On Breaking the Trilogy Trend with The Dark Knight Rises

It has almost been an unwritten rule in film history that trilogies always have a weak chapter and that chapter is usually the third. Yet, recent filmmakers have sought to break this trend. Toy Story (1995 – 2010) and the Matt Damon Jason Bourne (2002 – 2007) films being the most notable to date.

Christopher Nolan sought to add his name to this list and was in an excellent position to do so with Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), which set a new standard for not only superhero films, but also summer action films. With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has created a successful trilogy, but this latter film does not meet the high standards Nolan has set. Where Batman Begins was more a character study than an action film and The Dark Knight was a crime/action epic, The Dark Knight Rises combines elements of both, without being as successful as either.

As we have come to expect, the acting is fantastic and the technical features are exemplary; sound design, lighting and cinematography create a beautiful film and Nolan once again illustrates that IMAX is a more immersive technology than 3D. Yet, surprisingly the narrative lacks the consistency in its complexity that made The Dark Knight (and Nolan’s Inception (2010)) so fantastic. Also missing is the bite and the risk taking that has become expected in Nolan’s films. The Dark Knight Rises favours a safe, conventional ending and with its many story threads feels busy rather than smooth. This is even more frustrating as Nolan has the opportunity to end his trilogy with the edge that his reimagining of Batman suggests and deserves.

However, it would be unfair to say The Dark Knight Rises is a weak film. Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard are all excellent additions and Anne Hathaway’s master thief fits into the Nolan world very well. Hardy’s Bane is terrifying and his face off with Batman is a brutal and memorable scene within the whole trilogy. Yet, Bane’s end is equivalent to the lack of risk and narrative bite discussed above. Nolan also creates a very satisfying cyclical story that picks up on aspects of the two previous films and continues to embed his Batman films with an ideology that is very critical of the risk-taking, economy-ruining capitalists of today. Unfortunately, The Dark Knight Rises only occasionally shocks and thrills in the way the previous films have, but when it does, it does it better than any other superhero/action film out there.