Can Nolan Really Top The Dark Knight?

I've been a little harsh on the Batman franchise. Just last month I criticised Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight for being over-hyped, and being unfairly seen as the benchmark for all comic book movies. Whilst I remain true to my word, Nolan's Bat franchise would not be as famous if it hadn't of been for Heath Ledger, I will admit his previous Bat flicks surpassed my expectations and stand next to the likes Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2 and Thor as the greatest comic book movies of all time.

What made The Dark Knight so special was that it was a thoughtful movie that didn't rely on fights and explosions, but had them anyway. It showcased the moral maze the characters faced, managing to break away from the conventional superhero story. There were repercussions for everyone from Batman's actions, and hopefully the next film in the franchise The Dark Knight Rises will showcase those repercussions from the caped crusader's moral sacrifice at the end of the last film. Now Batman faces being an outlaw, after taking the fall for crimes he didn't commit. However after seeing potential plot leaks, I am not so confident in where this film may be going.

(Spoiler warning) Supposed leaked plot details emerged recently revealing that Batman is set to have his back broken early on in the film by Tom Hardy's Bane, drawing from the famous Batman storyline: Batman: Knightfall. Whilst this should be taken with a grain of salt, it does make sense considering the film's title 'Rises'. What worries me is how rumours indicate Selina Kyle/Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway is set to fill in fighting crime whilst Bruce is on the mend. I'm not the biggest fan of Hathaway, and I'm not convinced she would remain convincing with such a large amount of screen time. Whilst this does allow Nolan to open his moral playground, with perhaps Selina Kyle crossing the line Batman won't, I just hope we'll see a continuation of Batman's sacrifice at the end of the last film.

I am very interested in Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane. I hope there will be more to the character than brute force, as Bane is one of Batman's most intellectual enemies in the comics. I want to see Bane outsmart Bats, which is quite a feat considering Bats is one of the world's greatest detectives. If Rises manages to showcase Bane's superior intellect, we should be for a great hero/villain show down.

I'm sure there's more to The Dark Knight Rises than what meets the eye, given Nolan's track record of surprising audiences. Now we know Nolan's desires to wrap up the trilogy, I just hope this film reaches the standard of those set before it.

We should get the film we deserve, but not the one we need right now. But we'll watch it, because it's going to awesome. (Sorry couldn't resist)

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The Dark Knight Film Review

The 2008 action drama The Dark Knight is distributed by Warner Bros. Some of its stars include Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Heath Ledger as The Joker, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes. The writers are Jonathan Nolan (The Prestige), Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins), David S. Goyer (The Unborn), and Bob Kane (Batman). The director is Christopher Nolan.

The film opens roughly a year after the events of Batman Begins. The Joker and his men rob a bank in the first scene. New District Attorney Harvey Dent joins Lieutenant Gordon and Batman to help destroy the mob. During a mob boss meeting, a Chinese mafia accountant named Lau informs them that the stolen money has been hidden and he has fled to Hong Kong. The Joker interrupts the meeting and tells the mob bosses that Batman will go after Lau and he will offer to kill him if he receives half the shares. They refuse and place a bounty on the Joker's head. Batman does go after Lau in Hong Kong and brings him back to Gotham City.

He agrees to testify against the mob bosses, freeing up Dent to arrest and charge them. Because of these recent events, the Joker threatens to kill people until Batman reveals his true identity. The first deaths are Commissioner Loeb and the judge presiding over the mob boss trial. A later attempt to assassinate the mayor is foiled and Lieutenant Gordon appears to be killed. In order to prevent further loss of life, Bruce Wayne plans to reveal himself until Harvey Dent says he's Batman to keep the truth secure. While being transported across the city, the DA is captured by the Joker's men. In the process, the Joker himself is arrested.

He reveals to Batman that Dent and Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne's love interest, have been placed in separate buildings at opposite ends of town, each surrounded with explosives. The Caped Crusader goes after who he thinks will be Rachel while Gordon, who had faked his own death to lure the Joker, goes after Dent. Batman arrives and discovers that Harvey Dent is the one held captive there while Gordon fails in his attempt to save Rachel. In the explosion, Dent is badly burned on half his face and is distraught over her death.

When I first heard about this film, I was thrilled because the Joker is my favorite Batman villain. But, as I found out later, there is very little of the Joker's main attributes displayed in the film. Things like the Joker's venom don't make any appearance. With the exception of a couple of tricks, which includes the Joker card, none of this psychotic's well-known characteristics are ever shown. In effect, any sort of criminal could have been the main antagonist in The Dark Knight; it didn't have to be the Joker. The Joker appears to be more of a terrorist in this film than one of Batman's freakish enemies.

When I discovered what they were going to call the film, The Dark Knight, I initially believed that it was just referring to Batman and his black suit, but I was wrong. The title of the film was referring to a Dark Knight opposing a White Night. A Dark Knight is someone who will stop the bad guy at any cost, legal or not. A White Knight, on the other hand, will attempt to stop him by legal means. A line early in the story gives it away, "Either you die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself as the villain."

Ironically, both Batman and Harvey Dent prove this to be true. At the start of the film, the people of Gotham are still unsure of what Batman really is, hero or villain. He did save the city from Ra's al Gaul in the previous movie but, in this one, he appears willing to capture the bad guy at any costs, even if it means invading other people's privacy or viciously beating up a man during interrogation in order to have the information he needs. The new district attorney follows a similar path. He starts out as this bold prosecutor going after every bad guy in Gotham, no matter how bad they are. Later on after his fiance Rachel is killed by the Joker, he becomes more of a vigilante. Dent goes around killing everybody that he believes was responsible for her demise.

To wrap, The Dark Knight is actually a pretty good film, but lacks most of the joking aspect of a Batman movie featuring the Joker.

Written by Kevin Dillehay
http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/Kmonk10

Kevin T. Dillehay has written nearly a hundred movie reviews from all genres. He provides a unique perspective on the movies you see all the time but may not stop and think about in depth. You are invited to check out his work at http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/kmonk10.

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