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Batman Begins (2005)

By Andrew Stires · April 18, 2011

Screenplay Genre: Action / Crime / Drama

Movie Time: 140 minutes

1. INCITING INCIDENT

After arriving at the temple of Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Wantanabe), Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is attacked by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson). Defeated, Bruce collapses unconscious, and we flashback to an eight year old Bruce accompanying his parents Thomas (Linus Roache) and Martha (Sara Stewart) to the opera. Bruce asks to leave when the actors dressed as bats remind him of the bats that swarmed him when he fell down the well at Wayne Manor. As Bruce and his parents leave the opera and step into the alley, they are confronted by Joe Chill (Richard Brake) who holds them at gunpoint. A brief scuffle ensues, and Chill shoots Thomas and Martha, leaving Bruce alone in the alley to grieve his dead parents. (00:14:30)

2. LOCK IN (End of Act One)

In another flashback, Bruce confronts Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) after Falcone has Joe Chill assassinated at the courthouse thereby thwarting Bruce's plan to kill Chill himself. Falcone brags about his crime empire and has a couple of his goons rough-up Bruce before throwing him into the street. Seemingly defeated and with nothing left to lose, Bruce approaches a homeless man and gives him his coat and money. Bruce then boards a ship leaving Gotham behind to begin his travels around the globe. He is now on his way to eventually becoming Batman. (00:31:00)

3. FIRST CULMINATION (Midpoint)

Wearing the Batman costume for the first time, Bruce confronts Falcone and his drug smuggling gang at the docks, using everything he has learned to pick off Falcones' goons one-by-one before taking the rest of them out in a whirlwind attack. Falcone tries to flee the scene, but Bruce tears through the roof of Falcone's car, pulling him out as Falcone screams, “Who are you?!” Bruce reveals his new identity with a growl, “I'm Batman.” Then, in a nice instance of planting and payoff, Batman sees the homeless man he gave his coat to eight years earlier and quips, “Nice coat.” The legend of The Batman begins. (1:03:16)

4. MAIN CULMINATION (End of Act Two)

After an intense car chase with the Batmobile flying across the rooftops of Gotham, Batman launches into the Batcave and just barely saves Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) who has been gassed with Scarecrow's (Cillian Murphy) hallucinogenic toxin. He gives Rachel a couple vials of antidote created by Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and instructs her to get them to Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), so he can manufacture enough antidote to save the people of Gotham. It is still unclear, though, exactly how the toxin is going to be dispersed in Gotham. (1:38:53)

5. THIRD ACT TWIST

Bruce arrives at his birthday party and while mingling with his guests, a woman offers to introduce him to Ra's Al Ghul. Bruce, believing Ra's dead, turns to see Henri Ducard standing before him. Only then does Bruce realize that Ducard is actually Ra's Al Ghul. The final confrontation between Batman and Ra's begins as Batman must defeat him to save Gotham. (1:43:29)