One of my biggest gulfs in general consensus is my extremely hit or miss opinion on Nolan in general. Some of his films are absolute bangers of the highest order imo and some just, quite simply, do not do it for me AT ALL. And speaking as a Batman and comic book fans on top of a film nerd....his Batman films are mostly on the "do not work" side for me. As much as I love comics, I never pull the "this movie is not like muh comics!" shit. I ALWAYS judge a film on its own terms despite whatever source material it's adapting. Like, I don't really care about some of Goyer's goofy ass comments. We can play the "this person doesn't understand comics" game all day. I'm not gonna tar and feather everyone who has a different take on a character than me. I don't think Goyer's approach in Begins is inherently bad or wrong. It's just a different contextualization of the character's mythology. And depending on how much Batman you've read (not trying to be gatekeepy) the "makes himself a myth and symbol" aspect isn't invalid at all. It's actually a pretty reasonable conclusion. Especially with Denny O'Neil Batman. Buuuuut I do kinda break my rule here with TDKT. Imo, Begins aside, these really don't feel like Batman movies to me. They just don't. Nolan's particular vision here, while impeccably crafted, just does nothing for me as far as getting me invested in the setting, mood, and atmosphere or a of comic book character. ESPECIALLY one as rooted in pulp fiction as Batman. When I watch TDK and TDKR I just...don't feel like I'm watching Batman films. I can't put it more simply than that. I admire them on a craft level. They are A tier, robust exercises in powerhouse big budget filmmaking. Nolan's dedication to "doing it for real" is stellar and on that front I find these films rather amazing. But for me the emotional and thematic invest is not there for me. I don't give a shit about the Bruce, Rachel, and Harvey triangle. So that entire thing, the emotional crux of TDK and one of the biggest of the entire trilogy, falls flat. They share no chemistry. I don't care. And because I don't care Rachel's death and Harvey's downfall fails to move me. Not to mention the dialogue in TDK and TDKR is often laughably hokey. Like, so hokey it adds an air of pretension to the films I don't think Nolan intended. Some of this stuff is pure Saturday morning cartoon goofy yet it's played with such dire straightness I can't help but roll my eyes. Not even many lighter, funnier, goofier, comic book movies have dialogue as asinine as these films. TDK imo is a pacing nightmare after the hospital explosion. Two-Face comes off as more whiny and annoying than tragic and threatening. Bale's Batman voice, while the subject of jokes and memes for years, is actually kinda the worst. Like, unironically terrible. So terrible it takes me out of the movies. Batman Begins is far and away the best of the three. It's fight scenes are for shit. But it feels like the most sincere of the three. It balances the "grounded" approach with just enough stylistic flourish to create a world that is still separate from our own. The Gotham of Begins isn't just Chicago with a steely blue aesthetic. It doesn't feel like a stand-in. It has personality. The emotional heft of the story is there and far more engaging. I CARE in Begins. In TDK and Rises...eh?
One of my biggest gulfs in general consensus is my extremely hit or miss opinion on Nolan in general. Some of his films are absolute bangers of the highest order imo and some just, quite simply, do not do it for me AT ALL. And speaking as a Batman and comic book fans on top of a film nerd....his Batman films are mostly on the "do not work" side for me.
As much as I love comics, I never pull the "this movie is not like muh comics!" shit. I ALWAYS judge a film on its own terms despite whatever source material it's adapting. Like, I don't really care about some of Goyer's goofy ass comments. We can play the "this person doesn't understand comics" game all day. I'm not gonna tar and feather everyone who has a different take on a character than me. I don't think Goyer's approach in Begins is inherently bad or wrong. It's just a different contextualization of the character's mythology. And depending on how much Batman you've read (not trying to be gatekeepy) the "makes himself a myth and symbol" aspect isn't invalid at all. It's actually a pretty reasonable conclusion. Especially with Denny O'Neil Batman.
Buuuuut I do kinda break my rule here with TDKT. Imo, Begins aside, these really don't feel like Batman movies to me. They just don't. Nolan's particular vision here, while impeccably crafted, just does nothing for me as far as getting me invested in the setting, mood, and atmosphere or a of comic book character. ESPECIALLY one as rooted in pulp fiction as Batman.
When I watch TDK and TDKR I just...don't feel like I'm watching Batman films. I can't put it more simply than that.
I admire them on a craft level. They are A tier, robust exercises in powerhouse big budget filmmaking. Nolan's dedication to "doing it for real" is stellar and on that front I find these films rather amazing. But for me the emotional and thematic invest is not there for me. I don't give a shit about the Bruce, Rachel, and Harvey triangle. So that entire thing, the emotional crux of TDK and one of the biggest of the entire trilogy, falls flat.
They share no chemistry. I don't care. And because I don't care Rachel's death and Harvey's downfall fails to move me.
Not to mention the dialogue in TDK and TDKR is often laughably hokey. Like, so hokey it adds an air of pretension to the films I don't think Nolan intended. Some of this stuff is pure Saturday morning cartoon goofy yet it's played with such dire straightness I can't help but roll my eyes.
Not even many lighter, funnier, goofier, comic book movies have dialogue as asinine as these films.
TDK imo is a pacing nightmare after the hospital explosion. Two-Face comes off as more whiny and annoying than tragic and threatening. Bale's Batman voice, while the subject of jokes and memes for years, is actually kinda the worst. Like, unironically terrible. So terrible it takes me out of the movies.
Batman Begins is far and away the best of the three. It's fight scenes are for shit. But it feels like the most sincere of the three. It balances the "grounded" approach with just enough stylistic flourish to create a world that is still separate from our own. The Gotham of Begins isn't just Chicago with a steely blue aesthetic. It doesn't feel like a stand-in. It has personality.
The emotional heft of the story is there and far more engaging. I CARE in Begins. In TDK and Rises...eh?