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Observer | Comments (93)
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It may be too scary intense for younger children, but for everyone else Batman Begins is just about the perfect summer movie.

January 7, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | Comment
ComingSoon.net

A moody and visually stimulating superhero film, Batman Begins sees the Dark Knight finally giving the treatment and respect he deserves, in what can only be described as one of the greatest re-vamps given to an enduring character.

July 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | Comment
Matt's Movie Reviews

Drained of its color, the franchise rediscovered its valor, landing the caped crusader his finest motion picture effort to date. And the ending? Oh, that ending.

December 28, 2009 Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | Comment
BrianOrndorf.com

So much is rich with ingenuity and daring that its constant missteps are exceptionally glaring.

September 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Film and Felt | Comment
Film and Felt

They finally got it right. Finally.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment (1)
Cinema Crazed

A blast of energy that reinvents the Dark Knight for a new generation of film-goers.

March 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinefantastique | Comment
Cinefantastique

An impressive cinematic renaissance for DC Comics' Dark Knight, and a blockbuster with more intelligence than most.

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment (1)

Sweeping all questions aside, Batman Begins does rekindle the franchise: it will be commercially possible to remake Batman stories with this persona and this set of psychological principles underpinning a new series of films.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment (1)
Urban Cinefile

There has never yet been a Batman story with quite this kind of psychological trauma. If Ingmar Bergman had ever directed a superhero movie, it would have looked quite a bit like this.

July 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comment
Antagony & Ecstasy

Smart and entertaining, but also very violent.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

...creative, energetic, imaginative, involving, and even a little inspiring. (Blu-ray Edition)

July 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Its edgy tone and dark atmosphere coupled with its comic-book theatrics make it a winning combination for older children and adults alike.

July 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Not only do we see Gotham in the daylight, but Christian Bale may also be the first Bruce Wayne who's more at home crouching in a monastery with his hair in his eyes than attending a dinner party for which he'd have to trim his nails.

June 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | Comment
Paste Magazine

The movie takes such time and care to set up Bruce/Batman that it's a bit of a bummer when it launches into summer-movie overdrive.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Batman Begins

Christopher Nolan had already proved he could do characters and dialogue and in this latest reinvention of the classic comic book character, he proves emphatically that he can do action too. Taking cues from Tim Burton's previous attempt to bring the character back to its dark roots, Nolan's vision is so gritty and

November 5, 2006
garyX
xGary Xx

Super Reviewer

Christopher Nolan proves here that he understands the symbolism and importance of Batman in this reboot of the franchise. His direction and script is amazingly smart, but if one thing's for sure, I just cannot resist smiling at the sight of Gary Oldman driving the batmobile. Christian Bale's charisma, charm and

May 6, 2012
Directors Cat
Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

    1. Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn, to pick ourselves up.
    – Submitted by Dan G (1 day ago)
    1. Alfred Pennyworth: With all do respect sir, why bats?
    2. Batman/Bruce Wayne: Bats frighten me. Its time the world share my dread.
    – Submitted by David N (4 days ago)
    1. Henri Ducard: Anger does not change the fact that your father failed to act.
    2. Batman/Bruce Wayne: The man had a gun!
    3. Henri Ducard: Would that stop you?
    4. Batman/Bruce Wayne: I've had training.
    5. Henri Ducard: Your training is nothing! Will is everything!
    – Submitted by Miguel R (12 days ago)
    1. Henri Ducard: A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they cannot stop you, then you become something else entirely.
    2. Batman/Bruce Wayne: Which is?
    3. Henri Ducard: Legend, Mr. Wayne.
    – Submitted by Miguel R (12 days ago)
    1. Batman/Bruce Wayne: It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.
    – Submitted by Venkatesh S (49 days ago)

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