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I’ve seen Batman Begins so many times, I decided to skip it this time, so I watch The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises for the first time in a few years. I have to say, I still really enjoy Batman Begins best (from memory, obviously), but I enjoy Rises next. It seems the majority’s favorite of the trilogy has officially been sealed as my least favorite, whereas in the past it was a tossup between TDK and TDKR. The Joker’s motivations are so confusing, his “dog chasing cars” bit contrasting so completely with his amazing clairvoyance of how to preemptively defeat the good guys, and the lack of focus on Bruce/Batman all disappoint me.
I feel like every few years I ramble off the same points on this forum. I’m sure I’ve said this elsewhere here. Anyway, Joker is hired to kill Batman, threatens to kill someone every day till Batman reveals himself, then tells Batman he doesn’t want to kill him (laughing at the very notion, because Batman completes him) and goes to great length to keep Batman’s identity hidden (and then in the end nearly kills him after all!). He says he doesn’t plan, he just does things, but he redirects a convoy to a vulnerable underground road with the necessary vehicles and weapons to defeat the convoy, knows when SWAT truck carrying Dent will return to the surface, and even has masked men ready with cables to take down a police chopper. He manages to get caught (and apparently wanted to), just so he could blow up the police station and capture Lau against all odds of this plan working out so well. He and his henchman are able to place explosives in closely monitored areas (hospitals are extremely closely-monitored facilities, as healthcare is one of the most regulated professions in the world). Yet, in spite of all this amazing planning, he convinces the brilliant DA that it was all just an impulse. Then there’s the stupidity in that he convinces the mob to pay him half their savings in cash so he can kill Batman, then when he gets paid for not killing Batman, he torches the cash, and all the mobsters’ flunkies decide to join him!
I’m sorry, but the logic to this movie was sorely lacking, and it really disappoints me. Yes, Ledger portrayed a great Joker, and Eckhart played a great Two Face, but that doesn’t excuse such mammoth lapses in logic. Its strongest point is its ending, where Batman is willing to take the fall for Harvey, proving that sometimes a lie is more valuable than the truth. It’s filled with numerous interesting moral dilemmas leading up to that ending, but still the plot just irritates me on a certain level.
TDKR is much more logical, even if there are certain points where suspension of disbelief is greater than in previous installments. Bane’s motives are clearer, and the movie is intense throughout. It’s definitely a bit longer than necessary, but overall I still love the movie.
And Batman Begins still remains my favorite, especially because the primary focus is on the hero and his journey to the point he is at.
http://screenrant.com/batman-begins-better-dark-knight-movie/
