The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The finale of Christopher Nolan’s and Christian Bale’s Batman. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is the end to the trilogy. As this follows on from two previous films, it is important to watch in order to avoid any spoilers. Even though they are set eight years apart, each film impacts the next.

After the catastrophe the Joker left Gotham City in, Batman has ran into hiding. Bruce Wayne feels defeated and broken. However, he is forced back into this symbolic persona when a new threat crashes into his beloved city. As usual, the plot of this Batman film is strong, there are many details to become lost into and the intrigue constantly grows with depth. Alike to the other two previous films, this one is strong in plot and script.

Christopher Nolan ends strong with this finale film in the Dark Knight trilogy. The cinematography is outstanding. The landscapes, the costume, the use and absence of music; it is all put together incredibly well.

The acting has always been strong in this trilogy. We are continued to be graced with Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, who again is exceptional. We also still have Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman – the phenomenal stars that they are, means their name just says it all. This final film introduces even more excellent actors. The villain is the highly skilled mercenary that is Bane. Bane is portrayed by the brilliant Tom Hardy, again no more is needed to be said. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ also introduces the cat burglar, played by Anne Hathaway and the young cop, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The acting from every single person is perfection.

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is an exceptional film. It rounds off the trilogy perfectly. Gotham City is once again caved into the gritty crime it has become well known for. The action is chaotic and dangerous. But also the emotion is raw and desperate. You can’t help but plead for Batman’s success. I don’t think Batman can ever be portrayed as well as these three films conclude his journey.

Batman Begins (2005)

The gritty, underbelly of Gotham City is exposed bare in this Batman trilogy. ‘Batman Begins’ foretells the origin story of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. On a journey of vengeance, Bruce takes it upon himself to create a symbol for the criminals to fear. After years of training, he has learnt a multitude of skills; but when he returns to his home town, the magnitude of threat has only increased.

Christian Bale is the best Batman and that’s my honest opinion. Not only is Christian Bale an excellent Batman and Bruce Wayne but what makes this Batman trilogy even better are the other stars that are scattered throughout. Master Wayne’s brilliant butler, Alfred is played by the magnificent Michael Caine. Another three include Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman. All are excellent in their roles. Phenomenal stars concludes phenomenal acting.

The cinematography of this film is outstanding. Obviously a lot of this is down to Christopher Nolan. For a film made in 2005, I cannot fault a single special effect. The landscapes, the costume, the action is put together so well. I become so lost in this film.

This film cannot be declared just another superhero movie. ‘Batman Begins’ has a fantastic plot, one with depth and intrigue. It’s also a great action movie, it has everything, car chases, sneak attacks, sword fights and so on. It’s easy to become wrapped up into Gotham City and become completely obsessed with wanting to uncover the truth by diving into the chaos. It is such a well created movie; the plot, the script, the directing; everything comes together so perfectly.

Joker (2019)

Now I’m a huge fan of Heath Ledger as the best Joker ever to hit the screen. And within The Dark Knight Trilogy, I believe that Heath Ledger is still phenomenal as Batman’s greatest nemesis (‘The Dark Knight’ review here). Nevertheless, in this background story Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker is outstanding. He becomes the character in a multitude of ways. His look is haunting, his laughter echoes in the silent cinema room, his silence makes you sit still. I found myself frozen in my seat, unnerved by what this Joker by succumb to, waiting for the final snap.

Pinpointing the actual plot of the film comes down to two words: character development. The film is what it says on the tin, it is about the Joker through and through. His life, his development, his road to violence. The whole film is full of tension. Arthur Fleck, aka the Joker, is incredibly unnerving. The unpredictability of this character is haunting. Although at the same time, there is a victimisation of the villain – he’s been rejected from society, horrifically beaten and abandoned. It’s heart-breaking at times with a condition that seems to get him worse into trouble, you feel for Arthur as he’s ridiculed and misunderstood. The background story with this mother only deepens throughout the film and adds to Arthur’s misery as he discovers more about himself. This story was inviting to be discovered and draws you in to find out more.

