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WithBatman Begins , The Dark Knight , andThe Dark Knight rise , Christopher Nolan gave us perhaps the most determinate on - silver screen portraying of the Caped Crusader . The trilogy take us through Bruce Wayne ’s origin tale and his whole vocation as a superhero , concluding when he felt comfortable hang up the cowl andpassing on the torch of protect Gotham to the next multiplication of heroes , all with a gritty , realistic pure tone exploring what a real - world Batman would attend like . Of of course , those movie were n’t perfect . So , here are 5 Things Christopher Nolan ’s Batman Movies capture Right ( & 5 They Got Wrong ) .
Right: Heath Ledger’s Joker
powerful off the cricket bat , the most obvious instance of something thatThe Dark Knighttrilogy peg isHeath Ledger ’s astounding , Oscar - winning portrayal of the Joker . Inspired by Alex DeLarge , Ledger ’s Joker is disturbing — so disturbing , in fact , that some of his co - stars were really terrified . Until earlier this year , there was no topping Ledger ’s Joker . Joaquin Phoenix ’s solo movie has some fans question that , but while Phoenix was incredible , Arthur Fleck does n’t really feel like the Joker . He ’s more of an original character . In terms of the Joker ’s traditional comic script portrayal as an agent of pandemonium , the quintessential Batman enemy , Ledger is still the gold standard .
Wrong: Convoluted villains’ plans
The villain ’ plans inThe Dark Knighttrilogy are way too complicated . They ’re so complicated that many of the steps are unnecessary . InBatman Begins , Ra ’s al Ghul want to engraft the Scarecrow ’s fear toxin in Gotham ’s water supply and then vaporize the water to get it into the air , but we ’ve see that it already work as a flatulency , so there was no cause to fly it . In the following movies , the honest-to-god cliché of “ getting overtake was all part of the plan ” was used not once , but twice . Andthe S.E.C. understandably would ’ve blocked the bloodline transfersthat Bane forced at gunpoint from going through .
Right: Grounded tone
Batman is n’t an alien who shoots optical maser beams out of his eye and he ca n’t run at superhuman speeds and he does n’t have a mob that allows him to create anything in his imaging . He ’s just a guy ( well , notjusta guy — he ’s a billionaire socialite ) who dresses like a squash racquet and use his hand - to - hand combat skills and advanced gadgets to flap up outlaw . He does n’t fight extraterrestrial invaders or Norse gods or major planet - devouring cosmic overlords . He fights medium , workaday thugs . So , Christopher Nolan had the correct musical theme when he helmedThe Dark Knighttrilogy with a grounded , naturalistic , “ What if Batman was veridical ? ” tone .
Wrong: Mundane romantic interests
The Batman films havealways suffered from stock love interests — Vicki Vale , Chase Meridian , Elle Macpherson etc . — and sadly , Christopher Nolan ’s films are shamed of this too . Rachel Dawes is a muted character because she ’s been wholly designed as a transparency for Bruce ’s own character development , even getting “ fridged ” inThe Dark Knight . The fact that Bruce Wayne sleeps with Talia al Ghul serves only to create a few game holes , and what attracted them to each other is forget unclear . In Batman ’s cinematic history , the most compelling amatory pursuit has been Selina Kyle ( both Michelle Pfeiffer and Anne Hathaway ’s versions ) , but that ’s not enough to save the trilogy .
Right: Social commentary
The deeper messages hidden in Christopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy really resonated with audience . Every major villain represents an ideological threat facing the United States — Ra ’s al Ghul is the face of fascism , the Joker is the facial expression of terrorism , and Bane is the fount of communism ( the 99 % rising up and tip the 1 % ) — and the trilogy as a whole explores the dissolution of social order .
But none of these are the root of the story . in the end , The Dark Knighttrilogy is about striving to do the right affair and making the world a better post however you’re able to , and that ’s somewhat inspiring .
Wrong: Choppy editing in action scenes
Christopher Nolan deserves some credit for grapple audience with a series of superhero motion-picture show in which the action correct pieces are possibly the least significant thing . But the action is still a significant part of the trilogy , and its editing is rather choppy . The cut are too degraded to comprehend what ’s going on . The fight between Bane and Batman ( ending with the former breaking the latter ’s back ) should ’ve been one of the most iconic second in the trilogy — it ’s one of the most iconic moments in the funnies , so it was highly anticipated — butthanks to tongue-tied editing , it ’s totally forgettable .
Right: Depiction of Gotham City
Christopher Nolan made Gotham City feel like a major persona inThe Dark Knighttrilogy . Batman Beginsbuilt up a beautiful aesthetic for the metropolis , establish the stark class water parting and key locations like the headquarters of Wayne Enterprises . Then , Nolan went above and beyond with his portrayal of the metropolis inThe Dark Knight , which was inspired by Michael Mann’sHeatand work as a study of the American city . From this point on , Nolan used Chicago as a shoot location as Gotham ’s more authentic bandstand - in . InThe Dark Knight Rises , Nolan fetch a full - on French Revolution to the street of Gotham .
Wrong: Batman and Bane’s voices
Christian Bale did a howling job of play Bruce Wayne and explore his complicated kinship with the symbol of Batman . But actually diddle Batman in the most aesthetic action sequences basically roil down to the vox , because the suit covers up every vista of the actor besides their backtalk , soall the audience gets is the interpreter .
Bale ’s was so growly , and he mumble so many of his line that it was hard to understand a mess of what he say . The same thing happen withTom Hardy ’s depiction of Bane inThe Dark Knight rise , in which the mask muffled his part .
Right: Batman’s character arc
ThroughoutThe Dark Knighttrilogy , Batman follow a traditional hero ’s journey . Christopher Nolan map out each musical rhythm in the Bat ’s emotional and religious arc absolutely . We fit Bruce Wayne as an orphan , tormented by his parents ’ murder , and he determine to use his fear of squash racquet to transfuse reverence into the criminal underworld of Gotham . At the remainder ofThe Dark Knight , he has to make out to terms with the fact that Batman is n’t Gotham ’s champion , Harvey Dent is , and the Joker turned him into a murderer . To preserve Gotham ’s hope , Batman has to take the fall for the killings . InThe Dark Knight prove , Bruce has to learn to let go of his fears and move on emotionally , eventually hanging up the cowl ( or sacrificing himself , depending on your reading of the end ) .
Wrong: Overstuffing The Dark Knight Rises
While it officiate asa much more solid determination to its story thanSpider - Man 3,The Dark Knight Risessuffers from a few of the same problem , and the principal problem is being overstuffed . LikeSpider - Man 3,The Dark Knight Riseshas too many villains crammed into it ( Bane , Catwoman , Talia al Ghul — even Ra ’s al Ghul and the Scarecrow are jammed into the secret plan ) and far too much tale ( Nolan posed it as a comic book - yttrium take on Charles Dickens’A Tale of Two Cities ) . In reply to press to make the sequel toThe Dark Knighteven big , Nolan may have made it too great . Sometimes , less is more .
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