Batman Begins poster

Batman Begins (2005)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.

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What critics compared Batman Begins to

Director

Christopher Nolan

Critics compare Batman Begins to 3 of Nolan’s own films.

The Dark Knight poster
He's surprisingly passive in the early going, though what's really going on is that Christopher Nolan, the director, franchise-holder (he did "Batman Begins") and writer (along with brother Jonathan Nolan), is giving the Joker plenty of time to establish his bona fides.
Stephen Hunter • The Washington Post • Jul 16, 2008
washingtonpost.com ↗
Nolan has followed up on his gritty and successful Batman Begins with one of the best all-time sequels, and perhaps the most impressive mainstream entertainment experience since 2003's The Return of the King .
But "The Dark Knight," which improves upon the solemn authority Nolan and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne brought to "Batman Begins," has an atmospheric shimmer all its own.
Given THE success of "Batman Begins" three years ago, adventurous, eclectic director Christopher Nolan could have gone anywhere and done anything with his next film.
Kenneth Turan, www.latimes.com, kenneth-turan • Los Angeles Times • Jul 17, 2008
latimes.com ↗
Friday, in dark and unsettling shadings, more so than in his "Batman Begins" predecessor.
It's also, thankfully, a vast improvement over his self-serious origin story, 2005's "Batman Begins."
Fox News Digital • Fox News
foxnews.com ↗
The Odyssey poster
Like Nolan’s Batman films, The Odyssey presents a world that never existed and makes you believe in it with your whole body.
josh • LarsenOnFilm • Jul 15, 2026
larsenonfilm.com ↗
He was attached to the script for Troy in 2004 but left that project to work on Batman Begins.
A.C. Koch • Spectrum Culture • Jul 17, 2026
spectrumculture.com ↗
Nolan had been attached over two decades ago to direct Troy but withdrew from the project to turn his focus to Batman Begins.
Danielle Solzman • Solzy at the Movies • Jul 16, 2026
solzyatthemovies.com ↗
…the filmmaker who once eschewed Ra’s Al Ghul’s immortality-giving Lazarus Pit in Batman Begins…
David Crow • Den of Geek • Jul 15, 2026
denofgeek.com ↗
It’s Nolan reverting to his 2005-era Batman Begins persona, which had the same glaring flaw in combat.
Rendy Jones • Rendy Reviews • Jul 15, 2026
rendyreviews.com ↗
In BATMAN BEGINS, he departed from the sacrosanct work of Bill Finger and Bob Kane to create a largely unrecognizable Ra’s al Ghul.
Jeff York • The Establishing Shot • Jul 16, 2026
theestablishingshot.org ↗
Inception poster
ENLARGE 'The Prestige' (2006) Mr. Nolan's follow-up to 2005's "Batman Begins" reunited him with Caped Crusader-portrayer Christian Bale, as well as Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie, in a tale of rival magicians and lethal tricks.
Nolan has always been prone to making hermetic, self-serious movies, from his 2000 breakthrough film " Memento " to "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight."
Ann Hornaday • The Washington Post • Jul 15, 2010
washingtonpost.com ↗
Inception is written and directed by Christopher Nolan, the man who brought us The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Batman Begins, Insomnia and Memento.
The writer-director who reinvigorated the Batman franchise with “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” gives the summer a needed jolt of intelligence with “Inception,” a riveting and mind-bending thriller that challenges “Memento” as Nolan’s masterpiece.
Sure, we know that Nolan, who directed "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," but also numbers the time-twisting "Memento" among his credits, handles complex subjects and large canvases with relative ease.
The Arizona Republic
azcentral.com ↗
And there’s a fully realized supporting cast — from the ever-sly Joseph Gordon-Levitt, to “Batman Begins” grads Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy, to Ellen Page, thankfully leaving her slangy “Juno” persona behind to play a whip-smart architecture student.
Stephen Whitty | For Inside Jersey, Stephen Whitty, For Inside Jersey, Stephen Vaughan, www.facebook.com, stephen.whitty.film • NJ.com • Jul 16, 2010
nj.com ↗
Director

Jon Favreau

Critics compare Batman Begins to 2 of Favreau’s films.

