Movies I recently rewatched The Dark Knight Trilogy.

[SaysWho?]

 

 

To my shock, my girlfriend had never seen any of them. So I took it upon myself to rectify this injustice. I hadn't watched the movies in full in years, so it was fun to go back and see them in sequence. Here's what I thought:

 

 

Batman Begins - This feels the most different of the three movies because of the smaller budget, but it's actually not as small as I thought. This movie cost $150 million to make, whereas TDK was $185 and around $230 for TDKR. But it felt quite a bit smaller to me, I think because I felt there were way more close-ups and medium shots than the sequels. While it was the pinnacle of superhero movies for a long time for me and many others, I do feel plenty have surpassed it. Its action sequences need a lot of work as the claustrophobic feeling works for scenes involving frightened henchmen but not so much the climax of the movie. And the beginning still feels like it drags a bit, though it's needed for payoffs later.

 

That stuff out of the way, this is still not just a good movie, but also a great starting point that wonderfully sets up the stakes and characters during the Dark Knight Trilogy:

 

Bruce - Wants vengeance and is in conflict with Rachel's ideas. Learns that justice is a larger concept than his feelings. Still has deep feelings for Rachel at the end of the movie (all of these have fantastic continuations in TDK). Has to develop a front as an aloof billionaire playboy so people don't connect him to Batman and his friends are protected.

Gordon - One of the good cops who is ambitious and a valuable member of the GPD. Always wants to thank Batman, something that's revisited the next two movies.

Rachel - Idealist in the district attorney's office. She's disappointed in Bruce's billionaire playboy personality and disappointed in his quest for vengeance against Chill. Natural admiration, then, for Harvey when he shows up in TDK.

 

I always love watching the scene at Bruce's birthday party; no music plays until the reveal, but even before that, it does a lovely job foreshadowing what's to come. It also leads to another great scene of Bruce putting on a front as some drunk at his own party. "I never got to thank you." "And you'll never have to." Great final lines. 

 

The Dark Knight - I forgot how much quicker the pace is for this movie compared to the others. You don't get a break from Joker pushing the city to its limits, and considering his goals, it's fitting that the pace matches the villain. While Ra's was a spiritual villain, Joker is the anarchist. Every time he's nearing a scene, you hear those dissonant chords; you feel his presence. There's that great scene as the funeral for the commissioner where Bruce finds the uniformed men tied up and blindfolded. Those high-pitched strings begin to play, and Bruce finds out that the people who gagged them stole their guns and uniforms. A few seconds later, the mayor stops speaking and the men on the street get ready to shoot their guns in the air. Before they even started, heck I think before the mayor even stopped speaking, I heard my girlfriend say, "Oh no." It's SUCH a great freaking scene and riveting foreshadowing. The entire sequence when the commissioner and judge die and Joker enters is edited to perfection, with the music coming to a climax when Joker's shotgun goes off. You just admire the craft of the movie so much on a repeat viewing.

 

The IMAX scenes look lovely in 1080p, so I can't imagine what all this looks like on an Ultra-HD Blu-Ray. 

 

And can we talk about the ending for a bit? I said for Begins that the movie set up plot points that would be explored in detail later. The payoffs for Bruce's relationship with Rachel and his no-killing policy are so rewarding, especially for a big-budget movie like this. The woman who scolded Bruce for his quest for vengeance dies at the ends of a psychopathic terrorist. The terrorist is falling to his death, Batman has every reason to let him die, but he still saves the man who murdered his love interest who inspired him not to kill. And then Joker, who doesn't even value his own life, is disappointed that he was saved and isolated that no one on the ferry became a mass murderer. Joker always is caught off guard or feels put down when called a freak, likely because he was an outcast all his life, but you see him in control for so much of the movie. That look of disappointment and surprise at midnight when the ferries don't blow up is powerful.

 

It's fucking gold. This movie remains the best superhero film for me for so many reasons, and I didn't even get into Harvey, who I think was fantastic, and Bruce, who I think was underrated in this film ("Trying to catch the light?" "Why, who was in it?"). That look he gives Mr. Reese gets me each time.

 

The Dark Knight Rises - I loved the film when it released and I still do. I do think TDK is the most cohesive of all the trilogy, and I think TDKR does have the issue Begins does where the beginning feels quite a bit slower, even though it's establishing important points that will be tackled later in the movie. Yes, even though Google should exist in this universe, it does feel very exposition-y that Alfred seems to get info from there.

