Batman Begins
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: June 15, 2005
8.3
USER SCORE
Universal acclaim based on 2874 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
2,594
Mixed:
111
Negative:
169
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
5
JeffJAug 31, 2005
I neither loved nor hated this movie -- it was just -eh-. It was well made, and true to the original text (for what that's worth), but it just didn't exite me. It needed more "sparkle", more humor, better pacing, something. If I neither loved nor hated this movie -- it was just -eh-. It was well made, and true to the original text (for what that's worth), but it just didn't exite me. It needed more "sparkle", more humor, better pacing, something. If you're a big Batman fan, go see it. If you just want to see an entertaining action movie, save your money.… Expand
5 of 20 users found this helpful
4
JohnROct 22, 2005
Crap. If you are older than about 18, avoid this movie. I went to this movie based on many good reviews I heard. I can only come to the conclusion that Americans are getting stupider by the year. This movie was no better than any other Crap. If you are older than about 18, avoid this movie. I went to this movie based on many good reviews I heard. I can only come to the conclusion that Americans are getting stupider by the year. This movie was no better than any other crappy super hero movie ever made (and why do we continue to make such crap anyway).… Expand
0 of 3 users found this helpful
6
DanielCAug 16, 2008
Batman Begins is a good movie. The way the movie tells of Bruce Wayne's past and how eventually became the dark knight, is told very well. The problem is that the movie is too long and overly dramatic. The dramatic music never stops Batman Begins is a good movie. The way the movie tells of Bruce Wayne's past and how eventually became the dark knight, is told very well. The problem is that the movie is too long and overly dramatic. The dramatic music never stops playing in the background. Even if its a simple conversation between two characters. And the dialog tries to be too fancy. The movie also has no real villain. Scarecrow is in the movie for only a little bit, and makes a lame exit. Batman Begins also suffers from lack of humor and also a bit of stiff personality. So while the movie does a good job of showing you Wayne's past, and has a few good action scenes, it's overall pretty messy and too long for its own good.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful
4
jefff.Oct 27, 2005
Not even as good as the campy series that came before it. The batmobile looks like a rolling box. The costumes are poor.There is no real villan in it.It looks all dark and gloomy. And it is way to long.
0 of 1 users found this helpful
5
jwt7000Jul 10, 2013
The beginning of Batman winds up the right story and main idea of how Bruce Wayne became Batman. But the boring drama scenes and all the good action at the end did not sum up enough to be a very good movie.
0 of 2 users found this helpful02
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4
EssenceOfSugarAug 21, 2012
Considering this was directed by Christopher Nolan, I thought this was going to be good. This should start of the trilogy in a good way, I thought. Then I watched it and thought, damn, this is stupid. The dialogue is mostly inane and the filmConsidering this was directed by Christopher Nolan, I thought this was going to be good. This should start of the trilogy in a good way, I thought. Then I watched it and thought, damn, this is stupid. The dialogue is mostly inane and the film blows itself into epic proportions of action and fighting nearly halfway through. The villain is ridiculous and looks like he was meant to scare kids than be properly chilling to older people. The back story develops into this? Even Christian Bale and Liam Neeson were only mildly entertaining.… Expand
0 of 2 users found this helpful02
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6
Rox22Apr 7, 2013
I honestly did not think much of this movie. While I did like Nolan's approach, I also felt it was just another origin story. A bland one at that. The Villains are just very flat and Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul is really only an evil versionI honestly did not think much of this movie. While I did like Nolan's approach, I also felt it was just another origin story. A bland one at that. The Villains are just very flat and Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul is really only an evil version of Qui-Gon Jinn from the Phantom menace. Cillian Murphy does a decent enough job as a young Scarecrow, but the writing really does very little for such an iconic Batman villain.

Overall:

