It is no secret that I am a huge Batman fan, those who are close to me know why that is. As a comic book character, Batman has always been unique as in he is human. He may be a billionaire with a suit and toys, but at the heart of this character is a man on a journey to protect others from suffering the same pain he felt as a child when his parents were murdered right in front of him and the self sacrifice such a quest and journey would take on a person.
The character’s success on the big screen has not always been smooth with some real gems but some real failures as well. Tim Burton was the first to bring Bats to the big screen with a massive impact, and whilst I loved his version of him in Batman The Motion Picture and Batman Returns, I felt the Dark Knight was overshadowed by the villains, who often had more screen time and much better dialogue then Michael Keaton was given. Sadly, the series ended up with Burton and Keaton being replaced by Joel Shumacher as director and Val Kilmer then George Clooney as Batman in two films that saw the dark world of Gotham created by Burton turn into more and more the 1960’s TV version with anyone and everyone from the Bat family thrown together with just about everyone else from the Villain side and the series turned into a forgettable mess in 1997’s Batman and Robin marking the end of the Batman Series of the 90’s.
It would be 8 years before Batman would return to our screens. This time in the hands of Chris Nolan, Batman was being brought back again in a rebooted movie that would had no connection to the series of the 1990’s, and the question was asked : Is the cinema ready for more?
*The Below will contain Major Spoilers of the Trilogy*
Chris Nolan presented a brand new vision with Batman Begins in man ways from the tone and style of the movie to the origin story of Batman itself. For the first time on the big screen, a director was prepared, willing and happy to fully explore the origin story of Bruce Wayne. Up to now, all they would do for the origin would be to show the crime of the Wayne’s being shot and killed in front of a young Bruce, show his pain, then it would jump to a man “dressed up like a bat” . Comic Book fans will know that Bruce Wayne spent much of his youth travelling the world in order to train to become someone capable of fighting crime. Chris Nolan used this to start his story in Batman Begins. This level of respect and understanding of the comic book style origin impressed me right from the start. Nolan went on to work hard to create Gotham with as much of a real world city setting and feel as possible. Telling the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman fully, allowed for the introduction of some of the most key characters in the story of Batman from the comic books such as Lucious Fox, and Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Shadows. We watched as a young Bruce Wayne started to put Batman together piece by piece, having his reasons challenged and the struggle with his devotion to the crusade of bringing justice to Gotham and that of a life without Batman, the normal life. This would become a theme threaded throughout the trilogy.
Chris Nolan nailed the origin story for me, as a fan of the comic books, it was refreshing to see this new take on the legend, with such attention to detail and with such a powerful cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson: all giving their characters the presence on screen needed to relaunch the Batman series. Only weak element was the choice to use Katie Holmes to play the role of Rachel Dawes, a totally new character to the Batman story not seen in the comic books. The Character would go on to be a vital role in the trilogy, but Holmes delivered such a weak and wooden performance that it would have been an easy decision to rethink her character going forward. Batman Begins was a sublime first chapter in the trilogy, it was a huge success at the box office and was a welcome return for the franchise and with a tease at the end that gave all Bat fans goosebumps…
In the summer of 2008, Chris Nolan delivered the second chapter in the trilogy, The Dark Knight, and there was much anticipation to see if Nolan could continue to deliver on the quality of work that had started with Batman Begins. As much as the first chapter was about telling the origin of Batman, the second would do the same for Batman’s greatest enemy, The Joker. Dark Knight now see’s Bruce Wayne in his prime as Batman. The lines between Bruce Wayne and Batman are coming more blurred as Alfred grows more worried that Bruce is being lost to the “monster he created” in Batman and with the theme starting that Bruce himself is looking for a way out, that being Batman has taken its toll and he is searching for a normal life once Gotham is safe from the crime that has it on its knees. The key to this is the connection to Rachel Dawes, who now played by the superb Maggie Gyllenhaal as Katie Holmes declined (thank you so much Katie) to continue the character. Rachel is now in a relationship with Harvey Dent, and whilst knowing the true identity of Batman, knows their can be no chance of a life together whilst the city needs its Dark knight which gives fuel to Bruce’s desire to give up being Batman but not until his job is done.
The relationship between Batman and Jim Gordon has also grown stronger, with them now working together alongside Gotham’s District Attorney Harvey Dent, to smash and break the organised crime syndicate plaguing the city. What they are unaware of, is the silent introduction to the biggest danger both Gotham and Batman, The Joker. Portrayed by the late Heath Ledger, it would be his performance that would give the movie its ultimate presence on screen. His performance of The Joker was truly unique and special. Ledger stole the camera every time he was on screen, and was the perfect opposite in style to the ferocity Bale showed as Batman. Their scenes together, the interrogation scene at Police HQ especially, showed the power of the Batman Joker dynamic in a way that had not been shown on the big screen before.
The elegance of the dialogue and Ledger’s delivery took the movie beyond what was accomplished in Batman Begins and makes Dark knight rank right up as the benchmark for what DC can do in movies and superhero adaptation movies on the whole. Sadly, before the release of The Dark Knight, fans were saddened by the shock death of Heath Ledger who passed away whilst the movie was still in the editing suite, and was award a posthumous Oscar and other awards for his performance of The Joker.