Iron Man poster
I recall being impressed by how Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins worked so effectively because it took the idea of becoming a superhero seriously, imagining how it might go down if such things were at all realistic.
Chris Wagner • Yahoo! GeoCities
archive.org ↗
This upsets his business partner, Obadiah, who is a combination of Lex Luther and Earle from Batman Begins.
Three Movie Buffs
threemoviebuffs.com ↗
This is one of the great superhero performances, alongside Christian Bale in Batman Begins and Christopher Reeve as Superman.
North Bay Bohemian
newsreview.com ↗
Like Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins," the screenplay works hard to create a psychological basis for its hero and his deeds, and the main character drives the action.
John Serba | jserba@mlive.com, John Serba, jserba@mlive.com, Courtesy Photo, www.facebook.com • MLive • May 2, 2008
mlive.com ↗
Nobody's a bigger fan of Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" than I am, but they don't all need to be Dark Journeys Through Stinky Grimtown.
Despite a brilliant first hour–for a good long while, we’re almost in “Batman Begins” territory–“Iron Man” becomes like some bizarre legend of a Norse god who descended into the flaming pits of the earth’s core, swung his mighty hammer upon a great anvil and forged….a…
Kyle Smith Online
archive.org ↗
Iron Man 2 poster
The anticipation factor is way up on this one, possibly even to the standard set by The Dark Knight (when everyone who didn’t see Batman Begins realized what they’d missed the first time around.)
Grim D. Reaper • MovieCrypt • Feb 12, 2026
moviecrypt.com ↗
Morbius poster
However, he does a great job of showcasing who Morbius is and what his powers are going to be, reminding me of that 2005 film “Batman Begins.”
Henry Pham, www.irishfilmcritic.com, henry-pham • Irish Film Critic • Mar 31, 2022
irishfilmcritic.com ↗
The scene where Michael mingles with the bats feels like a steal from “Batman Begins” when Bruce Wayne, as an adult, rises amongst the winged creatures to confront his own childhood fears.
The Ultimate Rabbit • The Ultimate Rabbit • Mar 31, 2022
theultimaterabbit.com ↗
Eternals poster
Nonlinear storytelling has been used in superhero films such as Batman Begins.
Jonathan Sim • ComingSoon.net • Nov 3, 2021
comingsoon.net ↗
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Director

Sam Mendes

Critics compare Batman Begins to 3 of Mendes’s films.