 

However, man, do I love this film. First, Ra's was spiritual and Joker was an anarchist, but in this, Bane is the militant villain. Each villain feels significantly different than the previous. Bane also reminds me of the political climate now, tbh: you have an angry populace who has seen Gotham's corruption their whole lives. In Begins, you witness widespread poverty in the Narrows. Gotham's police department is full of crooked cops and members of the League of Shadows to the point that two of them kill their own District Attorney. In The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent is cleaning up the mess but is captured because of cops being paid by the mob. The very corruption he sought to eliminate found their way back to Gordon's unit and led to moles on the inside. So when it's revealed that the Dent Act was also based on a lie -- a DA turned murderer -- Bane is able to take advantage of that and take over the city, forcing the rich and powerful out of their homes and into trials that lead to a certain death. He's clearly not someone who actually wants to improve Gotham, but he's able to use that populist anger in a spectacular uprising.

 

Another thing I noticed were clues that were left in the movie about Miranda's turn. I always noticed that when she takes over as Wayne Enterprises, Bane says that everything is going as planned, which it did. But my girlfriend also noticed, "Wait, if Bane's face was mangled in the pit, when did it happen? He looks like he got out unscathed." Because it wasn't Bane who got out. And when Gordon and Blake corresponded with those three men -- I think they were from the military -- gunfire erupted and Blake said they were ratted out. It didn't even occur to me on my first viewing that Miranda was the one who did that. That also explains why Bane removed her from the group with Gordon who were sent to exile.

 

Despite its size, this is probably Bruce/Batman's most personal movie. His quest to save Gotham ("Not everything. Not yet,") and his anger at those who want to destroy it, his depression over losing Rachel and the defeat in his eyes learning that Rachel chose Dent, and even his complete struggle and defeat during his first fight with Bane (Bane slowly climbs the steps and towers over Batman in the shot while Batman struggles out of breath to catch up with him). Their second fight nearly repeated that shot, but Batman was more focused and knew Bane's weakness behind the mask. I also love the music when Bane goes to pummel Batman and takes off part of the building.

 

 

It was once again sad to watch the trilogy conclude, but as far as the character, it was rewarding to see Bruce's goal of Batman becoming an incorruptible and immortal symbol continue via Blake/Robin, and it was gratifying to see Bruce finally happy and with a love interest in the end.

 

If you haven't seen them for a while, reward yourself by revisiting this lovely trilogy.

[Keyser_Soze]

Looks like you really enjoyed Rachel.

[Dre801]

I actually have never watched DKR.

[Brick]

It's certainly my favourite trilogy, and despite what problems Rises has, I still enjoy it. I should use one of my days off to marathon through them.

[legend]

I find I like Begins a lot more than other people do. Not sure why, but as tired as batman's trauma is, I feel like they nail the emotional impact in it.

 

TDK is obviously amazing to everyone.

 

TDKR is also pretty cool with me, even though I like the first two more.

 

 

I should rewatch it as well.

[johnny]

32 minutes ago, legend said:

I find I like Begins a lot more than other people do. Not sure why, but as tired as batman's trauma is, I feel like they nail the emotional impact in it.

 

TDK is obviously amazing to everyone.

 

TDKR is also pretty cool with me, even though I like the first two more.

 

 

I should rewatch it as well.

I also like Begins more than a lot do

[Keyser_Soze]

Begins is the best of the trilogy you're just all now coming around to it.

[SaysWho?]

6 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Begins is the best of the trilogy you're just all now coming around to it.

 

Ain't nobody ITT came around to it

[Greatoneshere]

Begins is, in some ways, the best of the trilogy because it is the most personal, most intimate, and most emotional of the three. The others two are big blockbusters, and while the first is too, there are a lot of character scenes, scenes the other two don't have nearly as much time for.

 

"Bruce, why do we fall?"

[Guest]

Begins is the best overall, but good golly, Ledger really is so good as the Joker that he alone makes TDK worth a rewatch from time to time.

 

Best: Begins

Highest Highs: TDK

[Chris-]

I firmly and earnestly believe the interrogation scene in TDK is one of the best film scenes of all time. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

16 minutes ago, Chris- said:

I firmly and earnestly believe the interrogation scene in TDK is one of the best film scenes of all time. 

This deconstruction of the meeting between Joker and the gangsters is worth watching:

 

 

[TheLeon]

I've said that Begins is probably the best as a single, cohesive film. Dark Knight is my favorite, and the one I've watched the most, but it largely feels like a string of (incredible) set pieces. 

[Kal-El814]

The Dark Knight Rises is a skullfuckingly dumb movie and I feel like the stuff it does well happens largely by accident. It still blows my mind that TDK gets followed up with... that. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

Begins also has the best soundtrack IMO. And it combines so effectively with great character moments. How great is this moment?

 

 

[Bataar]

Batman Begins is my favorite of the trilogy. It might even be my favorite movie in general. I also really like TDKR. I might like it a little more than TDK just based on how it ties everything up. Heath's Joker was amazing, but I think Tom Hardy's Bane is very underappreciated. He's the scariest villain of the trilogy.

