Parents Television Council Reviews

PTC reviews aim to provide you with advance information about an entertainment offering so that you can be the final arbiter of what you and your family see.

Batman Begins
By Kimberly Sielen

Release Date: June 15, 2005
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements.
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Garly Oldman, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe
Genre: Superhero Action/Adventure

Long gone are the days of "BANG!" and "POW!" flashing across your television set during the 1960s Batman show and the neon world of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. In its place is a dark, violent, brooding movie which should not be seen by children under fifteen or those easily frightened.

Batman Begins is the story of Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) return to Gotham after years of self-inflicted exile. As a boy of eight, Bruce witnessed his parents' brutal murders, and then spent much of the next two decades wandering the planet, looking for an escape to his guilt. When the film opens, he is in a Chinese prison and fighting for his life against the other inmates. He is released by a mysterious figure, Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), and Bruce follows him to a remote training center led by Ra's Al-Ghul (Ken Watanabe). It is here Bruce's transformation begins; he picks up important elements of his future alter-ego, like distraction and intimidation. Meanwhile, in Gotham, the city's criminals are being transferred from the jail to a mental hospital by Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), much to the dismay of the assistant DA (and Bruce's childhood love) Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). Also, the once powerful Wayne Enterprises is in the hands of the Richard Earle (Rutger Hauer), a corrupt CEO determined to make the company public. By the time Bruce returns to Gotham, he barely recognizes it. The city and company that his parents had created and loved are in the hands of the greedy and evil. Only with the help of his trusty butler Alfred (a hilarious Michael Caine), the last honest cop, Lieutenant James Gordan (Gary Oldman), and a high-tech scientist, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), is he able to create Batman and save Gotham.

Batman Begins is not for the faint of heart and fully earns its PG-13 rating. It is a truly scary movie that can make the entire theater jump in fear or surprise. The most intense moments are flashbacks involving Bruce falling into a cave full of bats as a child. There are many fight scenes, both with and without weapons, and though many die, the only gore shown is a bloody nose. However, this is not to say that Batman Begins is not graphic. The main plot line involves a drug which permanently paralyzes a person in madness and fear. The audience sees what the drugged victim sees - their worst nightmare. These images are very disturbing - bugs crawl out of the Scarecrow's (Dr. Crane's) mask, and Batman's eyes have a demonic red tint while soaring above the masses.

Though Batman Begins is a very violent film, there is very little offensive language, and virtually no sex. The only sexual innuendo occurs when Bruce Wayne, in an attempt to maintain his public image (at Alfred's urging), ventures back out into society, after his return, with two models who end up playing in a fountain (there is no nudity). The language however, is harsh occasionally, resulting in its PG-13 rating. Overall, parents and guardians should think twice before taking anyone under the age of fifteen to this movie.

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