In case you wanted to catch up, here are Parts 1 (#9 - 7) and 2 (#6 - 4) of this editorial.
Well folks, we've made it to the final part of this Christopher Nolan editorial to discuss 3 of my all time favorite comic book films. If you were to ask me my favorite superhero/comic book movie of all time I would cheat and say The Dark Knight Trilogy, but considering this is part of a ranked list my thoughts on each film are slightly out of order. Without further ado here are #'s 3-1:
3. BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
To start off one of the best film trilogies of all time in my humble opinion, this film by far features my favorite superhero origin story of all time. It's sequel The Dark Knight gets credit for being the superhero movie seen to take its characters and world more seriously because of how tonally dark and aesthetically grounded it all was, but I thought this film alone did a perfect job of showcasing that style before The Dark Knight ever released. Nolan did such a brilliant job bringing about this neo noir feel to the movie and give us a vision of Batman that not only respected the source material, but gave us a vision that felt fresh and new that viewers had never experienced before. The 1989 Tim Burton directed Batman came close to giving us a dark version of the character and did it well, but still had that fun comic book spirit at heart. With this movie Nolan just escalated that darker element of this world and made it his own.
You have to give credit also to the man who played Batman/Bruce Wayne himself Christian Bale, who's my favorite actor to portray this character, and I feel is very underrated in this movie. He nailed the physicality of the performance and on an emotional level really brought out the conflict and brokenness of the character. For that reason I thought he absolutely knocked it out of the park. I also thought the rest of the casting was spot on with Michael Caine as Alfred, who I'm glad had more weight this time around. Katie Holmes as Rachel was very good, Gary Oldman as Gordon was fantastic and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Crane/Scarecrow was a very entertaining villain as well. I get to others he could be seen as underused, but for the larger than life plan that was ahead I thought he was used appropriately even though with limited screen time. The big baddie in the film however was incredible, but to those who have not seen it I won't spoil it for you, but rest assured you will not be disappointed. All and all this film was as perfect of an origin story as it needed to be for a legendary superhero due to the fact that it was masterfully crafted by a filmmaker who can not only make a great film that captures the source material well, but can also pass as an incredibly well made movie period.
I'll be honest I never really understood the criticisms this film receives and I'll never understand it because to me The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most misunderstood films I've ever seen in my entire life. In my personal opinion this movie was everything I could ever hope for to close out this trilogy and I'd even go as far as to say that this was my generation's Return of the Jedi and Return of the King. One of the reasons why I felt this film succeeded to close out this story was that like in the previous two films these movies really had an understanding of Bruce Wayne as a person.
We see hints in the previous two like how fear can become his weakness in Batman Begins and then in The Dark Knight how acts of anarchy broke him to the point where being Batman felt like a curse. This time around with the villain of Bane we see that brokenness play out and pushed to the limit because not only does Bane overpower him psychologically, but physically as well. Again, no spoilers, but to see how Bane places Bruce in this position where it seems it's an impossible task to overcome, but it's not until you see how it all pans out in the end. Let's just say it really hits you like a ton of bricks.
2. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
I'll be honest I never really understood the criticisms this film receives and I'll never understand it because to me The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most misunderstood films I've ever seen in my entire life. In my personal opinion this movie was everything I could ever hope for to close out this trilogy and I'd even go as far as to say that this was my generation's Return of the Jedi and Return of the King. One of the reasons why I felt this film succeeded to close out this story was that like in the previous two films these movies really had an understanding of Bruce Wayne as a person.
We see hints in the previous two like how fear can become his weakness in Batman Begins and then in The Dark Knight how acts of anarchy broke him to the point where being Batman felt like a curse. This time around with the villain of Bane we see that brokenness play out and pushed to the limit because not only does Bane overpower him psychologically, but physically as well. Again, no spoilers, but to see how Bane places Bruce in this position where it seems it's an impossible task to overcome, but it's not until you see how it all pans out in the end. Let's just say it really hits you like a ton of bricks.
