Batman Begins
By the time this one released I was so ignorant to Batman I didn't even know it had released. By the time I found out about it it was at least two years later and I still had no desire to watch it. The previous movies really killed it for me. But hearing so much good from it, and finding the DVD on sale I bought it. I saw it, and I loved it. Scarecrow really got to me.. Scary. Katie Holmes was the only thing I didn't like from it.

The Dark Knight
I saw this one at midnight release. Loved it even more. My anticipation had been sky high already. And if I thought Scarecrow was scary, it was nothing to The Joker. Ledger truly did a terrific role in this movie, and even Two-Face was awesome.

The Dark Knight Rises,
Anticipations of course were high and I was pleasantly pleased. I didn't have any disappointments with this movie. Love it entirely. Bane was a terrific villain. Catwoman, I had nothing to fear from it turned out- she was great too. All the new cast members did a terrific job too. Perfect ending to the perfect Batman.

Least favorite character was Rachel Dawes as played by Katie Holmes.
Villain- I'd keep The Joker here, although Bane is a close second.
In this third, Nolan put a lot of nice touches... I won't say them because I'm too lazy to spoiler free here but it was a terrific conclusion.

Batman Begins: I thought it was a great movie and a really good transition from comic book to movie. Crazy things can happen in comic books that would seem ridiculous in real life, but Nolan managed to make it work really well.

Dark Knight: Of course it's an amazing movie and Heath Ledger's performance pushed it above and beyond. What made the Joker even more dynamic was how much he enjoyed killing people. He killed people so often, but he enjoyed it. He was incredibly psychotic which gave him so much depth, especially when he forced people to kill each other.

Dark Knight Rises: I had high expectations for this movie, of course, but I understood that Dark Knight would be a hard act to follow. Even though there was no Heath Ledger, it amazed me even more than I thought.
A few SPOILER points:

All in all, I thought it was an excellent conclusion. It felt like the Batman story really had ended but in a content way.

Batman Begins
I pretty much agree with everything Narnian1 and Lilygloves said. While I really like this movie, it’s probably my least favorites of the trilogy. Don’t get me wrong; it’s still fantastic. I just don’t think it really hits the high notes that the other two do.

The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight is one of my favorite movies of all time. Almost every aspect is brilliant; the performances, the action scenes, the score, the tone and feel of the movie, the cinematography, the script (there are so many memorable lines). The ending scene is one of my favorites as well; I love that throughout this trilogy there are such deep conflicts and things that really make you think. I know that the first time I saw (I don’t know if this is a spoiler or not, but…)

The Dark Knight Rises

Even though there was no Heath Ledger, it amazed me even more than I thought.

I couldn't agree more! I was actually really worried about this movie. The Dark Knight is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I really wanted this one to be equally fantastic. Thankfully, though it had a very different tone and feel, I loved it almost as much (and I'm sure I'll love it more after I've seen it a few more times). While no movie is perfect, especially one this anticipated and ambitious, what few flaws/plotholes I thought the movie had didn't even matter to me after I saw the finished product. Everyone's performances were spot on (Michael Caine was especially incredible in the returning cast) and all the new characters fit right in (Bane was terrifying, Selina Kyle was great, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character was fantastic). The cinematography was beautiful, especially in IMAX, and I really liked Hans Zimmer’s score. I got to see it at midnight, and I was really tired and worried about staying awake, but this movie just sucked me in and 2 hours and 45 minutes flew by (I checked my watch throughout Deathly Hallows and The Hunger Games, and didn’t do it once during this movie). The cheer the theater gave when it was over was the loudest I’ve ever heard. I was overall extremely satisfied; I can't wait until TDKR comes out on DVD and I can watch the whole trilogy back to back to back.

One thing I love about the trilogy as a whole is how all the movies are cohesive, but they're all so different as well. The color schemes differ slightly in each of them, and some of the themes differ slightly. I love how Batman is attacked but different villains from a different angle in every movie:

Batman Begins:

Solid movie. Christian Bale and Liam Neeson along with Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman alone drew me to this one. I had seen the 90's Batman. Best one of those was easily the first with Michael Keaton and Jack Nichols as "The Joker". But the others went downhill fast, especially Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. So in terms of story, I was in and out going into it. Then I saw it.

