Rank the Nolan Batman trilogy

The 2012 superhero epic about Batman's struggle to overcome the terrorist leader Bane, as well as his own inner demons.
User avatar
Posts: 3331
Joined: April 2011
1) Batman Begins
A great origin story, with believable characters and a strong point-of-view centered on Bruce Waye/Batman. It gets you inside his head and why and how he operates the way he does. Has a great pace that builds to a frantic third act. Great use of flashbacks and non-linear storytelling. A great cast, many of whom would feature in the films to come. Liam Nesson is so badass. A great, emotional score with James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer. A great ending that might have been only been good had TDK never been made.
2) The Dark Knight
A strong crime thriller that is like a rollercoaster ride. Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, and Aaron Eckhart are given a lot of material to perform and do so admirably. However Christian Bale didn't look his best or perform his best here nor was the material as strongly centered on his character as it was in Batman Begins. Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel made a better lawyer than Katie Holmes but the material made for a terrible romantic interest for Bruce Wayne. An excellent ending. Music is ok but not much I wanted to hear outside of the movie.
3) The Dark Knight Rises
Batman retires, unretires and first shows up at like 45 minutes in, then can't do anything as he's a prisoner for the middle of the film, then he's Batman again and retires again. The good news is Bale looks better here than in TDK and he comes across as more into his performance. Even the way the TDK batsuit is lit and filmed is better than in TDK. I love JGL but his character gets way too much to do in this movie. Tom Hardy was impressive as Bane. I liked the musical score more than TDK's. The script doesn't do a great job of juggling all the characters and so the Miranda relationship suffers while the audience is just waiting around for Selina and Bruce to bone already. The last act is pretty good (minus Blake's interruptions) with the Bane fight, Talia looking scary, and the convoy chase until what comes after the bomb blast. Lots of structural problems with the script but I'll shut it now.

User avatar
Posts: 2547
Joined: June 2011
MagnarTheGreat wrote:1) Batman Begins
A great origin story, with believable characters and a strong point-of-view centered on Bruce Waye/Batman. It gets you inside his head and why and how he operates the way he does. Has a great pace that builds to a frantic third act. Great use of flashbacks and non-linear storytelling. A great cast, many of whom would feature in the films to come. Liam Nesson is so badass. A great, emotional score with James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer. A great ending that might have been only been good had TDK never been made.
2) The Dark Knight
A strong crime thriller that is like a rollercoaster ride. Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, and Aaron Eckhart are given a lot of material to perform and do so admirably. However Christian Bale didn't look his best or perform his best here nor was the material as strongly centered on his character as it was in Batman Begins. Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel made a better lawyer than Katie Holmes but the material made for a terrible romantic interest for Bruce Wayne. An excellent ending. Music is ok but not much I wanted to hear outside of the movie.
3) The Dark Knight Rises
Batman retires, unretires and first shows up at like 45 minutes in, then can't do anything as he's a prisoner for the middle of the film, then he's Batman again and retires again. The good news is Bale looks better here than in TDK and he comes across as more into his performance. Even the way the TDK batsuit is lit and filmed is better than in TDK. I love JGL but his character gets way too much to do in this movie. Tom Hardy was impressive as Bane. I liked the musical score more than TDK's. The script doesn't do a great job of juggling all the characters and so the Miranda relationship suffers while the audience is just waiting around for Selina and Bruce to bone already. The last act is pretty good (minus Blake's interruptions) with the Bane fight, Talia looking scary, and the convoy chase until what comes after the bomb blast. Lots of structural problems with the script but I'll shut it now.
Finally someone in line with my thinking. :clap:

User avatar
Posts: 835
Joined: December 2013
The Dark Knight




The Dark Knight Rises
Batman Begins

User avatar
Posts: 195
Joined: March 2012
Location: American Gardens Building, West 81st Street
TDK
TDKR
BB

Anyone who places TDK in last place needs to have their head examined.

User avatar
Posts: 349
Joined: May 2010
Location: Croatia
bootsy wrote:BB
TDK
TDKR

BB is the true Batman story of the trilogy and the one I enjoy the most.
This. :batman:

Posts: 7738
Joined: February 2012
Location: Boston, Taxachusetts.
I think The Dark Knight is the best. It's very much it's own beat compared to the other 2. It could almost stand completely own as its own single Batman story. Begins and Rises share a lot of similarities and a lot of the same small little faults. I think. They are both damn great, if flawed, and I would say they are both pretty even. I love TDK the most but the whole trilogy is amazing and has great replay value. It's probably my favorite trilogy ever.

User avatar
Posts: 104
Joined: April 2013
Location: Gotham Sewers
:batman: 1-The Dark Knight :
Epic in all ways, groundbreaking in all departments, a different approach on comic book movies, heath ledgers mind blowing performance, classic look at joker vs batsy conflict, epic newton+zimmer soundtrack and batman at his best

:clap: 2-The Dark Knight Rises
Another Groundbreaking take on comic book movies, connects with BB and TDK perfectly, bold, the effect of selina kyle and bane, very symbolic movie and inspirational + Brought the trilogy to a satisfying end without messing it all up (nolan just nailed it)

:thumbup: 3-Batman Begins
Great origin story, great acting over all, batman done in a serious way after many years. The movie was great but it was not groundbreaking or epic as TDK or TDKR. It was just a good origin story done right. With TDK and TDKR, nolan and the crew just kept pushing the limits further and further>>Until they came up with this B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L TRILOGY!!

User avatar
Posts: 8266
Joined: October 2012
Location: Gran Pulse
1. TDKR- I can relate to this the most, don't know why. Only film i ever watched 5 times in a row. i actually want it to be longer.
2. TDK- Got beaten by TDKR for the reasons above, otherwise just as great.
3. BB- Still can't really get into the flashbacks at the beginning, but otherwise great film. loved the second Half.

Post Reply