WARNING!! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!
When it comes to superheroes, everyone will ALWAYS refer to one of three characters: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Why? These characters are the trinity of superheroes because they were the first in the comics. Even if nobody has read the comics, everybody knows who these characters are. They’ve been in our collective consciousness and pop culture for nearly a century. Superman first showed up in Action Comics #1 in 1938 while Batman would show up a year later in Detective Comics #27. Wonder Woman would see her first appearance in All Star Comics #8 in 1941. Everybody knows that Superman and Wonder Woman are superhuman and have extraordinary abilities, but what about Batman? What separates Batman from nearly all other superheroes that have come and gone over the years is that he’s a regular human being. Over the years, we’ve seen many incarnations of the character. From Adam West’s campy TV show to Tim Burton’s dark revival of the character, Batman has been one of the most popular characters in the media for decades. 1989’s Batman was the first film to really approach the character as the dark figure he truly is, and it’s one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, director Joel Schumaker would inadvertently bring the character to a whole new low with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. The Dark Knight would not get another shot at the big screen until 2005’s Batman Begins. These are the movies that I’m going to be looking at today, starting with…well…Batman Begins.
At this point in time, everybody should know Batman’s origin: Bruce Wayne was a child born into a rich family when he witnessed the murder of his parents by a criminal. When he grew up, he became the vigilante known as the Batman and would instill fear in the hearts of the criminals and the corrupt in the fictional city of Gotham. While some adaptations of the character have glossed over what happened between the murder of Bruce’s parents and when he becomes the Caped Crusader. Batman Begins takes a different approach by actually giving us a look at what happens and the decision that he makes to fight crime. Not only does the film show he frustrated he becomes with the justice system, but it also explores his mentality in fighting crime to the point he’s willing to become a criminal. That is, until he meets Ducard, who offers him a path to what he calls true justice: The League of Shadows, run by the mysterious Ra’s Al Ghul. Bruce Wayne’s training as a ninja provides real insight into how Batman became such an effective fighter. I really like how the film explores why Bruce chose bats as a symbol terrify Gotham’s criminals, and his logic in using that symbol. Batman Begins also goes into detail in how he gets his suit, his gear and the cave. I appreciate Christopher Nolan’s realistic approach to the material. It’s obviously not too realistic, but it’s grounded enough in reality to make it a far more intense experience. Batman’s final confrontation with Ra’s Al Ghul is one of the most thrilling sequences in the film.
While Batman Begins laid the foundation for the movies to come, it was the second film, The Dark Knight, which cemented the character and the story as one of the best ever told. Every hero is only as good as their villain, and the Joker is one of the most infamous villains in Batman’s lineup. In fact, the Joker is basically the polar opposite of what Batman stands for. Batman stands for order and balance while the Joker represents anarchy and chaos. He doesn’t seem like much of a threat at the very beginning of the film, but by the end of the second act he’s as much of a threat if not more so than Ra’s Al Ghul. His methods and his reasoning are those of a complete psychopath who wants to watch the world burn. The Joker’s appearance represents the extreme consequences of Batman’s actions and Batman has to deal with those repercussions even as they hit him on a very personal level. He has to think about how far he would have to go to stop somebody like the Joker. Joker is such a terrifying force of nature that the mob, the police, or even Batman himself don’t even know how to handle him, and the Joker knows it. It would be all for nothing if Heath Ledger wasn’t up for it. There’s a reason why he won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Would the film have been as strong if Heath Ledger hadn’t passed away? Hard to say, and it’s academic at best, but there is no doubt that Heath’s performance as the Joker is the best rendition of the character so far. The film also boasts the most powerful ending in the entire trilogy. It’s an emotionally powerful moment that not only ends the film on a perfect note, but it set up for the next film.
Whenever you have a really strong second film in a trilogy, the third film is almost always going to have problems trying to reach that bar and The Dark Knight Rises is no different. While I feel that Rises is definitely the weakest entry in The Dark Knight Trilogy, it is by no means a weak movie. It’s still a very strong film, and that’s due to the strong writing of Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film takes place 8 years after the events of the second film with Bruce Wayne physically crippled and in seclusion. Commissioner Gordon has doubts about keeping Harvey Dent’s murders secret while a mysterious new villain named Bane has commandeered the League of Shadows and prepares to finish what Ra’s Al Ghul started in the first film. Bane is easily the most physically intimidating villain that Batman has ever come across and Tom Hardy just nails it. Rises takes Bruce Wayne and brings him to his lowest point as Batman, because he’s physically not what he used to be, but he has to fight Bane to save Gotham. Now, the film still has a pretty good story, but there’s a twist in the third act that brings it down a few notches. Bane works as a main villain, but to have him suddenly turned into just another henchmen does a massive disservice to the character. What does work is the addition of Selena Kyle, played to absolute perfection by Anne Hathaway. She’s as lethal as she is beautiful and she’s very well-written. While the third act of the film could have used a little more work, because it seemed like Nolan and Goyer wrote themselves into a corner, and that tends to happen at the end of a trilogy when you run out of ideas. That being said, The Dark Knight Rises is still a fantastic ending to an incredible series of films that rival the likes of the original Star Wars Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings.
The Dark Knight Trilogy is among the finest films that DC and Warner Bros. has ever released. It’s an extremely compelling series of films that takes a more realistic approach to an already dark and tragic character. The action in the films is second to none, especially the second film. There’s no real wire-work in the fight scenes and Batman is more of a bruiser in these films. Say what you will about Batman’s voice in these movies, but Christian Bale’s performance is absolutely amazing. Speaking of performances, there are three other actors that tie the trilogy together: Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Gary Oldman as James Gordon. The acting is some of the best I’ve ever seen. Christian Bale inhabits the character of Bruce Wayne like nobody else. While there isn’t a bad Alfred in any of the movies, Michael Caine’s version of the character is easily my favorite because Mr. Caine really delivers on the father-figure that Alfred needed to be. Gary Oldman plays a truly good character in these movies. Gary Oldman has always been a chameleon. He disappears into every role that he takes on. Morgan Freeman is….Morgan Freeman. He can do no wrong. He played God for crying out loud, do I need to say more? Even supporting actors like Aaron Eckhart are absolutely fantastic.
What makes The Dark Knight Trilogy so interesting is that it is so thematically rich. The level of symbolism on display here is extraordinary. Bruce Wayne brought up in the third film that not only was the mask important for protecting the people you care about, but also to show that anybody could be Batman. That is and always has been the purpose of Batman. There have been a lot of different characters that have worn the cowl over the years in the comics. Even Superman himself wore the cowl when Bruce couldn’t. You can’t tell me that you never wished to be able to dress up as someone like Batman and dish out punishment to the corrupt elements of society, especially when you see that the system doesn’t always work. Harvey Dent said in the second film that the night is always darkest before the dawn. Batman, to me, is a reminder that even in our darkest moments that there is always hope. The reason for the existence of some of these characters like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman is to show that we can be better and that we can do better. They were meant to inspire. The Dark Knight Trilogy, in my opinion, is the ultimate expression of that. Do these movie still hold up 7 years of the trilogy’s conclusion? Very much so. In fact, I would argue that these movies are relevant NOW more than ever.