Batman Week Day Four: Modern Retrospective

A final retrospective on the two modern Batman films before tomorrow...
So...it's just about time. Tomorrow, The Dark Knight Rises will hit cinemas, and as per usual for On-Screen we'll have the EXCLUSIVE film fan's day-one review for you of the movie. Before that, though, it's well worth having a look back at director Christopher Nolan's past modern Batman instalments in the final day of our Batman Week features. Here, then, is a retrospective look on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight...
BATMAN BEGINS
After the travesty that was Batman & Robin released in 1997, few could have possibly predicted a major comeback for the Dark Knight in the foreseeable future on the big screen. It came as a massively pleasant surprise, then, to hear that Christopher Nolan would be adapting the film franchise for a modern-day audience in 2005, and with hindsight it's still easy to say without a doubt that the new director did not disappoint. Batman Begins is essentially a landmark for its own genres, setting the level of ambition and scale that future superhero and thriller film makers would have to try and match in their own entries in future years to come. Taking place a few years into Bruce Wayne's adulthood as the lonely billionaire finds himself locked in prison once his life goes awry, the film opens with an investigation into the League Of Shadows and Wayne's fears, before ultimately moving into his destiny as the Caped Crusader and the ramifications it has on those who care for him. Seven years after release, I noticed that perhaps the opening scenes were a little bit slower than what some superhero fans might well be used to nowadays, yet the effect of deep empathy between the viewer and the protagonist is deeply invigorating and keeps the level of engagement in the audience at a major high for the first half hour or so. Once we move firmly into 'superhero territory', Begins does not let up, bringing us countless emotional and thrilling setpieces before moving into a surprisingly dark climax. Unlike the classic Batman movies, there's a real sense begun here that nothing in the lore is quite as safe as we might like to imagine, adding a genuinely palpable air of unpredictability to the entire viewing experience. Christian Bale finds his feet quickly, as does Michael Caine, but to some extent the true credit must go to Liam Neeson, who gives a simply fantastic performance as the menacing, enigmatic presence of Ra's Al Ghul. It doesn't seem like the character will return fully in The Dark Knight Rises beyond one or two cameos, so it's good to know that Christopher Nolan did him and indeed the entire origins story such brilliant justice in his first instalment in the trilogy. Batman Begins remains a captivating watch to this day, a true landmark of modern cinema.
5/5
THE DARK KNIGHT
I know what you're thinking- now's the part where he says the sequel was a letdown in comparison, eh? As many of you may have already guessed, though, that really couldn't be further from the truth. Where Begins relishes in emotions and the building of a legend, The Dark Knight paves an entirely different narrative, instead showing how one madman can bring an entire world to its knees, and how even the most insiprational and iconic figures of hope can be corrupted. Heath Ledger of course gives a show-stealing final performance as the Joker here, the greatest of actors lost in the most tragic of ways, yet credit must go too to Aaron Eckhart, the man who gives us our first truly realistic depiction of both Harvey Dent and his two-faced counterpart. Again, on-screen the story of Eckhart's character is tragic, and the level of grittiness and believability with which the man's degredation into a monster is presented is truly groundbreaking, not just for superhero films but again for the whole of the world of cinema. Christian Bale shines massively too, really coming into his own as the role of a hero who begins to realise that in order to protect his city and home, he must make the ultimate sacrifice so that the fall of Dent can never be known, lest it ruin the society who believed in him. There are just so many elements of The Dark Knight that make it a filmic masterclass that it would be impossible to count them all, but sufficed to say it even manages to top its incredible predecessor, and still ranks alongside films like The King's Speech, Toy Story 3, Kick-Ass and a select few others as one of my favourite movies of all time.
5/5

That of course leaves us with The Dark Knight Rises- can it possibly hope to live up to our expectations? Christopher Nolan has done it before, and I have very little doubt in him, such that I think it's possible he could well do it again. Whatever happens, it's going to be one heck of a ride...