With confirmation that this was indeed to be a trilogy, we knew that this was going to be the middle chapter which meant it would also have to do some work to set up the final chapter for the audience. For me, this is really where Dark Knight excels. Nolan uses the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-Face in so many ways to make this happen. It becomes the device that brings together the multiple themes in the story together and like a blacksmith’s furnace, blends them all together to become the best ending to a superhero movie to date. The Joker’s plan to take something good and corrupt it comes true but not in way he hoped for or planned. To protect the image of Gotham’s White Knight in Harvey Dent, Batman chooses to take the blame for the crime’s he committed after The Joker injures him turning him into Two Face as well as the murder of Rachel Dawes which triggers his desire for vengeance upon Jim Gordon. Batman is already reeling from the failure to save the love of his life, and now has to become the villain in order to stop The Joker from his true aim of showing the people of Gotham that anyone can be corrupted and become the bad guy. Batman, hurt, goes on the run, with the police chasing him down and the media declaring him a murderer, and Jim Gordon answering his own son as to why it had to happen :
Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector.
A Dark Knight.
2012 saw the final chapter in the trilogy released, The Dark Knight Rises, with probably more hype then the previous films put together. Could Chris Nolan deliver the perfect ending to his trilogy and could it reach the same success that The Dark Knight had achieved? For me, he did.
The Dark Knight Rises returns 8 years after the events of Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne has stopped being Batman, and is now a relative hermit living out his days hidden in the walls of the now completed rebuilt Wayne Manor. The Dent Act, enacted following the death of Harvey Dent and the cover up by Jim Gordon, gave the Gotham City police force the powers needed to bring down organised crime in the city. Jim Gordon, now Police Commissioner, at a fund raiser being held at Wayne Manor, is on the verge of confessing the truth behind Harvey Dent and that Batman was not the villain of the story, but the real hero. He changes his mind at the last minute and puts the speech away. For me, this sets up the real tone of the movie and its jourey to wrap up the story of not just Bruce Wayne but all the key characters throughout the trilogy. We begin to see the damage of past acts catching up to them as they begin to face what they have done, and the cost of the sacrifices made to protect Gotham City.
Rises introduces another one of Batman’s most famous enemies, Bane, played by Tom Hardy, Bane in the comic books is the man who can claim that he broke the Bat, quite literally as in the comic book series Knightfall Bane actually breaks the back of Batman. Fans mostly saw Bane as the replacement for The Joker after the death of Heath Ledger, but for me, it made more sense that Bane would be used to wrap up the trilogy as it was Bane, more so then The Joker, who was most capable of defeating Bruce Wayne. The movie see’s Bane go to Gotham, slowly and systematically positioning himself to force Batman back into the open to do battle with him.
Along with Bane, Nolan finally introduces another large impact character from the Batman legend, Selina Kyle..Cat Woman played by the stunning Anne Hathaway. Whilst Jim Gordon is antagonising whether to deliver his speech telling the truth, Selina Kyle is a maid working the party. She is instructed by Alfred, to bring Bruce Wayne his dinner, by placing it on a table and to immediately leave the room. Selina takes this opportunity, to break into a safe, stealing a pearl necklace. This event both inspires and encourages Bruce Wayne to investigate the theft and Selina Kyle on a personal level. It would bring him back to the world, a world which has seen the absence of Batman, the near collapse of Wayne Enterprises due to a failed investment in a clean energy source, and a Gotham City that seemed to no longer need a Batman, or a Bruce Wayne.
It a tease for fans, who now expecting the obvious introduction of Robin, the story introduces John Blake, played by Joesph Gordon-Levitt, an orphan turned Gotham City cop, who rescues Gordon after Bane’s thugs capture but allow him to escape after shooting him. Bane has taken the speech from earlier from Gordon. Blake has deduced the secret identity of Batman, and after visiting Wayne Manor under the pretence of asking questions, tells Bruce that he knows his secret in the hope it will help motivate Batman’s return.
Chris Nolan, for me anyway, set out to finally tie together all the story threads he had introduced in the first two movies. With so many outstanding and incomplete story lines to wrap up in one movie, I respect that some felt he tried to do too much with Rises. The story needed to do a full circle and return to its Origins, and to do this, Nolan takes his own inspiration from successful Comic Book series knightfall and No Mans Land. Knightfall is used to weave the story of how a now returned to action Batman, under the arrogance that he thinks he is still the same man he was in Dark Knight, and ignoring the warning of Alfred who refuses to allow himself to sit back and watch another member of the Wayne family die, decide to take on Bane with the help of Cat Woman. This all proves to be part of Bane’s plan, and whilst we see some of the Batman of old showcasing his talents, as Cat Woman leads him to the hide out of Bane, what proceeds is nothing more then Bane dominating Bruce Wayne in every way. He dismisses his anger and rage, he mocks the theatricality of his tricks, and physically beats down and breaks the will of Bruce Wayne.
