THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY- A REVIEW.

         

 

The Characters

                        

 When we come across the term, “ Best Movie Trilogy”, what inevitably pops into our minds will be- Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Trilogy, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, Sergio Leone’s The Man With No Name Trilogy, Park Chan Wook’s The Revenge Trilogy or George Lucas’s  Star Wars Trilogy(The original 3 only, mind you) etc.  etc.

                                     Batman Begins

Begins

Ten years ago, no one in their right minds would’ve thought that a superhero trilogy..... a  Batman franchise ( no, not the cheesy Tim Burton or the disastrous Joel Schumacher films) will have also made it to the list above. Christopher Nolan did the impossible by making the best trilogy to date, of our generation.

The first Batman film of Nolan to grace us was Batman Begins in 2005. When I first heard of this film, I thought it would be just another childish, no brainer superhero film, but how mistaken I was. It was the only Batman film to show us the man behind the mask through a microscope- What drives him? What made him who he is? What made him so strong, both physically & mentally? What does he do when he doesn’t don the Batman attire? Etc. Each one of these questions was answered flawlessly.

 Not only could we sympathise & empathize with Bruce Wayne- a man who had become an orphan due to a very unfortunate circumstance, and who eventually learns the tricks of the trade from a vigilante group called the League of Shadows(who have their own agenda –to destroy Gotham City, and restore order in its black heart, by releasing a harmful biological substance in the water supply), fortunately or unfortunately, and a man who eventually becomes a symbol of hope to a city reeking with corruption; we could also watch the film & admire the reality in which the film is set. Gotham City is shown like a typical corrupt city in the world today, and where even a superhero is treated in a VERY realistic manner. Not your usual beating up the villain & saving the day bullshit. The main element in the film is Fear. Bruce Wayne is a man who is shown to overcome his fear of bats by literally becoming like one of them, and the power of fear & the ways to overcome it are shown metaphorically by the fear gas concocted by Jonathan “Scarecrow” Crane. What to look out for-  Stellar acting, with Liam Neeson stealing the show as Ras al Ghul and the realism with which Bruce Wayne/Batman is portrayed. This film is a must watch for any who wants to overcome his/her fears.

                                  The Dark Knight

Falls

 The second film of the trilogy is The Dark Knight, which packs a punch stronger than Muhammad Ali’s & Mike Tyson’s combined. If you thought Batman Begins was dark, wait till you watch this. The film is basically a crime epic, unlike the action drama Begins was. Nolan himself said that The Dark Knight was inspired by the classic crime epic, Heat (especially the bank robbery scene & the Batman-Joker interrogation). The film focuses on the criminals who had been released at the end of Batman Begins, mainly the psychopath known as the Joker.

 The film takes us on a ride right into the human heart, and the darkness it can possess when pushed over a certain limit. It shows us how, a person like Harvey Dent, Gotham’s White Knight, a person who nearly gives up his own life to eradicate crime in Gotham, turns toward the dark side after the Joker brainwashes him.

 Bruce Wayne is first shown to be considerably satisfied with life, but as we know in life, nothing lasts forever. The main theme of this film is anarchy & the darkness of the soul. The Joker (no record of his past exists), is shown as a madman who’s aim in life is to create anarchy wherever he goes. His aim is not to kill Batman, but to use him as a pawn to bring Harvey Dent down to their “level”, & to turn the people against him. This is summarized brilliantly in the line- “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”.

  People expecting  a mindless action flick would ask Nolan- “Why So Serious?”. What to look out for- Heath Ledgers flawless performance, brilliant direction & plot, score, a superb bank robbery scene, and deep philosophy.

                                 The Dark Knight Rises

Rises

Finally, we have The Dark Knight Rises, which also packs a wallop of a punch. I still remember being hyped for this film ever since the rumour that Johnny Depp was going to play The Riddler, and Robin Williams was going to play Hugo Strange, came to surface. My anxiety grew a hundred fold immediately after watching the 1.36 minute teaser which was out exactly a year before the movie was out. My expectations for this film, considering the fact that the previous two films in the franchise were masterpieces, were sky high. I was one of the people who flew all the way from Bangalore to Hyderabad just to watch the film in IMAX, and yes, it was well worth it.

Me, at the Imax premiere at Hyderabad

But, the billion dollar question is this: Is The Dark Knight Rises better than The Dark Knight? Partly yes......& partly no.  Just when you thought The Dark Knight was the darkest & gloomiest super hero film out there, this film comes along with it’s heavy political undertones(based loosely on the Occupy Wall Street Movement & A Tale of Two Cities), and gloomy plot.

 But, that does not make it a bad movie by any means. The main theme of this film is hope & faith. It’s the story of a man who, despite losing hope in himself anymore, is forced to grab the baton one last time & eventually start believing in himself & the symbol he created & stood for(eventually sacrificing himself- yes, I think Alfred imagines the last scene at the cafe).  The film is directed, and edited beautifully & the score by Hans Zimmer makes the film bigger than ever. Every scene- right from the James Bond-ish plane hijacking scene, right up to final twist-laden scene of the film, is very thought provoking, and demands at least two viewings (I am writing this review immediately after my third watch).

 The acting was brilliant. I was really surprised with Anne Hathaway’s performance since I was expecting a very cheesy role, after watching her in movies like Bride Wars etc, but she pulled it off big time. The main antagonist- Bane, was played brilliantly by Tom Hardy. While he could not top Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker, he still does an exceptional job, considering he had to act using his body language more often than not, owing to a mask which covered half his face. I felt that this film boasted of  Christian Bale’s & Michael Caine’s best performances  in the entire trilogy, and I will be surprised if at least one actor/actress mentioned in the paragraphs above does not get an Oscar nomination.  In a nutshell-  despite one or two minute plot-holes(even films like The Godfather will have a few goofs & plot-holes, so Nolan can be forgiven), this film is an incredible finale to an epic Trilogy. What to look out for- An epic first fight between Batman & Bane, Anne Hathaway’s & Michael Caine’s performances, welcome cameos and scenes involving Bane’s revolution.

In Nolan I Trust


References:

http://www.csfd.cz/uzivatel/295114-kanca/
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http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/568131-bats-fire-ice-whats-the-significance-of-the-opening-imagery-in-nolans-batman-trilogy
http://imgur.com/gallery/EPaTz
http://blu-bloggington.blogspot.co.uk/2012_12_01_archive.html
http://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/batman-286/the-dark-knight-trilogy-thoughts-1457984/
http://www.heyuguys.com/ranking-dcs-comic-book-movie-posters-20-best/13/
http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/568131-bats-fire-ice-whats-the-significance-of-the-opening-imagery-in-nolans-batman-trilogy 
http://www.batman-online.com/gallery/3957/the-dark-knight-rises-2012-hq-wallpaper-bane-the-dark-knight-rises
https://www.pinterest.com/henrywchen/nolanverse/