[5timechamp]

I still cant pick between Begins and Knight... theres so many great little moments and visuals in Begins to completely dismiss it (batman dives out window on fire, arkham escape etc)...Gotham feels dangerous and decayed cause of the narrows... Knight is great obviously but that Batman voice nearly sinks many scenes(specially when bats has dialog with Joker)..

 

I still “resent” Rises because it wasted Catwoman and didnt stick the landing with Bane... overall its bad because it really screws up what should be really great moments (return of batman being a huge offender)...

 

plus as the series goes the “mystery and intimidating” nature of batman just fades..

 

 

damn shame about the gloves..

 

 

those soundtracks are amazing all the way through..

Risen From Darkness= drool

Agent of Chaos

Like a Dog chasing cars

Molossus

Selins Kyle etc etc

 

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

7 minutes ago, 5timechamp said:

I still cant pick between Begins and Knight... theres so many great little moments and visuals in Begins to completely dismiss it (batman dives out window on fire, arkham escape etc)...Gotham feels dangerous and decayed cause of the narrows... Knight is great obviously but that Batman voice nearly sinks many scenes(specially when bats has dialog with Joker)..

 

I still “resent” Rises because it wasted Catwoman and didnt stick the landing with Bane... overall its bad because it really screws up what should be really great moments (return of batman being a huge offender)...

 

plus as the series goes the “mystery and intimidating” nature of batman just fades..

 

 

damn shame about the gloves..

 

 

those soundtracks are amazing all the way through..

Risen From Darkness= drool

Agent of Chaos

Like a Dog chasing cars

Molossus

Selins Kyle etc etc

Imagine the Fire is one of my go-to workout tracks

 

 

[Brick]

I think Rises has the best soundtrack out of the three. Zimmer knocked it out of the park. The Joker's theme is also great on a thematic level in how it sounds like an air raid siren warning you of the danger coming, sometimes minutes before The Joker even appears on screen, but you know as soon as you hear that slow drawn out cello note, something bad is about to happen. 

[Keyser_Soze]

16 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Ain't nobody ITT came around to it

 

If the other board didn't explode I could show you how I got flamed for saying how Begins was the best one.

[SaysWho?]

I honestly don't find Batman Begins the most emotional. The next two are easily significantly more emotional movies. Begins feels a bit more, I dunno, technical? The climax of TDK involving Dent and Gordon gave me the g'damn chills. And Batman, yo:

 

Dent: Then why was it only me who lost everything?

Batman: It wasn't.

 

Fuck.

[Bjomesphat]

18 hours ago, SFLUFAN said:

This deconstruction of the meeting between Joker and the gangsters is worth watching:

 

 

 

 

[SaysWho?]

11 hours ago, Brick said:

I think Rises has the best soundtrack out of the three. Zimmer knocked it out of the park. The Joker's theme is also great on a thematic level in how it sounds like an air raid siren warning you of the danger coming, sometimes minutes before The Joker even appears on screen, but you know as soon as you hear that slow drawn out cello note, something bad is about to happen. 

 

Skipped this comment by mistake:

 

Rises really has a great soundtrack. I don't remember much of the music from Begins' climax, but TDK and TDKR's always get me in the zone. The hospital evac scene is helped a ton in TDK, and the entire climactic Batman v Bane fight is pretty spectacular.

[MarSolo]

I have plenty of complaints about Rises, but it’s biggest sin is showing Batman out in daylight. You don’t realize how goofy Batman looks until you see him in broad daylight.

 

And while I appreciate the nod to the old Adam West Batman by having Batman take the bomb out over the river, the timing couldn’t have been worse when Avengers came out a month prior with the EXACT SAME SCENARIO.

 

Also, Begins doesn’t get enough credit for perfecting the origin story format.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I watch the trilogy every now and then. I don’t do that with most movies. 
 

Need to watch it again after I finish these rewatches of Harry Potter and LotR. 

[Amazatron]

As far as scores go, this gives me chills every time, especially the intro.

 

 

[sexy_shapiro]

Begins is the only movie of the trilogy where Gotham felt somewhat like Gotham. Sure, I wish it was even more stylized and a little closer to what Burton envisioned, but overall it was a step in the right direction. Gotham in the other two movies was basically Chicago.

 

I still will never forget the feeling of seeing The Dark Knight for the first time. There creeping sense of dread that the Joker could pop up at any minute and do pretty much anything. He was the embodiment of chaos. He didn’t play by the same rules that nearly every other villain did, which is what made him so captivating while terrifying.

