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Batman Begins poster

Movies that feel likeBatman Begins (2005)

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.

If you loved Batman Begins, the closest films we have are Scarface (1983), Lilya 4-ever (2002) and Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008). All three share Batman Begins' contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Iron Monkey (1993).

🍅 85% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Christopher Nolancontemplativegrittykineticmelancholy
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If Batman Begins hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: The Dark Knight (2008) · The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Scarface poster
Scarface
1983 · dir. Brian De Palma
🍅 77%★ 8.3action · crime · dramaNetflix

A city's underworld as an empire with its own laws

The difference: The villain's rise, told without a Batman

After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.

Lilya 4-ever poster
Lilya 4-ever
2002 · dir. Lukas Moodysson
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · crime

The same mix in both: stillness, then grit

The difference: Trades the momentum of Batman Begins for an angle of its own

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father poster
🍅 94%★ 8.5documentary · crimePrime Video

What the loss of a parent does to everyone left behind

The difference: A real documentary, and a devastating one — no catharsis

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

The Celebration poster
The Celebration
1998 · dir. Thomas Vinterberg
🍅 91%★ 8drama

Drama built on melancholy, twice over

The family of a wealthy businessman gather to celebrate his 60th birthday. During the course of the party, his eldest son presents a speech that reveals a devastating secret that turns the night into a battle of truth and denial.

Short Term 12 poster
Short Term 12
2013 · dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
🍅 98%★ 7.9dramaPrime Video

Crime with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.

Iron Monkey poster
Iron Monkey
1993 · dir. Yuen Woo-ping
🍅 91%★ 7.5action · crime · drama

Training, discipline and a masked man the city needs

The difference: Wirework fun — the tone is light, the morals uncomplicated

In this Hong Kong variation of Robin Hood, corrupt officials of a Chinese village are robbed by a masked bandit known as "Iron Monkey", named after a benevolent deity. When all else fails, the Governor forces a traveling physician into finding the bandit.

Death Wish poster
Death Wish
2018 · dir. Eli Roth
🍅 18%★ 6.3action · crime · thriller

Common ground: vigilante

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A mild-mannered father is transformed into a killing machine after his family is torn apart by a violent act.

Léon: The Professional poster
Léon: The Professional
1994 · dir. Luc Besson
🍅 76%★ 8.5crime · drama · action

A trained killer's code colliding with real human attachment

The difference: Intimate hitman fable, no cape or city to save

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Master Z: Ip Man Legacy poster
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy
2018 · dir. Yuen Woo-ping
★ 6.5action · crime · dramaPrime VideoHulu

A defeated fighter rebuilding his life while crime pulls him back

The difference: A modest kung-fu programmer — craft without Nolan's scope

Following his defeat by Master Ip, Cheung Tin Chi tries to make a life with his young son in Hong Kong, waiting tables at a bar that caters to expats. But it's not long before the mix of foreigners, money, and triad leaders draw him once again to the fight.

21 Grams poster
21 Grams
2003 · dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
🍅 80%★ 7.6drama · crime · thriller

Lives shattered by loss, groping for meaning on the far side

The difference: Fractured pure drama — no mask, no mission, no relief

Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together by a terrible accident that changes their lives.

Lethal Weapon 2 poster
Lethal Weapon 2
1989 · dir. Richard Donner
🍅 82%★ 7.3action · thriller · crime

The same preoccupation in both: grief

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Batman Begins does

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.

Elite Squad poster
Elite Squad
2007 · dir. José Padilha
🍅 53%★ 8drama · action · crime

Kinetic action, and it commits to that

In 1997, before the visit of the pope to Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento from BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion) is assigned to eliminate the risks of the drug dealers in a dangerous slum nearby where the pope intends to be lodged.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Batman Begins’ defining feeling.