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Christopher Nolan: Villians defined Batman trilogy more than Batman

Thisman

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Oct 25, 2017
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Didn't see this posted

http://variety.com/2018/film/news/c...k-knight-trilogy-more-than-batman-1202808441/

"To me, each film is a different genre," Nolan said, about the movies starring Christian Bale as Batman. "They tend to be defined by the villain."

Nolan explained that he saw 2005's "Batman Begins" as a straightforward origins story. "The villain (Liam Neeson's Henri Ducard) is an appropriate adversary," Nolan said. "He's a mentor-turned-enemy." Next, came the second movie in 2008 with Heath Ledger. "'The Dark Knight' for me was always a crime drama in the mold of a Michael Mann film. The Joker was a terrorist, an agent of chaos set loose." Finally, in 2012's the grand finale, "The Dark Knight Rises," co-starring Tom Hardy, Nolan envisioned "this historical epic. Bane as a militarist foe helped that."
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He sees it himself as begins as a straight forward origins story with a mentor turned villain , sees TDK as a crime drama inspired by Heat and TDKR as a militaristic movie

Rest of article : he agreed to do Batman because he sees him as relatable than other superheroes (same thing Russo brothers said) and he sees Inception as his closest to a bond movie as you can get
 
Vic_Viper

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Oct 25, 2017
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Totally agree with his interpretation. Each movie was a totally different genre, but all equally awesome. Although I dont necessarily agree that TDKR would be a historical epic. Not sure how I would classify it atm, maybe a disaster movie?
 
chrisPjelly

chrisPjelly

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Oct 29, 2017
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I mean yeah, that's why the trilogy is still praised for having excellent memorable villains as opposed to a particularly interesting Batman.
 
BasilZero

BasilZero

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Oct 25, 2017
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Omni
Have to say its true, Batman didnt stand out as much - which is cool for a change, specifically the Dark Knight, loved how they portrayed the Joker.
 
Jombie

Jombie

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Oct 27, 2017
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That seems kind of flimsy to me, but ok. If he wanted his Batman to be relatable, he failed miserably.
 
WillyFive

WillyFive

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We still need a definitive live action Batman.

Also, TDKR was not an historical epic. It was just a dumb movie.
 
Disco

Disco

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Oct 25, 2017
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His villains as a whole (aside from Talia) comprise the best the genre has had to offer for me

That's not to say Batman was a slouch in these movies tho. Bale was great in the role and his scenes with Alfred especially were always solid.

Title is misleading though. He doesnt say more than batman, he just says the villains define the type of movie each of the 3 flicks were
 

Armored Ape

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Oct 25, 2017
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Cambridge Ma
Every time Bruce mourns the brutal slaying of his parents through king fu or buys a building, I totally am thinking to myself, 'this guys just like me'
 
Kuro

Kuro

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Oct 25, 2017
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Baleman had a decent hero's journey throughout the trilogy it was just that he was overshadowed by the villains for better or for worse (in the case of banehardy on helium)
 
Peristerium

Peristerium

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Oct 28, 2017
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Yeah.....I'm not a big fan of his rigid, reality-bound version of Batman. I want my Poison Ivy, Mr.Freeze, and all of the fantastical elements that make Batman series interesting.
 
bionic77

bionic77

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Oct 25, 2017
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Batman always has the best villains.

The movies are always better when the focus is on the villain and when they can pull it off.

This was true in the excellent 90s animated series too.
 
Bronx-Man

Bronx-Man

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Oct 25, 2017
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I don't know what Nolan was thinking with Dark Knight Rises.

"Yo Chris, you see this Occupy Wall Street stuff? This is a thing that's like, happening."
"Shit, put it in the movie then to make it all topical. We can do some vague stuff about class, I guess."
 
Skiptastic

Skiptastic

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Oct 25, 2017
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I think the villains defined the genre of each movie, but Bruce Wayne's arc over the trilogy is what drove the story and why I was so satisfied with the trilogy.

