Christopher Nolandid the impossible with his trilogy ofBatmanfilms, as he managed totell a complete and satisfying superhero storythat both began and ended on its own terms. While bothTim Burton’sBatmanseries andRichard Donner’sSupermanduology were handed off to other filmmakers before they could complete their trilogies, Nolan was able to deliver three successive films, each of which were met with tremendous critical acclaim and became box office juggernauts. Batman has notoriously been a character that has been hard to crack;Joel Schumacher’s films veered too hard into the campy side of the character, andAzck Snyderpresented a cynical outlook that turned Bruce Wayne into a psychopathic murderer. Nolan was able to embrace the freedom of comic book storytelling, yet also told relevant stories that related to the cultural, economic, and political themes of the 21st century.
Nolan’sBatmantrilogy are among the few films that can be consideredto be both “mainstream blockbusters”and “prestige Oscar contenders,”an achievement that has only ever been accomplished byPeter Jackson’s work onThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy andDenis Villenueve’s involvement with the adaptation ofFrank Herbert’s science fiction novelDune. In addition to getting a great score fromHans Zimmerand perfecting the use of IMAX storytelling, Nolan got one of the greatest casts ever assembled for a superhero movie;Christian Baleproved himself to be the greatest Batman in history with his sensitive, emotional portrayal of Bruce Wayne. However,Michael Caine’s Alfred,Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Jim Gordon, andMorgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox also contributed to the franchise’s emotional prowess.
The Dark Knighttrilogy continues to feel like an anomaly in modern Hollywood, assuperhero films have begun to decline in quality.It no longer seems possible that a studio like Warner Brothers would grant creative freedom to a filmmaker like Nolan, who demands control over the story and tone of his work; Nolan has moved on to even bigger and better things, having won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director for his biographical masterpieceOppenheimer. While it’s unlikely Nolan will ever return to the genre,The Dark Knighttrilogy will stand the test of time as the best that the superhero era had to offer. Here is everyThe Dark Knighttrilogy film, ranked from worst to best.
3‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
The Dark Knight Risesis still a pretty great movie, and the fact that it is at the bottom of the list is simply a reflection of how consistently excellent the franchise has been. The film was met with tremendous expectations based on the performance of its predecessor, but instead of makinganother mob-centric crime drama, Nolan crafted a Shakepserean epic that revolved around the battle for the soul of Gotham City. While Bruce believes that Gotham can be good, he is forced to once again believe in what Batman represents to people after he returns to the spotlight for the first time since he took the fall for the crimes committed by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
Tom Hardy gives an amazing performance as Bane,that is both physically imposingand psychologically complex. Bane is an avid follower of the League of Shadows, and aims to both physically and emotionally break Batman beyond the point of repair; while some may argue that his plan is needlessly complicated, Bane’s goal is to watch Gotham City turn itself apart, and not simply to stage a massacre. The scenes with Bruce emerging from the cave are quite powerful, but they mean that Bane takes center stage for a majority of the second act, allowing Nolan to establish his unique physical rhetoric. The only true drawback is the way in which Bane’s backstory is revealed, as his connection with Talia Al’Ghul (Marion Cotillard) is another reveal that simply eats up time within a film that was already almost three hours long.
The Dark Knight Rises
Eight years after the Joker’s reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.
2‘Batman Begins’ (2005)
Batman Beginsdid what noBatmanfilm had ever done before,as it actually provided an origin story about how Brucebecame a superhero.Although it is understandable that filmmakers like Schumacher and Burton were interested in the amazing rogue’s gallery from the original DC comics, Nolan was able to show how Bruce’s childhood trauma shaped him into someone who would use any resources possible to prevent further tragedies from occurring. The training scenes are absolutely electrifying, as they offer a glimpse into how Bruce develops both his identity and his code of ethics.Batman Beginsis not simply a revenge story about a masked vigilante beating the pulp out of criminals that are just in search of safety; it shows how Bruce learns about the irreparable harm of death, and how creating a symbol can bring hope to people who have lost their faith in institutions.
Nolan utilizes a brilliant non-linear structureto tie in various aspects of Bruce’s upbringing, showing how he came todistance himself from the wealthy establishmentof Gotham City and the corrupt opportunists that took control of the Wayne Corporation. Nolan opted to take a more realistic approach to worldbuilding, as he showed how Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphyin a scene-stealing, delightfully evil performance) was able to take advantage of a corrupted healthcare system in order to conduct a criminal conspiracy. Although it takes a good portion of the film until Bruce actually appears in the suit for the first time, his initial encounter with Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) is among the most satisfying moments in comic book history. The only real flaws that can be pointed out inBatman Beginsis that the romance between Bruce and Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) doesn’t work, and feels like a needless tacked on moment to a film that already has many interesting supporting characters.
1‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
The Dark Knightis one of the most important films in modern American film history, and helped to reshape what audiences thought that a superhero story could be. As one of the mostcritical post-9/11 action films,The Dark Knightexamined how escalation leads to increased violence, and how conflicts are destined to be caught up in an endless cycle if both sides refuse to give up their morals. Although its a film that feels closer to aMichael Mannheist thriller than any of the other recent DC adaptations, Nolan outlined a perfect examination of the struggles that Batman was always doomed to face; since he will never kill the Joker (Heath Ledger), he will never fully be able to claim that his job is done. The only thing that continues to mobitate Bruce is that he still has faith that people are inherently good, as evidenced by the nail biting boat explosion sequence.
The Dark Knightwill forever be tied to the legacy of Ledger’s Academy Award winning performance as the Joker, which instantly became one of the most beloved villains in cinematic history. It wasn’t just the fact that Ledger completely transformed himself physically to createa genuinely terrifying, psychopathic character; he was able to craft a complex antagonist whose motivations and backstory were always unclear. Even if the film points to various explanations for how the Joker came to be, what’s compelling is that he feels the need to turn Batman into a hypocrite and tear down any sense of hope that Gotham City can cling on to. At the same time, Ledger was able to bring out both the absurdity of an inherently silly character and stoke legitimate concerns about the rise in domestic terrorism. The fall of Dent is equally tragic, as Eckhart shows how easy it can be for good men to be so frustrated by having to play by the rules that they desperately stroke out on their own for the sake of achieving a personal sense of satisfactory justice.
The Dark Knightwas a confrontational piece of political art,as it offered a rebuke of both the idealism of the Bush administration and the totalitarian power held by law enforcement. Although the film has weighty ideas about what America has turned into, it’s also a perfectly calculated action film that succeeded thanks to Nolan’s emphasis on practicality; the truck chase and Batman’s streetside encounter with the Joker are somehow more impressive than any of the CGI-ridden fight scenes inAvengers: Infinity WarorDeadpool & Wolverine. WhetherThe Dark Knightis actually the best film that Nolan has ever made is an entirely different question, as many would point to eitherInceptionorThe Prestigeas the most successful execution of a totally original vision. However,The Dark Knightwas a film so seismic that it caused the Academy Awards to expand its Best Picture ballot, and proved that tentpole films that sold action figures could also invoke important ethical debates. It’s an all-time classic that has only gotten better in recent years.
Batman Begins
KEEP READING:10 James Bond Movies That Are Good, Not Great