All Arthur wants is to fulfil his mother’s given nickname of ‘Happy’. He wants to give people joy and laughter, to put smiles on people’s faces. But with a multitude of psychological problems, he finds it’s not as easy as he has always believed. His nickname becomes ironic in his hatred of life and misery of everything. His uncontrollable laughter becomes a result of ignorance and hate. His mask is his clown and he becomes the clown to set the crazy world right but into deeper chaos.

There is a connection to the Wayne family. However, this was something I didn’t want to be obsessively covered and happily it wasn’t. The nod to the family and little Bruce Wayne is enough to keep the film separate from all the other franchises and adds development into both families. If it went any further I believe the ‘Joker’ would become a film retelling a story already told – fortunately they knew their limits to make the film different but still having a nod to Batman which you can read into as much as you wish and not have it forced upon you.

As a stand-alone film, ‘Joker’ could continue as a phenomenal film. Add anything to it and I’m worried it’ll lose all meaning and be lost amongst a mass once again. I may have missed the comedy that others laughed at, but I was lost in the psychological thriller and drama of this character we know so little of. The film has given a deeper meaning to the reasons behind, but an unnerving, unknown understanding to his happy ending. There’s a clear snap but the audience can understand why, even though his violence is extreme and shocking, it was a society that has been leading him that way for too long and he’s finally found his meaning to life. Perverse and deep in meaning, ‘Joker’ is definitely a psychological thrilling drama trying to come to grips with this complex character as a victim and as a villain brought as one. Additionally, I will always welcome Robert De Niro to my screen.

The Dark Knight (2008)

‘The Dark Knight’ is definitely one of the best superhero films out there. With the most phenomenal villain on screen. Batman vs The Joker. This is the second of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy: the first being ‘Batman Begins’, the third ‘The Dark Knight Rises’.

A new villain has come to Gotham, one crazier and extreme unlike any other that Batman (Christian Bale) has seen before. In his crazed make-up and his purple suit, The Joker (Heath Ledger) resembles a mad man with nothing to lose and only chaos to gain. Meanwhile, there’s a new hero in town, the District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who will do anything to clean the streets of Gotham, a knight in shining armour determined to take the Mob down and all the criminals in his city. But The Joker is determined in his acknowledgement of Batman being his perfect half to “complete” him, he wants to continue a warp of madness in the city that messes everything up for Dent, forcing a clean city to turn on its head.

I truly think this is a brilliant film. It is quite a long one, but there is so much to the plot that you become emotionally invested, warped into Gotham. There is so much meaning and drive to the plot that brings this film to light. The director is obviously essential in making this trilogy as phenomenal as it is. The brilliant use of sound and lighting makes the audience feel tense in the crucial places. But we cannot forget the outstanding cast of this film. Personally, I think Christian Bale is one of the best Batman’s. With Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman on his side as Alfred and Lucius Fox retrospectively, who can’t appreciate the characters? Additionally, the magnificent Gary Oldman as Gordon, the officer trailing the streets with Batman in the shadows on his side. However, I’ve left best till last, the brilliance of the villain can never be forgotten. Heath Ledger brings The Joker into a different, creepy, unnerving light. Every word is listened to in tension. His laughs echo through the film in remembrance of Gotham’s crash. He becomes the antagonist and brings this phenomenal cast to a close.

I would definitely recommend watching this film. You become warped into Gotham with Bruce Wayne’s new chaotic life where The Joker personally victimises Batman. The film is a whirlwind of action and special effects excellently executed for the audience to escape into. You really don’t know what can happen with The Joker in the mix.

Justice League (2017)

There will be spoilers in this review, just a pre-warning. Because to be honest, the thing I need to rant about is something that was kept a good secret. So again, there WILL be spoilers.

The trailer and all advertising screams teamwork, “you can’t save the world alone”, well to be honest if you’re Superman you can, because he can do everything right? Why did Batman spend so much time bringing a team together when Superman could do everything alone? Blah, blah, blah, he’s too good to be true and that irritates me in a movie such as this. You may say, “ah but Superman died because of his one weakness”, but noooo, here comes the spoiler! He’s back! And I was really enjoying the film until that happened! Ok, so a bit of an exaggeration, I still enjoyed the film, there were just obstacles making it difficult to be an amazing one I’d watch repeatedly.