That's what separated it from the other iterations of Batman we've seen on film. It's not just the villains who stand out, but how Bruce changes over the course of the series that created a compelling trilogy.

But that's just my opinion...
 
Kuro

Kuro

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Oct 25, 2017
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Michael Keaton is still my favorite Batman but Bale was great. Batfleck has the best action scenes(even tho he's killing people lol) but everything else about his portrayal just felt like Ben Afleck pretending to be Batman.
 
passepied joe

passepied joe

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Oct 25, 2017
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Still the only cape kino to come out after Raimi's Spider-Man 2.

Le Panther Noir being the sole exception
 
TissueBox

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Bronx-Man said:
I don't know what Nolan was thinking with Dark Knight Rises.

"Yo Chris, you see this Occupy Wall Street stuff? This is a thing that's like, happening."
"Shit, put it in the movie then to make it all topical. We can do some vague stuff about class, I guess."
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Supposedly that was a coincidence, and the story was already outlined around a year before that even took place at least.
 
Nikus

Nikus

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Vic_Viper said:
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Yes.

Sorry.
 

Deleted member 14377

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Bale is the weakest Bruce/Batman ever. At least Clooney and Kilmer are memorable for one reason or another.
 
Cipherr

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Peristerium said:
Yeah.....I'm not a big fan of his rigid, reality-bound version of Batman. I want my Poison Ivy, Mr.Freeze, and all of the fantastical elements that make Batman series interesting.
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We have gotten that before though. So I feel like its only fair that we got this version. Its the one I personally enjoyed the most. I also agree with him and the Russo's on relatability, especially with the way Nolan tried to ground the universe. I like Batman far more from a story perspective than characters like Green Lantern and Superman.
 
Medalion

Medalion

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Oct 27, 2017
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A Hero is only as good as their rogue's gallery, so yes... this is true in all of Batman lore... just so happens, the Hero is pretty good himself as well
 
BossAttack

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Oct 27, 2017
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I think you're kind of twisting his words, he's not saying the movies are primarily about the villains or that they eclipse Bruce Wayne in importance. But, that the villains help define the central themes of each movie and the struggle the character is facing. I'll agree that the Joker edges out Batman in importance in TDK. But, both Begins and Rises are squarely films about Bruce/Batman.
 
JigglesBunny

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DecoReturns

DecoReturns

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Some of my favorite scenes in Nolan's Batman were the scenes between Micheal Caine and Bale.

They had such great chemistry together.
 

Seeya

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Oct 27, 2017
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Bronx-Man said:
I thought we all agreed on this for Batman in general
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Batman has some of the best weaponized... I forgot the term. But basically Batman's villains are all in one way or another extreme extensions of him, who functions as kind of an in relative balance Paragon that they are reflected against. They test him, and they define the story at a very deep thematic level.

His villains aren't just 'a guy in a goblin outfit', but 'intelligence', 'seduction', 'fear', isolation', 'chaos', 'order'. He's actually just a peice that reacts, a vehicle for the exploration that is a narrative defined by these weaponized concepts.
 
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Cuburger

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Oct 28, 2017
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I've been saying this. Begins was the only film that really was about Bruce Wayne.

Glad Nolan is serving some crow to many fans arguing otherwise over the years.

Also, damn at Nolan agreeing with the Russo statement. Nolan confirmed Marvel shill who has never read a comic.

/s
 

Deleted member 2802

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Seeya said:
Batman has some of the best weaponized... I forgot the term. But basically Batman's villains are all in one way or another extreme extensions of him, who functions as kind of an in relative balance Paragon that they are reflected against. His villains aren't just 'a guy in a goblin outfit', but 'intelligence', 'seduction', 'fear', isolation', 'choas', 'order'. He's actually just a peice reacts to and it used to explore a story defined by these weaponized concepts.
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That's what I miss in comic book hero movies (save Winter Soldier, Black Panther and Logan to some extent). Now all the villans are CGI
 
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