Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy presented Batman in a way that he had never been seen before, largely outdoing its predecessors. Compared to most other superheroes, Batman’s movies often get the privilege of being taken more seriously, with even the most esteemed prestige critics willing to hear out the Caped Crusader as a genuine piece of art. This is largely thanks to the efforts of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, which completely re-invented Batman’s movie presence for the better.
That’s not to say that earlier Batman films are bad, with even disastrous duds like Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin having a certain degree of ironic appeal. That being said, it’s hard to pretend that even the most prestigious Batman movies before Batman Begins can hold a candle to Nolan’s trilogy, with the dust of recency bias having certainly settled over a decade after The Dark Knight Rises. For a mulтιтude of reasons, The Dark Knight trilogy is still nearly peerless in terms of Batman movie storytelling.
10
Gotham City Is More Realistic Than Ever Before
Grounding the action in believable stakes
Comic book movies never made realism a priority, but Batman has gradually become the lone exception to this rule. This is all thanks to Christopher Nolan’s worldbuilding throughout The Dark Knight trilogy, which prides itself on believable characters and action that brings the viewer closer to the stakes of the story. While the original Batman quadrilogy beginning with Tim Burton’s 1989 film quickly devolved into cartoon madness, Nolan’s version of Gotham took the time to feel like an actual city filled with real people.
That’s not to say that Nolan’s Batman trilogy is completely realistic, with plenty of futuristic technology and secretive cults worth suspending disbelief for. But it’s far from the world of chemical vats that turn people into psychopathic clowns or horrible mutant monsters living in the sewers, making it easier to get invested in the drama. Most of all, the commitment to a more grounded world helps make the characters feel like real people one could meet rather than exaggerated caricatures meant to serve a basic purpose.
9
Batman Has A Great Variety Of Awesome Gadgets
This version of Bruce Wayne certainly doesn’t skimp out on toys
Despite being a more believable version of the Batman mythos, The Dark Knight trilogy also features one of Batman’s coolest movie arsenals ever. The brilliant gadgets of Nolan’s Batman may certainly stretch the plausibility of Batman’s world, with impossible VTOL hover aircraft and fantastical surveying systems falling under The Dark Knight’s employ. However, they’re shockingly far cooler than what the more fantastical Batman films of yesteryear were able to come up with.
Beyond the stock-standard Batarangs, grappling guns, and Batmobiles, earlier Batmen didn’t have many interesting gadgets to contend with Christian Bale’s version. From the EMP rifle to the projectile arm blades, Nolan’s version of Batman spares no expense when it comes to equipping himself to fight crime. Notably, he’s also the only Batman whose Batmobile is iconic enough to be colloquially known by its own unique name, the Tumbler.
8
The Villains Totally Outclass Anything Earlier
Especially Heath Ledger’s Joker
The Dark Knight trilogy owes much of its success to Heath Ledger’s Joker, whose shocking performance is not only one of the greatest comic book movie villains of all time, but one of the best cinematic antagonists in general. To say that this version of The Joker is more compelling, terrifying, and even entertaining than any previous movie Batman villain is an understatement. This single character alone sets Nolan’s trilogy head and shoulders above the earlier films.
Even outside of Heath Ledger’s Joker, the rest of The Dark Knight trilogy’s villains are a good deal more compelling than anything that came previously. Liam Neeson’s Ra’s al Ghul is an ominous presence, and Cilian Murphy is great fun to watch chewing scenery as Scarecrow. Tom Hardy’s Bane may have a contentious voice, but he’s at least far more memorable than the mostly silent Bane of Batman & Robin.
7
Michael Caine Is Still The Best Alfred
An underrated part of the trilogy’s success
Every cinematic version of Batman has an Alfred backing them up, and Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne has one of the best. Esteemed English actor Sir Michael Caine is still easily the greatest live-action movie Alfred, owing to his calming demeanor, kind presence, and ability to step in and swing on a member of the League of Shadows with a golf club when necessary. Previous movies’ Alfreds served their role well enough, but they certainly weren’t anywhere near as memorable.
Not only does Michael Caine exceed as the character, but he also serves as the emotional anchor of the entire trilogy. Alfred is essentially the audience’s viewpoint into Bruce Wayne’s mysterious psyche, following him from his guilt over his parents’ death as a child to his retirement as an adult. In this sense, he’s more than just Batman’s sidekick, but an integral part of what makes the meta-narrative aspect of Nolan’s trilogy work.
6
The Dark Knight Trilogy Knew Where To Draw The Line At Campiness
Unlike earlier entries
In some respects, Nolan’s Batman films are stronger not because they do things the earlier films didn’t, but because they hold off on indulging in over-the-top comic book camp. In fairness, Nolan’s hesitance to embrace the inherent silliness of a comic book world could be criticized, with his films feeling more like crime movies than superhero movies. However, the results of what happens when filmmakers go far too deep into silly territory are audaciously worse.