Skyfall poster
He said that he approached "Batman Begins" more like a Bond flick than a superhero movie, he directly nodded to one of 007's high watermarks in "Inception," and has publicly expressed interest in, at some point, directing one of the films in the franchise.
The movie also felt akin to the previous year's Batman Begins, which like Casino Royale rebooted with a dark origin story that showed how its hero got his start, ditching all the kitsch and starting fresh with a no-nonsense, character-driven approach.
1917 poster
Thanks to cinematography by compositional GOAT Roger Deakins and seamless editing from Lee Smith (Nolan’s right hand from Batman Begins to Dunkirk ), 1917 can’t help but look great.
Nick Rogers • Midwest Film Journal • Jan 7, 2020
midwestfilmjournal.com ↗
Spectre poster
Por outro lado, se considerarmos que a série vinha tentando construir uma atmosfera realista influenciada pelas superproduções pós- Jason Bourne e Batman Begins , a abordagem de Mendes acaba se mostrando relativamente incompatível, chegando a flertar de perto com o ridículo (muitas vezes divertido) da era Roger Moore, que enxergava Blofeld como um vilão deformado sempre acariciando um gato (que, não à toa, gerou o Mr. Evil de Austin Powers ) e cenas como a explosão de Kananga em Com 007 Viva e Deixe Morrer.
CineMÁS Cena
com.br ↗
Doctor Strange poster
Moviegoers pining for an amalgam of two Christopher Nolan films (“Batman Begins” and “Inception”) and two Marvel ones (“Thor” and “ Ant-Man ”) might have an okay time, but those looking for another imaginative freak out in the vein of “ Guardians Of The Galaxy ?”
Like Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne in “Batman Begins,” Dr. Stephen Strange comes by his powers on a pilgrimage to the East.
Sara Stewart • New York Post • Nov 3, 2016
nypost.com ↗
It has the attitude of “Iron Man,” the knockout visuals of “Inception,” the pseudo-mysticism of “The Matrix” and the Eastern philosophies of “Batman Begins.”
Adam Graham, The Detroit News, Adam Graham • The Detroit News • Nov 3, 2016
detroitnews.com ↗
The Amazing Spider-Man poster
Tim Burton’s “Batman” reclaimed the hero from serials and camp TV in 1989; it would be 16 years before Christopher Nolan rethought the Dark Knight for “Batman Begins,” in 2005.
Stephen Whitty | For Inside Jersey, Stephen Whitty, For Inside Jersey, Jaimie Trueblood, www.facebook.com, stephen.whitty.film • NJ.com • Jul 2, 2012
nj.com ↗
“The Amazing Spider-Man” isn’t as dramatically revisionist as Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” but it’s as good as Raimi’s first “Spider-Man” film and darker, while still being tongue-in-cheek.
James Plath • MovieMet
archive.org ↗
Sometimes dull and mostly uninspired, it’s much less a satisfying reboot like “Batman Begins’’ than a pointless rehash in the mode of “Superman Returns.’’
LOU LUMENICK • New York Post • Jun 26, 2012
archive.org ↗
Marc Webb’s attempt to bring a Batman Begins approach to the Marvel Comics character is a clunker.
William Bibbiani • Crave • Jul 3, 2012
archive.org ↗
As much as “The Amazing Spider-Man” tries to mirror Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” by veering away from the comics and trying to base every aspect of Spider-Man and the Lizard’s origins in reality, it’s far too obvious Webb just doesn’t have the skills that come with experience that Nolan had by the time he tackled Batman, and this doesn’t work nearly as well.
Granted, “The Amazing Spider-Man” isn't exactly the radical reboot that Christopher Nolan's “Batman Begins” proved to be, but it’s not that kind of film.
Jason Zingale • Bullz-Eye.com • Jun 4, 2012
bullz-eye.com ↗
Black Panther poster
Visually rich and vibrant, it's a counterpoint to the trendy, grey grittiness that marked numerous superhero and action blockbusters in the wake of 2005's Batman Begins , often sapping stories of their inherent magic.
Craig Takeuchi • Georgia Straight • Feb 16, 2018
straight.com ↗
Michael B. Jordan gives a performance in this movie akin to Heath Ledger’s Joker in Batman Begins.
Tim Cogshell • CineGods • Feb 7, 2018
cinegods.com ↗
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Director

Matthew Vaughn

Critics compare Batman Begins to 2 of Vaughn’s films.

X-Men: First Class poster
“X-Men: First Class” has already drawn numerous comparisons to other films in the Marvel canon but the work that it actually echoes is Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins.”
But inescapably, a reboot was in the works and like Batman Begins proved, prequels are hot properties.
Kick-Ass poster
Respecting audience and source material in equal measure, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight entertained, provoked thought, garnered critical acclaim, and pulled in a fortune at the box office.
Mandy poster
He’s come a long way from playing Thomas Wayne in Batman Begins , and here, the actor bares all (literally) as the cult leader who has so much going on behind his gaze that you understand why people simultaneously follow and love him, but also fear and despise him.
Germain Lussier, Kyle Barr, James Pero • Gizmodo • Sep 13, 2018
gizmodo.com ↗
The supporting cast deserves recognition, also; Riseborough brings an alternately sympathetic and creepily angelic quality to the film, while Linus Roache – best known for playing Bruce Wayne’s father in Batman Begins – is virtually unrecognisable here as the demented cult leader antagonist.
Shaun Munro • Flickering Myth • Sep 11, 2018
flickeringmyth.com ↗
Things take a tragic turn when a religious cult leader Sand Jeremiah (Linus Roache, Batman Begins ) wants Mandy for himself.
Jeffrey Lyles • Lyle's Movie Files • Sep 10, 2018
lylesmoviefiles.com ↗