Franchise Review- The Dark Knight

   With "The Dark Knight Rises" wrapping up it's theatrical run to the tune of nearly $450 million domestically and $1 billion worldwide, it's safe to say that Chris Nolan and company knocked it out of the park once again. You don't see too many blockbusters that break the bank AND earn the respect of critics. That used to happen a couple of decades ago, but now it seems like it's one or the other. Like his celebrated peers Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, Nolan found a way to pull it off more than once. "The Avengers" made more money this summer, but even the powers that be at Marvel have no illusions when it comes to quality comparisons. Nolan made comic book movies that delivered the thrills while providing intellectual nourishment and relevant real world themes. All the lofty praise is well deserved. Let's recap the greatest superhero film series of all time.

"Batman Begins"(2005)
Bat fans were cautiously optimistic when the director of the acclaimed thrillers "Memento" and "Insomnia" was hired to resurrect the Caped Crusader on the big screen. It sounded promising, but Joel Schumacher was a respectable filmmaker once too and the memories of the nippled nightmares he served up in the mid-to-late '90s were still fresh. We needn't have worried, though. This serious and grounded origin story focused on a young, emotionally scarred Bruce Wayne's journey toward fulfilling his destiny as the crime fighting legend. Christian Bale proved to be the most committed actor to don the cape and cowl and he couldn't have been surrounded by a classier ensemble. Michael Caine's Alfred, Gary Oldman's Jim Gordon, and Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox are a rock solid support system.

   Nolan doesn't slack in the villain category either with Liam Neeson as Wayne's shadowy mentor turned nemesis Ras A Ghul and Cillian Murphy's creepy Scarecrow/Dr. Jonathan Crane. "Begins" isn't perfect- Katie Holmes is merely adequate as Bruce's longtime love Rachel Dawes and the chaotic, action-heavy climax isn't quite consistent with the restrained first half of the film. The masses were more than willing to overlook these flaws to have Gotham's savior back where he belongs, but little did we know that Nolan was just getting started.

"The Dark Knight"(2008)
"Empire Strikes Back", "Aliens", "Terminator 2: Judgment Day". All sequels that unquestionably topped their predecessors and Nolan's phenomenal follow-up to "Batman Begins" joined this elite group almost immediately. What more needs to be said about the late Heath Ledger's towering portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime? It's one of those performances that becomes permanently ingrained in the public consciousness like Brando's Vito Corleone and Pacino's Tony Montana. The Best Supporting Actor Oscar seems insufficient. You almost feel a little sorry for the rest of the cast because they never had a chance of making a huge impression, but Maggie Gyllenhaal is a better actress than Katie Holmes and Aaron Eckhardt gives us a proper rendition of Gotham City's tragic DA Harvey 'Two Face' Dent.

   Bale's Batman has no limits and Nolan refused to stay within the normal limits of a comic book movie when he made an epic tale of crime and corruption with real drama and an unexpected level of darkness. The film took in a staggering $533 million at the summer '08 box office and it's been rumored that the Academy Awards made the decision to expand the field of Best Picture nominees to ten based on the mini-outrage sparked by TDK not being nominated. Could Nolan possibly match this extraordinary achievement? Would he even bother to try?

"The Dark Knight Rises"(2012)
We now know that the answer to both those questions is a resounding yes. It's extremely rare for a franchise to get bigger and better with each installment, but I'll be damned if it didn't happen here. Bale gives his best performance yet in the role as a battered Bruce Wayne is forced to awake from his eight year self-imposed exile to respond to Gotham's latest and perhaps greatest threat, the hulking terrorist brute Bane(Tom Hardy). Nolan wisely jumped straight to the only villain in the Batman rogues gallery capable of besting the Caped Crusader physically and Hardy's imposing and uniquely intimidating presence insures that we don't miss the Joker too much. Anne Hathaway doesn't erase Michelle Pfeiffer, but she's effective as Bruce's sultry and conflicted soul mate Selina 'Catwoman' Kyle. Joseph Gordon Levitt and Marion Cottilard round out the nice new additions while series stalwarts Caine, Oldman, and Freeman all happily returned to take their final bow.

   The action never lets up for the majority of the 2 hour and 35 minute running time and Nolan crafts a wholly satisfying conclusion to his Bat saga while simultaneously hinting at a new beginning. God help the cast and crew that gets handed the inevitable reboot.