I spoke about how Bane earlier and the character himself was another one of the strongest aspects about this movie. He was incredibly menacing and intimidating on screen and there was definitely that inspiration of the villainous presence of seeing Darth Vader on screen. I mean sure he wears a mask like Vader, but the physical performance itself was very frightening. Not only was he a great villain in terms of a physical appearance, but even his reasoning for how he wanted to take control of Gotham felt believable. I always have to compliment there being layers behind a villain because it's easy to just have a villain do evil things in a superhero movie and that's it, but the fact that the film took its time to have you understand the motives of this character is so flippin' awesome!
Obviously, there's so much more greatness to talk about right down to the rest of the cast with Joseph Gordon Levitt as John Blake. I thought he was a very strong supporting character and very compelling in this entire movie. Gary Oldman as Gordon is always perfect and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle was also really good and really did a great job encapsulating that mischievous factor. Nolan, of course, also brings his A game when directing this movie because, once again, the film looks beautiful, but with how it's directed and displayed it really evokes all these emotions I wanted it to have. I'm so riveted by this movie every time I watch it and maybe they closed out this Nolan directed series because Warner Bros wanted to focus on the new DC shared universe, but I'm so freaking glad they ended it as great as it could've been this time around. The Dark Knight Rises finishes the 3 act structure of this trilogy strong. Every single element presented to develop and create this movie called for one of the most riveting and emotionally impactful films I've ever experienced.
1. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Well, what about this movie hasn't been said already because The Dark Knight is truly one of the best movies ever made. Other comic book films beforehand did it well, but this film in my opinion does an even better job of having you take this atmosphere seriously as well as the many characters involved. It was another film that transcended this genre and also qualified to be claimed as a great film in the crime genre or action genre. Batman Begins definitely laid out the groundwork well as far as aesthetics for this incarnation of the Batman world, but I'd also say that The Dark Knight took it to the next level. Bruce Wayne is hammered by so much despair and chaos and you get to see the effects it has on him and how depressing it can all be.
I mean it's easy to talk about the Joker who I'll discuss in a bit, but I think how Batman is utilized gets overshadowed by viewers. It almost felt like Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 because of the idea of how these people who are doing heroic duties for good is taking a toll on them and if they keep persisting on being heroes it will psychologically break them. Where they take Batman in the second act of this story, this trilogy, is such a powerful hero arc because literally in the darkest installment of the series Batman is suffering during this massive conflict and it's not until we see Rises how he literally has to rise above being beaten down by the aftermath caused by The Joker.
Finally, speaking of The Joker, this portrayal by the magnificent late Heath Ledger is what also makes this film transcend genre. It understand how to showcase the villain in this grounded atmosphere and gave him purpose for why he's doing what he's doing. No doubt the performance gets under my skin because in the past The Joker's seen as a little more zany and goofy, but the film did such a wonderful job giving us this insane version that felt so believable on screen that it's disturbing in a good way. The rest of the cast also brings there A-game with Maggie Gyllenhaal this time around playing Rachel who I thought did a solid job giving that character weight and another actor who I thought was very underrated is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. His arc was another that was jaw dropping because of how we saw The Joker break him down and soon manipulates him .
As opposed to something like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 where they had to shove so many villains in the movie because they didn't know which one to focus on and set up more movies, The Dark Knight does such a wonderful job of balancing villain characters because it felt self contained in the movie and it made sense for certain events to happen because in some ways it was character driven. Every event fit the story that was being told and it called for a very cohesive film that was so excellent in its execution and still thrills me to this day. There have been films that came close, but until that day comes no other comic film can surpass the greatness had in The Dark Knight. It is one of the best films I've ever seen and is in my top 4 favorite movies of all time. Like I said earlier, I usually count the trilogy as a single favorite, but if you had to make me choose one I think this film's the best made and can stand on its own very well. It is such an important second act in the three act structure of this trilogy.