Anyway, DC Comics brings Batman (Ben Affleck) back as he tries to build a team against Steppenwolf who wants to destroy the world, obviously, when do they not want to? Steppenwolf brings many, oh so many, flying demons to earth with him, demons who feed on fear. So, Batman brings a team of supers together: Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Barry Allen aka The Flash (Ezra Miller – from ‘Perks of Being A Wallflower’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’), Victor Stone aka Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and finally Arthur Curry aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa – the one and only Khal Drogo from ‘Game of Thrones’). I love that all the characters got a proper introduction, so if you haven’t seen previous films of these characters then not much is missed and you can enjoy the film without much confusion.

Let’s start with Batman, Bruce Wayne. I have to admit I have a few issues with Ben Affleck as Batman. I don’t know what it is, but as Batman he doesn’t seem quite right, but as Bruce Wayne he is brilliant. He does play the Bruce Wayne to excellency. His voice seems to irritate me when he’s Batman, I can’t quite explain it, but even when everyone knows he’s actually Bruce Wayne in a Bat costume, he still does this deepened voice… Anyway, his character in this film is seen as very human, which was a nice touch, after all as he says his super power is being rich, not speed, nor strength, nor being able to breathe under water. Batman has his mind and his money. I did appreciate this more human side of him, again swaying me to prefer him as Bruce Wayne. With the other characters associated with Batman, I don’t think anyone could beat Michael Caine or Gary Oldman as Alfred or Gordon, so as it wasn’t these in this film they weren’t the best, but nevertheless they weren’t awful. They were more minimal characters anyway.

So next, Wonder Woman. She was brilliant, at the start I thought she might be a bit too good, the same issue as Superman, but no. She was perfect. She was played brilliantly, she had her flaws, but she also had some skills. Diana was a great character, a hurt Amazon woman who fled and hid for centuries in ache of her lost boyfriend, she now rises to do what she must and help the others. She was good in battle and she blended well with all the other characters, she was definitely one of my favourite characters of this film.

Now The Flash! I loved him. Ezra Miller plays this young, speedy, funny character great. Personally, without him, this film wouldn’t be nearly as good! He carried some comedy through the film with one off sentences. His character was unique and different to all the others. As a character not strong in himself, young in mind and body, he is brought into this world of saving people. Eager to be apart of something bigger and generate some sort of friends, he falls into this world a bit out of his depths. But we watch him as he becomes stronger and obeys rules of how to save people, doing little bit by little bit with his cheeky humour on the way and his many, many fears. When Superman was thrown in the mix, he seemed to undermine poor Barry and that did irritate me, again why need a team when Superman can do it all by himself…

Cyborg, Victor Stone. A damaged character, hurt by what his father did. Alien machinery planted into his body in order to save his life from an accident he was involved in. It very much seemed like, if he wasn’t involved in this team, they would have been considerably lacking in all directions of the film. His character had a lot of potential, yet he struggled to come to grips with everything he can do, this made him more human and I appreciated that. He was definitely a character needed in the film and played well. Although, background wise I didn’t know much about him, although this didn’t really pose a problem for the film, enough was said.

Finally, Aquaman. He is a great addition, he’s the tough, ‘I don’t have any feelings’ kind of guy. Straight away, when he was brought in, I thought he would be a fab character, however I felt he was a bit limited. They didn’t show him to his full potential. He could have been a much more powerful character, whereas compared to Wonder Woman, he slacked quite a bit. I wish there was more to him, because his character on ground was brilliantly built but there needed to be more. Plus, background wise, there really wasn’t much we could suss out. A shame to be honest, nevertheless, loved him being in the film.

Overall, a mixed review. I did enjoy the film, and it’s made me want to watch ‘Wonder Woman’ and hope they make ‘The Flash’ film, because these two were definitely my favourite characters. I don’t think anything is going to change my opinions on Superman, or maybe if I watch his individual films? But either way, his match wasn’t met and it seemed a bit pointless. Nevertheless, I loved the new team, the Justice League! Bring back Bruce Wayne, Diana, Barry, Victor and Arthur, without Clark Kent and I’ll be happy. If you’re a big DC fan, I don’t think you’d find this film a disappointment, and I’m not saying it is, there were just pitfalls for me. Regardless, I’d say watch it.