This scene, was so elegantly orchestrated on screen by Nolan. The close up on Selina’s Kyles face when Bane knowingly exposes Batman as Bruce Wayne, and her realisation of what she has just done by leading Bruce to Bane is exquisitely done with just a single look of Selina Kyle and for me, this was the moment that justified not only the use of the Cat Woman character but of Anne Hathaway in the role. For the first time in the trilogy, Bruce has lost. He is beaten, and not by bullets or bombs, but by a man. With his world in tatters, Bane dumps and Bruce in the very prison in which he himself was raised, forcing Bruce to watch as a crippled broken man, Bane’s ultimate plan for Gotham.
No Mans Land tells the story of how an earthquake reduces Gotham city to rumble, declared a No Man’s Land by the US government, it quickly becomes a place divided up into zones each run by its own gang under the leadership of Batman’s enemies, Penguin, Two Face etc. Batman goes in to restore order and protect the people trapped inside. It is from this story that Nolan takes inspiration for the finale to the movie. Bane, now using the power of the clean energy source that Bruce Wayne chose to mothball and hide away due to the dangers of such a device if turned into a bomb, uses explosives to cut Gotham off from the rest of the US with the threat that should any military force or anyone try to cross into Gotham or if any of the people of Gotham attempted to leave, he would detonate the bomb destroying everything. The police, trapped underground as they tried to capture Bane before the explosions unable to fight back and Bruce Wayne, hurt and very far away can do nothing but watch as his city suffers.John Blake along with Gordon, organise food and water for the trapped police officers and passing on information trying to discover what Bane is up to and to stop him. The bleak outlook that Gotham City is now lost, there is no Batman to come to the rescue is a beautiful set up to the big finale of the movie.
The links to Batman Begins and the stories full circle now takes shape as Bruce overcomes his imprisonment to return to Gotham after months away, and returns to Gotham to do final battle with Bane as the clock is running out on the bomb. With the help of Gordon, Blake and Kyle, Bruce becomes Batman once more, frees the cops from underground and leads them in open war with Bane’s Forces. For me, as much as this is the pinnable moment in the movie, it was also a little tarnished as being a comic book fan, I recognised the stories used from the comic books to inspire Rises, so I was able to see through it and work out what was to happen next, the reveal that Miranda Tate was in fact, Talia Ah Ghul, the daughter of the man who trained Bruce in Batman Begins, and that Bane was working for her, carrying out her plan to complete her fathers work. It was still an enjoyable moment to see it on screen, but sometimes there is a penalty for being such a huge Batman fan.
The conclusion to the movie, is something that I did not see coming, with the evident self sacrifice by Batman as he carries the bomb away from the city and it explodes, suggesting that Bruce died, as earlier in the film the audience is told that the Bat (new name for Bat Wing) has no autopilot as they couldn’t get it to work. There is a wonderful moment where Batman tells Gordon a story, of a young scared boy, and how a cop put his fathers coat around him and told him that everything would be ok…revealing himself to Gordon as Bruce Wayne before he flies away with the bomb. But soon see that as Lucisous Fox asks the technicians to see if there was anyway it could have been repaired, that it already had been, by Bruce Wayne, and in a lovely scene we see Alfred, at a cafe, looking at the table opposite and discovering Bruce, sitting with Selina and a simple nod as acknowledgement To each other.
John Blake then reveals his own secret. That he chooses to use his middle name John, instead of his birth name…Robin. We then see him discovering the Bat Cave under Wayne Manor and in a scene identical to Batman Begins, swings through the water and is surrounded by Bats. A Platform then begins to rise…The Dark Knight Rises.
The main reason why I hold this trilogy as the best Superhero series on the big screen is because Nolan just gets so much right. The attention to detail works from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight Rises. What Nolan delivered for fans was his version of Batman. He respected and used the comic book stories to tell the story of his Batman but it was just that, his Batman. It had a start, a middle and for the first time, an actual ending for Batman and more importantly Bruce Wayne. To allow Bruce to complete his journey as Batman, to show that Batman is more then just man in a mask, but that it was an ideal, something to live up to and inspire the people of Gotham and bring fear to the criminals. This was as close to perfect a Batman movie trilogy could be. Whilst Rises didnt live up to everyone’s expectations for me it did. I went in hoping Nolan would deliver the ending the trilogy deserved and that I as a fan needed. It brought the best from the comic book side of Batman and used it to bring a fresh and credible modern take on Batman to the big screen.
That is why the Chris Nolan Batman Trilogy means so much to me, it was a graphic novel experience of a trilogy and whilst I am sad that it ended, I knew it had to and would always have ended how it did. It is a stand alone series that allows for other Batman movies to be made, and whilst the Dark Knight Saga is done, I am more then happy to see that Chris Nolan has brought the same style and tone to the other big name in the DC universe as producer on Man of Steel. I hope that gets an equally epic level of story telling in its own possible Trilogy or more. Chris Nolan is the man DC needed and deserved, they should and must let him take creative control of their movie projects and hopefully lead to Justice League being a reality..who knows, maybe Bruce Wayne could return…
*Article inspired by the release of the Limited Edition Steelbook BluRay versions of the Trilogy*
Nothing Is True 