Batman Begins may serve as a "realistic" Batman origin story, but that for me takes something away from the character. An OK movie that is well made, but for me, fails to capture the essence of the comics.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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6
python2000Aug 16, 2013
Not as good as the other 2 Dark Knight movies. Cillian Murphy is a brilliant scarecrow, Katie Holmes is amazingly cheesy as Rachel Dawes, Christian Bale is a decent Bruce Wayne but a terrible Batman. Batman Begins is a below average filmNot as good as the other 2 Dark Knight movies. Cillian Murphy is a brilliant scarecrow, Katie Holmes is amazingly cheesy as Rachel Dawes, Christian Bale is a decent Bruce Wayne but a terrible Batman. Batman Begins is a below average film with good FX, decent acting, weak plot and a brilliant villain.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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6
ExKingMay 31, 2013
batman begins start off very lame and almost unwatchable i understand that Nolan was trying to build a story but even the process should be entertaining there are some technical mistakes that is unfortunately unforgiven such as the lamebatman begins start off very lame and almost unwatchable i understand that Nolan was trying to build a story but even the process should be entertaining there are some technical mistakes that is unfortunately unforgiven such as the lame ninja techniques and out of place performances by Liam Neeson and Ken Watanabe and that was just for the first 30 minutes.
but then the story begin to improve when the character has been build everything start to change some great scenes great actions great morals and fantastic soundtracks as usual in all nolan movies but at some parts the story is weak for example,
are you trying to convince me that the league of shadows destroyed Roma and London and then they destroyed Gotham economically i mean they are bunch of ninja what kinda sense does that make but then again people are lost with the actions and never realize that the story through out the movie is lame and by saying that i didn't mean that the movie is bad it had it's good time and bad ones.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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5
samin777Oct 9, 2017
it is an excellent movie. in the movie it has got some bits of swearing in it. you will be excited when you watch the film. it has got loads of action in it. batman does most of the action in the film. i would recommend you watch this film.
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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6
Sosmooth1982Dec 10, 2022
It was a nice change to see for a batman series of movies that were going down hill. This movie was ok but at least it's not as bad as the ones that were being made before this.
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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4
PazmetaJun 16, 2023
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So overated and Christian bales voice as batch is an absolute joke I can barely understand at word.… Expand
0 of 2 users found this helpful02
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6
PatrickD.Sep 15, 2005
A comic book movie, ruined by the lack of action and excitiment, replaced by total boredom.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
SamS.Oct 20, 2005
Good, but no match for the two Burton films. To be honest I don't really see why everyone likes it so much, Gothem looks like any other big city, the villens were un-intesesting, and the music was TERRIBLE (give me the Elfman score any Good, but no match for the two Burton films. To be honest I don't really see why everyone likes it so much, Gothem looks like any other big city, the villens were un-intesesting, and the music was TERRIBLE (give me the Elfman score any day). What's worse is that by revealing how Bruce was trained and whare "he gets those wonderfull toys" it takes away the sence of mystery which added so much to the Burton films.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
kharaghOct 23, 2005
Not THAT good !!The story wasn't wery good and the movie wasn't very entertaining.Overall one not very good movie.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
axelkochJul 23, 2012
Heavily overrated movie. Right, it's also fun for sci-fi-haters but all in all, it's just another superhero movie. Cool visual effects which don't overcome the story, average cinematography and soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and James NewtonHeavily overrated movie. Right, it's also fun for sci-fi-haters but all in all, it's just another superhero movie. Cool visual effects which don't overcome the story, average cinematography and soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard who's getting too dreary with time. But the biggest drawback in the movie are the actors. None of them is authentic enough to make the film better and that's sad, because it could've been a very good movie with better actors. Not only main actor Christian Bale but also Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are disappointing. And to my mind, the next bad thing with the movie is the ending. I didn't expect something like this at all. It seems like it was written in a quarter of an hour or something.
I liked the movie, but I just expected it to be far better. The thing that's missing is a psychopathic villain like Joker in 'The Dark Knight'. 'Batman Begins' shows the beginning of Batman in a good and enjoying way and also if it's sometimes disappointing it's far away from being bad.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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4
oDjentoJan 4, 2015
I found this movie pretty boring really, sure it sets up the origin of batman for the next film to come but it seemed quite slow, with no real grit and some meh performances with Chrisrian Bale being good as Batman at least though. The actionI found this movie pretty boring really, sure it sets up the origin of batman for the next film to come but it seemed quite slow, with no real grit and some meh performances with Chrisrian Bale being good as Batman at least though. The action sequences weren't that great and there wasn't any real fun to be found in the film. It's watchable and worth seeing to see the dark knight trilogy, but the worst in the trilogy still.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
JarradGhentJun 26, 2014
I believe the themes and ideas were good. It was basically the CPR for Batman. But the villains, action and structure brings the movie down to mediocre.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
YellowKirbyMar 25, 2016
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 'Batman Begins' is a good start to a (mostly) great trilogy of movies, even if Batman doesn't actually come in until a bit later on in the movie.

The Scarecrow isn't a very satisfying villain, and neither is Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul, and the beginning seems more like a ninja movie than a crime/drama film.

