The Dark Knight Trilogy Retrospective

The Dark Knight Trilogy is a game changing series of superhero films that redefined the genre for years to come. The fact that Warner Bros. allowed Christopher Nolan to tell the story he wanted to tell through these three movies showed the confidence they had in him. These films are kind of an enigma, they raised the bar where audiences could walk out of a superhero movie and say that it was a great film, instead of just saying, that it was a great comic book movie.

Batman Begins

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When Batman Begins came out, the whole idea of rebooting a franchise with a new cast and whole new creative approach was unheard of. Although, after the critical and commercial failure of Batman & Robin, a reboot is just what the franchise needed.

Christopher Nolan, who at the time was known for films such as Memento and Insomnia, was brought on to direct with an all-star cast that includes, Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Liam Neeson as Ra's al Ghul, Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow, and Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes to name a few.

The film tells Batman's origin story for the first time in live action and they pretty much did everything right. Christian Bale gives his best performance in the trilogy, he nailed the duality of both Bruce Wayne and Batman. He understood that you couldn't give a normal performance when you put on the cowl.

The film also did a great job at showing the partnership between Batman and James Gordon from the comics. The only real departure from the books is Henri Ducard played by Liam Neeson being the real Ra's al Ghul while the Ra's al Ghul played by Ken Wattanabe is just a decoy. In the books, they are two different people, Durcard is a French man and Ra's al Ghul is Arabic. But it worked for the ninja angle they were going with and since they left out the mystical Lazarus Pit stuff, it doesn't matter.

Batman Begins is everything you want in a Batman film and it's a great start to what would end up being an awesome trilogy.

SCORE: 5/5

The Dark Knight

What else is there to say about The Dark Knight that hasn't been said already? The opening scene with the bank robbery where Joker's goons are taken out and the only one left standing is the Joker was an excellent introduction to the character. Heath Ledger (R.I.P.) was the Joker pulled from the comics and put into this film.

They nailed an interested detail about Joker where he gives multiple versions of his backstory and how he got his scars as well as him not being in it for the money, he just wants to watch the world burn.

The crime fighting trinity of Batman, Gordon, and Harvey Dent was very reminiscent of The Long Halloween. The films an interesting detail right about Bruce Wayne where he doesn't like being Batman and beating up criminals but he feels like he must so he could work towards making Gotham a better place that won't need Batman. Harvey Dent was Batman's answer to hanging up the cowl and since Joker broke Harvey and turned him into Two-Face showed an interesting callback to Batman Begins where men can easily be corrupted but an ideal cannot, Batman is an ideal.

The only change in the cast was Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, and she gives a much better performance. They take a trope in comic book films where you think the hero will instantly save the damsel in distress because he always does, but they flip it on your head and he failed to save the love interest.

The Dark Knight is a perfect film, it's not only the best superhero film, it is one of the best films ever made period and has a highly memorable villain.

SCORE: 5/5

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises had a lot of hype riding on it during the time of its release, The Dark Knight was very successful so expectations where high. There has been debate on whether or not the film lived up to its hype. The film is flawed but still a very great conclusion to the trilogy.

The opening introduction to Bane really raised the bar and Tom Hardy did a great job playing the character. He made you forget about the portrayal that was in Batman & Robin. While Joker is still the best villain the trilogy, Bane ultimately did what Joker tried to do in The Dark Knight in taken over Gotham. He even won halfway through the film and broke Batman.

The film did a great job at showing where Bruce Wayne and James Gordon were after the events of The Dark Knight, Gordon is struggling with the fact that he had to cover up a lie and praise the man who tried to murder his own son. Bruce is reclusive and his body is completely shot, he is not in his prime when Bane comes into Gotham, so when Bane beats Batman in their first fight and sends Batman to that pit, Bruce has to rebuild himself and become Batman again, it's just awesome to see.

The newcomers also do a great job, Joseph Gordon Levitt as John Blake is essentially a combination of the best elements of both James Gordon and Harvey Dent. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman was definitely a standout as well.

The emotional moments worked well, especially towards the end of the film. The film is flawed though, the Talia al Ghul twist wasn't great, especially the way the film killed her off was so sloppy. That being said, this film is still amazing and a fitting conclusion to the trilogy.

SCORE: 4.5/5