BATMAN BEGINS

 Our first film watched was Batman Begins. I am a Batman fan so I really enjoyed this film. It's Batman! Who isn't a fan, right?   For this particular film we are looking at structure.  

      Act 1

• Opening Image: Bruce and Rachel playing in the yard of a beautiful mansion. Bruce is a well dressed child growing up in an ideal environment. Bruce falls into a well. Then it switches to Bruce in a dirty prison in mismatched, dirty clothing. He then gets into a fight with several other prisoners in a mud pit. 
• Theme: What is the reason for our film? For Bruce Wayne to become more than a man. To become a legend. 
• Set-up: This refers to a particular act which then later in the film pays off. There are several examples of this in this film.

In the very beginning of the film Bruce and Rachel are fighting to keep an arrowhead. Rachel originally finds it and Bruce wants it. She tells him she found it and 'Finders Keepers'. Bruce tricks her into taking it from her. Later in the film after Bruce returns from his absence, Rachel brings him a gift and it turns out to be the arrowhead with a note that reads, 'Finders Keepers'. Set-up and pay off.                                           

Another example is when Bruce is in the alley after being thrown out of Falcone's  restaurant and he decides to diasppear so he takes the cash out of his wallet and drops it in a fire barrel. He then trades coats with a homeless man. Later in the film as he is dressed as Batman he sees the homeless man again and tells him, 'Nice coat'. Set-up and pay off.                                                                                                          My final example is when Bruce makes the remark to his butler about how if he had his way he would tear down Wayne Mansion brick by brick. At the end of the film as Bruce walks around his burnt down home Rachel asks him what he will do now. Bruce's response is, 'Rebuild it, exactly how it was, brick for brick.'. 

• Catalyst: The catalyst is a life changing moment. In this film it is when Bruce's parents are killed in the alley by the desperate homeless man. His life is forever changed in that moment. 
• Debate: This is when Bruce must decide what he will do next. He can move on with his life and become the man his parents were raising him to be or he let his guilt and anger take over.                                                                                                                    

       Act 2

• B-Story: The B-Story is the other story that helps the theme and main atory along. In Batman Begins this is the story of Falcone and his drugs and his involvment with Dr. Crane and the asylum. Which actually turns out to be part of Raz Algule's plan. 
• Fun & Games: This would be the things shown in the movie trailor. When Bruce is training to become a member of the league of shadows, when Batman takes down Falcone and his men, or when he is driving in his Bat Mobile. Any of these scenes and many more in this film. 
• Mid Point: This refers to when things have reached a high and now start spiraling down. Bruce's relationships start to unravel a bit after he has become Batman and done so much to save Gotham but things aren't working out as well as planned. Which leads us to:
• All is lost and the dark night in of the soul: The bad guys move in and it seems things are going to work out in thier favor. When Raz returns in the film for revenge on Bruce and to finish his plans for Gotham is when things seem to be at a low. Bruce is feeling hopeless and as though he has ruined everything he family has built. There is also another debate period at this time. What does Bruce do now that everything is lost. Will he rise to the challenge or will the bad guys win?                                                      

      Act 3

• Finale: The big ending. Batman, with the help of some good guys, takes down Raz and his men and saves the city of Gotham. 
• Final Image: Bruce is cleaning up what is left of his family mansion and his relationships are better than ever. The bad guys have been taken care of and he can start to rebuild the city and continue his mission to make Gotham a safer city. There is also some setup at the very end when Gordon tells him to look into a criminal called the joker which is the plot for sequel.