Batman adaptations have been camp, cheesy, flat-out ludicrous and strange, but Christopher Nolan took the franchise in a darker, edgier, in some ways I think more loyal direction. Aspects of the comics (of which I am IN NO WAY an expert) are camp as Christmas, certainly, but I can remember being genuinely frightenend by some of the images I saw in them when I was a kid. Anyway, I recently re-watched the first couple of films, in preparation for watching the new release, and thought I'd do a Mega-Post for the trilogy.
Batman Begins - IMDb and TV Tropes
I think I was basically a child the last time I watched this, so it was nice to watch it and actually understand what was happening. I really appreciated the way they took their time with the exposition and back story, rather than having Bruce Wayne become Batman inside ten minutes, so they could get on with the punch-ups and explosions. I also was impressed by the very literal use of actual bats - it was really effective, and gave them opportunities for some truly cracking Batman-descending-through-a-swarm-of-bats shots. I love a good snarky comment, and both Alfred and Lucius Fox are golden for them - in fact, I love everything about those two characters. (Fun fact: the little kid who pops up now and again throughout the film, is actually Joffrey from Game of Thrones, looking astonishingly cute and adorable for such an evil little shit.)The only thing that kind of annoyed me was the confusing, non-liner narrative at the beginning - which jumped all over the place more than it really needed to. Also, the totally illogical sequence wherein Bruce Wayne refuses to execute a murderer, but in order to avoid it blows up a mansion full of ninjas - a little moronic.
****
The Dark Knight - IMDb and TV Tropes
It's going to be hard to not turn this into a drooly, adoring speech about the Joker, so I'll just say I think that character is one of the most extraordinary, genuinely frightening villains ever created, and the bar has been set very high by previous adaptations - but The Dark Knight still wins. I've got a slightly sick interest in moral dilemmas within stories, but they only work when they're done well - but The Dark Knight takes the whole Sadistic Choice thing to a whole new level. The pacemaking in this film is superb - it's really one-part superhero movie, and four-parts thriller - I've never known another film take you along for the ride the way this does. Also, someone among the collective screenwriters has some sort of doctorate in Epic Lines - the "Some men just want to watch the world burn" anecdote is inspired. I have now literally spent about twenty minutes trying to think of something I didn't like about this film, but all I've got is Batman's voice. It's a little bit panto.
*****
The Dark Knight Rises - IMDb and TV Tropes
I think I've decided that this film was my least favourite of the three, but I still thought it was excellent. I particularly appreciated that they took their time bringing Batman back - unlike the standard Superhero Sequel, wherein the hero has one Profound Encounter and whips the mask back out in the first five minutes, it takes ages for Bruce Wayne to turn back into Batman. As an extension of that, I was also pleasantly surprised that they went for realism over Hollywoodism in Batman's first fight scene - he doesn't just get beaten, he gets annihilated in a straight punch-up; no explosions or gadgetry, he just gets the crap kicked out of him because he's simply not as good as he used to be. The intricacy of the plot was very clever - much more reminiscent of what made Inception so brilliant; so confusing it's genius. That said, though Batman's voice has always been annoying, this time it was easily outdone by Bane - it was like Sean Connery in a Darth Vader mask. There were fewer laughs in this film too - I mean, the laughs in The Dark Knight were mainly slightly-horrified, but this film was taking itself too seriously. I also thought the middle section went on for way too long, and was (and I am aware of the irony as I say this) a bit too far-fetched.
****
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