But all that aside, 'Batman Begins' is fun and enjoyable, even if it doesn't at all reach the heights of its sequel.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
BroyaxJan 5, 2017
Tout est dans le titre, le bon vieux Batmou (re)commence... Sous l'impulsion de Christopher Nolan, il est remis à l'heure et au goût du jour, redémarré, "rebooté" comme une vieille bécane récalcitrante qui ne donnait plus satisfaction. Il estTout est dans le titre, le bon vieux Batmou (re)commence... Sous l'impulsion de Christopher Nolan, il est remis à l'heure et au goût du jour, redémarré, "rebooté" comme une vieille bécane récalcitrante qui ne donnait plus satisfaction. Il est "upgradé" également, plus spectaculaire que jamais et nous abreuve d'explosions et de combats... délayés dans beaucoup de parlote tantôt insipide, tantot ridicule et une histoire assez abracadabrante.

Pour autant, le choix de Christian Bale est fort judicieux et on a pas lésiné sur la qualité de la distribution, des stars, en veux-tu, en voilà, on ne sait plus où donner de la tête ! on en est bien évidemment ravi.

Comme il a été fait table rase des précédents épisodes, le film s'emploie à expliquer les origines de l'homme-chauve-souris et sa "psychologie" avec un souci de "réalisme" (entre guillemets quand même tout cela...) étonnant mais qui rallonge encore un film déjà trop long, car après tout, est-ce bien nécessaire de s'apesantir ainsi sur l'évolution du monte-en-l'air habillé de plastique qui se fabrique au fur et à mesure sa petite panoplie de super-héros ? je ne le crois pas.

Si Batman Begins sait se donner en spectacle, si les stars sont là, la réalisation typique de Nolan -pas mauvaise en soi, entendons-nous bien- est d'un grand désagrément à chaque combat, à chaque intervention du justicier : le cadrage est souvent zoomé, la caméra agitée et le montage surdécoupé à outrance ! une souffrance de voir cela, je vous le dis.

Je ne suis donc pas convaincu, pas totalement déçu non plus... mais que de regrets, car avec une durée plus raisonnable, une histoire moins ampoulée et un montage moins épileptogène, on tenait en somme dans ce "reboot" quelque chose d'intéressant.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
BrunoVn00Jul 25, 2020
I know, I know, I know why people like this, but this is kind of a mixed bag for me. Now, this is an example of how you take a comic book character and make it "gritty" and "realistic", but I hesitate to use the word "realistic", I think theI know, I know, I know why people like this, but this is kind of a mixed bag for me. Now, this is an example of how you take a comic book character and make it "gritty" and "realistic", but I hesitate to use the word "realistic", I think the better word is "less campy" or "less cheesy", because there are still some fantastic elements like the gas or just the idea of someone dressed up as a bat fighting crime. The character of Bruce Wayne is definitely the best part. This movie finally made Bruce Wayne into an actual, interesting character, and Christian Bale is still the best Batman. I didn't care for Rachel and the rest of the characters didn't have much to do in the story. The villain is pretty ridiculous and his plan is confusing. I like Scarecrow a lot, tho, and some of his scenes are just great. As a superhero movie, this didn't really work for me, as the action is so terribly edited that sometimes it becomes incomprehensible. I know superhero movies don't have to just be action, but it's one of the elements you expect from a movie like that and I didn't get that here. As a crime drama, it doesn't really work either(? If you don't know anything about Batman or if you're not a big fan of the character, all you have left is some average drama about letting go of your fears that really doesn't make much sense since the villains' plans are so ridiculous.

Overall, it's decent, but The Dark Knight outshines it by far.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
clem666Apr 9, 2022
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. We have a major piece in super-hero movies here. Certainly impressive. Bale delivers an amazing performance all along, managing to match scenes of vanity and scenes of humility. But his presence seems almost nothing compared to those of Michael Caine (playing as the moving Alfred), Cillian Murphy (as the unavoidable Scarerow), Gary Oldman (as James Gordon) or Morgan Freeman (as the clever Lucius Fox). There are all great names who did bring their strenght into this movie.

The atmosphere is gorgeous as, for the first time on screen, we do find this dark and clouded Gotham, city of uncountable crimes. Lighting is great, special effects are terrific, architectural structures are amazing. The soundtrack is nothing less than iconic. The movie allows itself to evolve in several varied environments. Choregraphies are awesome. Breathtaking stunts. It was a pleasure to see that being Batman also requires sacrifices and constant challenges. Nolan proposes a new vision of Batman's genesis and first steps.