There you have it! Those are my thoughts on every Christopher Nolan film and I'm so glad he's a director who understands the artistry of what makes movies so great. I don't really like to do ratings for these lists, but I'd say every film is an A+ aside from Following and Interstellar, which I'd both give a B+. Still an amazing filmography!
I'm excited to see what else he's got in store in the future and definitely excited to see what he does with Dunkirk. Review for that will be posted this weekend. For more updates be sure to follow me in the social media links below as well as Parts 1 and 2 of my Nolan editorial in case you wanted to check those out:
Christopher Nolan Ranked! Part 1
Christopher Nolan Ranked! Part 2
Well, what about this movie hasn't been said already because The Dark Knight is truly one of the best movies ever made. Other comic book films beforehand did it well, but this film in my opinion does an even better job of having you take this atmosphere seriously as well as the many characters involved. It was another film that transcended this genre and also qualified to be claimed as a great film in the crime genre or action genre. Batman Begins definitely laid out the groundwork well as far as aesthetics for this incarnation of the Batman world, but I'd also say that The Dark Knight took it to the next level. Bruce Wayne is hammered by so much despair and chaos and you get to see the effects it has on him and how depressing it can all be.
I mean it's easy to talk about the Joker who I'll discuss in a bit, but I think how Batman is utilized gets overshadowed by viewers. It almost felt like Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 because of the idea of how these people who are doing heroic duties for good is taking a toll on them and if they keep persisting on being heroes it will psychologically break them. Where they take Batman in the second act of this story, this trilogy, is such a powerful hero arc because literally in the darkest installment of the series Batman is suffering during this massive conflict and it's not until we see Rises how he literally has to rise above being beaten down by the aftermath caused by The Joker.
Finally, speaking of The Joker, this portrayal by the magnificent late Heath Ledger is what also makes this film transcend genre. It understand how to showcase the villain in this grounded atmosphere and gave him purpose for why he's doing what he's doing. No doubt the performance gets under my skin because in the past The Joker's seen as a little more zany and goofy, but the film did such a wonderful job giving us this insane version that felt so believable on screen that it's disturbing in a good way. The rest of the cast also brings there A-game with Maggie Gyllenhaal this time around playing Rachel who I thought did a solid job giving that character weight and another actor who I thought was very underrated is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. His arc was another that was jaw dropping because of how we saw The Joker break him down and soon manipulates him .
As opposed to something like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 where they had to shove so many villains in the movie because they didn't know which one to focus on and set up more movies, The Dark Knight does such a wonderful job of balancing villain characters because it felt self contained in the movie and it made sense for certain events to happen because in some ways it was character driven. Every event fit the story that was being told and it called for a very cohesive film that was so excellent in its execution and still thrills me to this day. There have been films that came close, but until that day comes no other comic film can surpass the greatness had in The Dark Knight. It is one of the best films I've ever seen and is in my top 4 favorite movies of all time. Like I said earlier, I usually count the trilogy as a single favorite, but if you had to make me choose one I think this film's the best made and can stand on its own very well. It is such an important second act in the three act structure of this trilogy.
There you have it! Those are my thoughts on every Christopher Nolan film and I'm so glad he's a director who understands the artistry of what makes movies so great. I don't really like to do ratings for these lists, but I'd say every film is an A+ aside from Following and Interstellar, which I'd both give a B+. Still an amazing filmography!
I'm excited to see what else he's got in store in the future and definitely excited to see what he does with Dunkirk. Review for that will be posted this weekend. For more updates be sure to follow me in the social media links below as well as Parts 1 and 2 of my Nolan editorial in case you wanted to check those out:
Christopher Nolan Ranked! Part 1
Christopher Nolan Ranked! Part 2
Twitter and Instagram: @alexjcorey
Thank you for taking the time to read this editorial and as always see some movies.
Take care. :-)
Thank you for taking the time to read this editorial and as always see some movies.
Take care. :-)
Comments