 

But over the years with other rewatches, I’ve had to accept that he’s simply way more interesting and dynamic than any other character, which makes me just patiently wait in between his scene before he pops up again. Once he has his final scene and there are literally 20 more minutes to go, I’m tempted to just stop the movie there and call it a night. I’m not the hugest fan of how Christopher Nolan writes his characters, and what makes the Joker really stand out is that he had a team of like six other writers write for his scenes. That’s why he was so unpredictable from scene to scene, because different writers were handling each scene. It’s still overall a really good movie, but I have softened a bit on it since it’s initial release.

 

The Dark Knight Rises has way too many goofs from a filmmaker who is known for being keen on detail. Hell, there is a chase scene that begins in broad daylight but turns to night in a matter of minutes. It’s so weird. I think we’re about 5-10 years from a Nolan interview where he admits that his heart wasn’t in it.
 

My theory was always that Nolan initially didn’t want a sequel without Ledger, but the studio struck really wanted another so they struck a deal and gave him a blank check for Inception if he agreed to finish out the trilogy.

[Brick]

44 minutes ago, sexy_shapiro said:

what makes the Joker really stand out is that he had a team of like six other writers write for his scenes. That’s why he was so unpredictable from scene to scene, because different writers were handling each scene.

 

I've never heard this. Where did you read this? The only other credited writers are David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan. 

[Greatoneshere]

On 2/29/2020 at 3:43 PM, Brick said:

 

I've never heard this. Where did you read this? The only other credited writers are David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan. 

 

I've never heard of it either. I don't think it's true.

[sexy_shapiro]

On 2/29/2020 at 3:43 PM, Brick said:

 

I've never heard this. Where did you read this? The only other credited writers are David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan. 

My friend is a professional screenwriter and he told me this a while back. He may have been exaggerating a bit on the exact process, and honnestly I haven’t seen any public knowledge that fully confirms this, but he claims that he can tell that the Joker has a completely different voice than any other character that Nolan has written. He also claims that the Joker is written differently from scene to scene, almost as a different character in some instances, so who knows.
 

From I’ve gathered based on the small research I’ve done in the past few days, Nolan is at least open about writing for the Joker and how it was a more collaborative process than it was for his other character. He took a lot of notes and suggestions from those around him.

 

https://nofilmschool.com/Christopher-Nolan-Joker

 

Screenwriting credits don’t always tell you they full story. For example, I recently gave extensive notes to a pilot that my same friend is working on and I know I won’t be receiving a credit. And writers constantly punch up screenplays without receiving an official credit. Public knowledge can often differ the actual truth when it comes to the film industry.

[sexy_shapiro]

14 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

I've never heard of it either. I don't think it's true.

My good friend in the industry told me this so let’s not insinuate that he’s a liar.

 

Remember, public knowledge often differs from actual behind the scenes info when it comes to the industry. Sure, a decent amount of stuff is leaked to the media eventually, but a surprising amount never leaves certain circles.

[SimpleG]

5 minutes ago, sexy_shapiro said:

My friend is a professional screenwriter and he told me this a while back. He may have been exaggerating a bit on the exact process, and honnestly I haven’t seen any public knowledge that fully confirms this, but he claims that he can tell that the Joker has a completely different voice than any other character that Nolan has written. He also claims that the Joker is written differently from scene to scene, almost as a different character in some instances, so who knows.
 

From I’ve gathered based on the small research I’ve done in the past few days, Nolan is at least open about writing for the Joker and how it was a more collaborative process than it was for his other character. He took a lot of notes and suggestions from those around him.

 

https://nofilmschool.com/Christopher-Nolan-Joker

 

Screenwriting credits don’t always tell you they full story. For example, I recently gave extensive notes to a pilot that my same friend is working on and I know I won’t be receiving a credit. And writers constantly punch up screenplays without receiving an official credit. Public knowledge can often differ the actual truth when it comes to the film industry.

So basically a friend told you this with no real proof or confirmation other then "Hes a writer and he can tell". 

[SimpleG]

8 minutes ago, sexy_shapiro said:

My good friend in the industry told me this so let’s not insinuate that he’s a liar.

Ok hes not a liar he just overestimates his abilities. 

[sexy_shapiro]

14 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

So basically a friend told you this with no real proof or confirmation other then "Hes a writer and he can tell". 

No he’s in the industry and he hears chatter that we don’t. Do you ask for hard evidence and proof every time one of your friends tells you a story about something at work?

 

I’m in no way trying to discredit Nolan’s work on the Joker. This is just what I’ve heard and I’ve always found it to be interesting information. I’m just passing along the tea here. Don’t shoot the messeneger.

[sexy_shapiro]

13 minutes ago, SimpleG said:

Ok hes not a liar he just overestimates his abilities. 

You’re making assumptions about a good friend of mine that you’ve never met and know nothing about. You’re projecting here.