Unfortunately I don't get this artistic choice. At several times it felt like I was watching a silly kung-fu movie, especially when Bruce starts his training in the mountains with Ducarn. It just follows the unoriginal classic schema of the evolving rookie trying to defeat his master. I can't get why Bruce had to make such a journey just in order to learn how to fight and have muscles... Plus when he come back to Gotham, the major things he does are to search crimes scenes, driving cars and using technic gadgets. What does it have to do with fistfighting ? I found the batsuit was just barely okay. Action scenes are way too over-cut: it is often hard to understand what happens on screen.

You'll surely understand that I was disappointed by Liam Neeson (playing as Henry Ducarn) and Ken Watanabe (as Ra's Al Ghul). These two characters could have been way more, and way more original ! Katie Holmes was also a questionable choice in my opinion. I felt like she didn't belong there.

There is no major reason not to watch 'Batman Begins', mainly if you like to pay attention to details, or if you like interesting acting or dark universes. But to me it was too much to take under the Batman label.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
DawdlingPoetNov 27, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is an action drama film, based on the DC comics characters. The main themes covered are justice, morality and determination to help those who can't help themselves.

It is a relatively dark film, both in terms of it being quite serious and slightly sinister in tone (conveyed by the instrumental pieces played) and also, at times, in terms of the physical lighting. It is, of course, live action and so particularly young kids may find it a bit boring, as it is relatively dialogue heavy, although there are some fast and exciting action scenes but there's also a decent amount of emphasis on character background/development (mostly the main character, Bruce Wayne). I definitely felt that this film did well in putting across a chilly sense that something big was going to happen sometime soon-ish. I would say that its perhaps mildly frightening but I don't think thats the best term to use - all I can think to say is that I was intrigued to keep watching, as it felt like there was a mysterious element, the impending doom style musical score and the way the plot slowly played out made me feel like I wanted to see how things would work out and learn why things are as they are.

I suppose you could argue that the film is perhaps a bit 'high and mighty' and that it covers the age old theme of wanting to right wrongs and so on but for the most part that didn't bother me. The main character, while clearly fictional, is someone who I'd like to think most people could relate to, to one extent or another. I felt that the script was pretty decent - there is some fairly witty dialogue present and while the plot pace is relatively slow, certainly to start with, there were some surprising turn of events which left me, if anything, more keen to keep watching and see what the final outcome would be. I can't honestly say I'm a massive fan of comic book adaptations as such, some I really don't like but I've seen a few and I've liked one or two - the Dark Knight films being among them.

Cast wise, Christian Bale plays the main character, Bruce Wayne. He comes across as quite mysterious (unsurprisingly), quite strong willed and with a steely determination. He seemed pretty believable, that is apart from the whole super power side of things of course! plot aside, I felt he did well in the role, bringing the character to life and not seeming too much of a caricature, as other actors may have done. This film has a great cast including many other well regarded actors, including Michael Caine as the butlet, Alfred, Liam Neeson as Ducard, who helps to train Bruce, Katie Holmes who plays his girlfriend Rachel Dawes, Gary Oldman who plays Jim Gordon and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crange. Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkinson and Rutger Hauer also make appearances. The cast list certainly helped raise my interest enough to want to watch the film in the first place and all in all it lived up to my expectations.

Content wise, this film contains some instances of strong language, mild to moderate violence (including fistfights and comic violence) plus drug references and in general it has a sinister and dark feel to it, which may disturb or otherwise frighten very young viewers. The film carries a 12 rating to reflect this.

Yes I would recommend this film, as I felt it featured a good cast, good character development, it was quite engrossing and the plot wasn't especially predictable I suppose. It could be argued that its a little preachy but then thats pretty much to be expected and I didn't feel it by any means ruined the film for me, with the only other obvious criticism being that its a bit dialogue heavy and a little slow, pace wise, certainly for the first half of the film but for the most part its worth a watch and so I'd encourage you to stick with it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
Tez555Jul 4, 2020
I was always amazed at how good the reviews for this were. I know my parents enjoyed it when we saw it at the cinema, but I thought it was average at best and upon re-watching it (me & the wife are re-watching all the batman's) I thought itI was always amazed at how good the reviews for this were. I know my parents enjoyed it when we saw it at the cinema, but I thought it was average at best and upon re-watching it (me & the wife are re-watching all the batman's) I thought it was as average as ever, if anything a bit worse. It just felt so long. Now I don't mind a long film, Watchmen for example is amazing, the sequals are longer and both better in my opinion, but this just felt like it went on forever.… Expand
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6
Toasty87Jul 11, 2020
Very slow at the start but after a while I started to enjoy it more and more.
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