The training Batman went through with the League of Shadows under Ra's Al Ghul was awesome. Scarecrow was a brilliant villain while still not being the main one. And the final showdown with the League of Shadows kept me hooked.

Dark Knight:

I was not going to miss this one. Heath Ledger displayed one of the most powerful villains I have ever seen in any movie. Unfortunately he was not careful enough with the role, which Jack Nichols STRONGLY warned him about, and it eventually cost him his life. The way the Joker sent Gotham into moral madness and the ultimate decision of 'would you take someone else's life just to save another' was intense. Harvey Dent was a favorite. What I loved about this movie is that it really demonstrated the power of sin (wasn't the intent of the movie per say).

Dark Knight Rises:

I didn't know how this movie would top Dark Knight, especially with the Joker not even being mentioned (in respect to Heath Ledger). I will say this: Bane was a BEAST. I walked out of this one Tuesday afternoon, however with mixed feelings. There were differences to the Dark Knight but I felt it was too similar. Part of it was how high TDK set the bar. TDKR is right on par with TDK, but I simply felt it was too similar. I don't know how else to explain it. It was an excellent movie but it just seemed to me that I could watch TDK and TDKR and feel like it's the same movie.

Batman Begins

One thing I love about the trilogy as a whole is how all the movies are cohesive, but they're all so different as well. The color schemes differ slightly in each of them, and some of the themes differ slightly. I love how Batman is attacked but different villains from a different angle in every movie:

Spoiler

his fears and his mind by the Scarecrow in Batman Begins, his morals and “rules” by the Joker in The Dark Knight, and physically in The Dark Knight Rises.

That's a really interesting note. I hadn't thought of that. Well put!

One of the things I noticed was the effect of Bane's voice. When you're acting, you use your face to convey the emotion of the scene and that's where most power from acting comes from- facial expressions. About three quarters of the way through the movie, I realized, "I have barely been able to see any expression from Tom Hardy, and yet he actually scares me." I think they made his voice slightly louder than the rest of the sound and his voice was really creepy. It was creepy enough to scare you the way a villain should, but normal enough to be a believable voice from a human. I thought it was genius how they found the balance. Even though you couldn't see his face because most of it was covered, you don't notice it and it doesn't distract you from the evil Bane portrays.

About three quarters of the way through the movie, I realized, "I have barely been able to see any expression from Tom Hardy, and yet he actually scares me."

I feel like we've had all the same thoughts about this movie He was very good at acting with his eyes and body language (I read a review where Christopher Nolan said he immediately thought of Hardy when he knew the actor would be wearing a mask). I've heard a few complaints about how

Hey y'all!

Just a notice that this Special Feature will be closing on August 29. You may continue to discuss all things Batman movie related and other film stuff in the Past Movie Thread once this is closed.

And as always, if you have any suggestions for a SF, simply shoot one of the SpareOom Mods a PM. We're happy to take requests.

*gears up his Tumbler and speeds away to the churning music of "Like A Dog Chasing Cars"*

Batman Begins:
I knew little about Batman when I watched this movie - I knew about the basic character, but that was about it. The movie did not strike me as anything out-of-the ordinary - the plot seemed rather predictable but still interesting, average acting, and a not-too-cheesy script. I wasn't too impressed with Christian Bale's performance, but Liam Neeson's acting made up for that. It was interesting to see him play a villain, as up until that point I had only seen him in protagonist roles. As a whole, I was neither captivated nor disgusted with the film, it just passed me by as another superhero/save the world movie with some interesting twists.

The Dark Knight:
I was not at all impressed with this film. Yes, Heath Ledger astounded me with his performance and the Joker was a character that I think will never be repeated with the same dynamic, but there was too much underlying philosophy in that film () that I did not agree with and honestly made me shudder. I didn't like how the love story got all mixed up, and I couldn't see why Rachel Dawes character had to be replaced by another actress. I don't want to get in all the details of what I didn't like, because I don't want to offend people who do like the movie, but for me, it's not one that I'd want to watch again.

I think you misunderstood Batman's role at the end of The Dark Knight. Talk to Ransom about it.