Batman Begins By Christopher Nolan: Example Essay By An Expert Writer To Follow

Among all the films shot about Batman, there is one that plays a significant role in the famous series, namely Batman Begins by Christopher Nolan. Shot in 2005, the film amazed me both with the intertextual codes and the visual representation. Having watched almost all the films including this DC character, it is safe to say Batman Begins is the best one to me and my favorite one. Objectively speaking, it was not the most successful among others due to the numerous factors but still, there is something in this film that makes it special. The reason might be that it tells the story of Batman from the beginning thus revealing fully the complex and one of the oldest characters in the DC universe.
First of all, none of other films about Batman are able to give such a detailed explanation on how Bruce Wayne’s alter ego appeared and what the reasons for its origin were. I managed to understand the superhero as a regular human being because that is how the story begins – with the young man with the broken heart. I am sure every spectator felt he/she had something in common with Batman as well as I did – whether the traits of the character or the childhood trauma, or the story of life in general. The young audience admires Batman as a symbol of perfection and absolute bravery while the adult one can follow the story full of hardships in which faith, persistence, and strength win over the cruelty and greediness. I am glad I could discover the complexity of life and the human personality reflected in the narration of the story of Batman Begins.
I am fascinated by the non-linear narration Christopher Nolan chose for his film – the flashbacks followed by Bruce Wayne’s adult life made it easier for me to connect the events from the main character’s past with his mature way of thinking before creating the image of Batman. The best example is, of course, his choice of the bat as a symbol – by winning over his strongest fear he had as a child, he befriended it as an adult but decided to choose it as a source of fear for the rest, mostly enemies. The feeling of guilt that he lived with all of his life acted as a poison and prevented him from putting his energy to something that could bring good. And though Batman never mentions in the film that he does not blame himself anymore, his evolution is still obvious and he manages to fight this feeling in order to move on and manage to do something worthy.
The film succeeded in conveying the evolution of Batman – I enjoyed watching his fighting skills improve as well as his costume become more and more upgraded and free from damages. The passion Bruce was projecting each detail of his costume made me believe that his superpowers based on the accurateness and perfectionism together with the high technologies made him a superhero without having any unnatural power. This fact makes him stand out of the other superheroes in the DC universe – such character seems very interesting to me. The director’s aim to show the evolution of the character was successfully reached.
I like the film’s objectiveness about the good and the bad. It seems to me Christopher Nolan successfully demonstrated the symbols of the evil and justice. To me, Batman has an absolute feeling of the right and the wrong, and his strong personality never lets him give up and give way to the wrong. The best example in the movie is the scene anticipating Wayne’s fighting over the League of Shadows and escaping – when Bruce needed to behead the thief, I had a controversial feeling and was not sure what he would choose to do. It seemed right that the thief needs to be punished but was it right for Wayne to do that? Was it the best choice of punishment? And while I felt uncomfortable he did the right thing – he attacked the person who ordered him to commit murder as an act of justice. At this point, I appreciated Bruce Wayne’s nobleness.
As for the visual representation of Batman Begins, I enjoyed each and every scene. In spite of the fact that the film was shot ten years ago while today, the technologies have immensely changed, the film is still a pleasure for the contemporary audience. Batman’s costume together with the car might be not as impressive as the ones in the latest films but the cinematographic devices used by Nolan cannot be underappreciated. The shots with the huge landscapes with the tiny figure of the future superhero seem to hint at his insignificance and weakness in the face of the universe. When the broken person transforms into Batman Nolan chooses to show the character’s power by putting him at the top of the highest buildings where Gotham Сity lies underneath him. Though not all the spectators are able to notice such approach of depicting the state of the character, Nolan provides the strong association and the inner feeling of identification of the character’s nature.
The depicting of Gotham City seemed very authentic to me – it is impossible not to believe that the city is rotten and it needs the inspiration and the hero. Being a big fan of films noir, I noticed that some of the elements are borrowed from the latter genre – rain, dark streets, and danger chasing a fragile young woman who is finally saved by the fearless man. Whether the authors were inspired by the films noir or not, I feel that these elements contribute to the film’s visual attractiveness.
The secondary characters impressed me much. Alfred might be the favorite of all the spectators, not only mine. His irony and kindness perfectly fits for Bruce Wayne’s best and most faithful friend. I was truly touched in the scene where he says that he will never doubt in Bruce in spite of the fact that at this moment, the family mansion was burning before being completely destroyed. These words testify of the authentic pure feelings and I thought that a person must be lucky to have someone like Alfred beside him/her. Alfred is a generous and wise man who can be fairly considered one of my favorite secondary characters not only in the films about Batman but all the cinematography as well.
There was one weakness in the film that truly irritated me but it was not significant due to a comparatively small number of scenes with it. The flaw of the picture is the lack of any chemistry between Bruce and Rachel. Was it the fault of the actors or the director who failed to show their affection but I could not believe they had strong feelings for each other. Rachel looked more like a friend Bruce spent some time with in childhood but it seems like now, they have nothing in common. I paid attention to the way they looked at each other and their gestures but only caught myself thinking that Katy Holmes irritated me and it was not her role. While Christian Bale has the charisma necessary for the character of Batman, Katy Holmes seems to lack the loveliness of the girl Batman was charmed with.
Batman Begins was an enjoyable two hours experience and I consider it as a must-see for all the cinema lovers as well as the comic books fans. I would gladly watch it again to remind myself of how it all happened because during the course of events, it is always interesting to get back to the beginning when Batman did not exist and Bruce Wayne was a crying boy standing helplessly near the dead bodies of his parents. Some scenes made me cry and some made me reflect on after the film was over – this testifies of the deep meaning the director managed to provide for his work of art.