Obviously, Adam West’s Batman thrived on irreverent humor, keeping in line with the original series. While Tim Burton’s films were advertised as being darker and more comic accurate, they had some quite goofy moments, such as toy poodles fetching Batarangs or The Joker prancing through an art museum, causing mischief while listening to Prince. By the time it was Joel Schumacher’s turn, Nolan’s talents were definitely needed to make audiences take Batman seriously again.
5
The Dark Knight Trilogy Has The Most Spectacle Of Any Batman Films
Utilizing a bigger budget
For the most part, Nolan’s proven cinematic expertise afforded him some hefty budgets for his films, allowing him to out-spend the previous Batman efforts, even relative to inflation. But simply having more money to dedicate to an action movie doesn’t necessarily make it better. Thankfully, Nolan understood how to make the most of every dollar with exciting action setpieces that truly made each film feel like it needed every cent of its budget.
From ziplines to plane crashes to actually flipping a truck for The Dark Knight, Nolan certainly makes an impact with each film in the trilogy. Every movie features at least one impressive action setpiece that outdoes anything the previous Batman films were capable of. Even better, Nolan’s light use of CGI makes the explosions and crashes feel all the more visceral and possible, putting to shame previous cinematic Batman efforts all the more definitively.
4
The Dark Knight Trilogy Made Great Changes To The Comic Lore
Nolan knew when to break rules
The Dark Knight trilogy is certainly not the most comic-accurate Batman story, it actually uses its willingness to play with the typical conventions of the DC mythos as a strength. Earlier Batman films had a wide variety of comic accuracy, with 1989’s Batman certainly being the most faithful to the source material despite the change of The Joker being the one to kill Thomas and Martha Wayne. Nolan ended up making many similar changes that worked in the trilogy’s favor.
For one, making Ra’s al Ghul Bruce Wayne’s mentor and trainer responsible for his Batman skills helps tie the first major villain into his origin story, giving him a personal stake in the conflict. Turning Lucius Fox from a business manager to a brilliant engineer responsible for concepting Batman’s gadgetry was also an exciting choice, positing him as the Q to Batman’s James Bond. While not all of Nolan’s changes are great (especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s “Robin”), for the most part, they represent straight-up improvements to the original stories they take inspiration from.
3
The Dark Knight Trilogy Wasn’t Just Meant To Sell Toys
One of the most egregious sins of earlier Batman films
As one of the most popular superheroes in the world, it’s no secret that Batman has historically made a lot of money in toy sales. As a hero uniquely dependent on his gadgets and vehicles, Batman is perhaps more suited to merchandise than any other superhero, making his films a fertile ground for advertising toys to kids. Later Batman movies just before Nolan’s turn at the helm, such as Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, feel like long toy commercials at times, introducing all sorts of new unnecessary vehicles and suit variations.
Certainly, Nolan’s movies generated a lot of ideas for toymakers thanks to Nolan’s unique take on Batman’s vehicles and gadgetry. But selling merchandise was far from their primary goal, with gritty and complex stories that didn’t take children as their primary audience. Refusing to appeal to the basest desires of a quick buck, Nolan managed to make something critically daring out of a cash cow character.
2
The Dialogue Of The Dark Knight Trilogy Is Quotable, But Not Cheesy
Whereas previous Batman scripts are largely forgotten
A lot of the strength of The Dark Knight trilogy comes off the back of its script, which features too many iconic lines to count. From brilliant nuggets like “Some men just want to watch the world burn” to incredible catchphrases like “Why so serious?”, the lines of these films have become nothing short of legendary. It says a lot that, all these years later, Nolan’s films still come to mind first when most audiences think of dialogue from Batman stories.
Meanwhile, the earlier Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher films haven’t left nearly as much of a pop culture impact with their words. The scripts of these films often fell into cheesy territory, being too simplistic or too flowery to be worth committing to memory. Meanwhile, Nolan’s dialogue is quotable and even profound without coming off as too inhuman or flowery.
1
Christian Bale’s Batman Is The Most Three-Dimensional
Even if he isn’t everyone’s favorite
Choosing a favorite live-action Batman actor is no easy task, with nearly every performance having at least some redeeming qualities worth consideration. If there’s one thing Christian Bale’s version was great at, it was making Batman feel like a truly dynamic and rounded-out character. While some Batman performances, like George Clooney’s, fall completely flat, iterations like Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer are able to display at least some degree of change over the course of their films.
However, the arc of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne is satisfying to a whole new level. Throughout the trilogy, the audience gets to witness him go from an angry young man willing to kill in the name of vengeance to a tired retiree satisfied with the difference he was able to make. Silly, growly voice notwithstanding, the Batman presented by The Dark Knight trilogy is a more whole and developed version of the character than had ever been presented up to that point.
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