The Dark Knight Rises more than finishes the Nolan-Batman trilogy… DKR sets the standard for trilogies and adaptations.
FIRST OFF: I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about the Batman franchise from every other site out there. So if you’re looking for a review, go somewhere else. If you’re worried about spoilers, get out now. But I guarantee that you’re gonna end up watching anyway.
Nolan’s Batman trilogy is nothing new.
- Batman comic books date back to 1939.
- Reboot from the Keaton Batman and the laughable Kilmer-Clooney rehash.
- The franchise has tons of fans eagerly anticipating it’s arrival.
The cookie-cutter formula of gathering a large enough following to ride a wave of success is the dream of every IP. Every movie franchise swings for the fences when they decide to push forward with a movie trilogy. Especially true when there is a ton of source material.
While DKR is arguably not as good as its’ predecessor (I’ll gladly debate this with anyone), it delivers a fitting end to what Nolan envision. The Dark Knight film trilogy delivers a tale comparable to Frank Miller’s and Jeph Loeb’s gritty Batman.
The film provides another key element of the new standard of film trilogies:
DKR leaves the door open to more.
Leaving any series open is vital in today’s media market. Limitations placed on franchises by not creating, essentially, a “universe” makes it tough for continuity. Think of franchises such as Harry Potter or Indiana Jones where it was/is possible to continue the story left behind. Of course, the sequel’s probability of success is debatable but nonetheless higher than normal.
Since being made into a trilogy, Nolan’s Gotham has the possibility for countless spin-off movies, games, comic series, etc. similar to the Star Wars EU. Production partners are excited because of the huge market left by the films ripe for the picking. Let’s hope that it’s not a repeat of those Kilmer-Clooney Batman films (Come on! Batsuits with nipples?!).
Other than that, this open ended world creates much room for debate about plot subtleties and, more importantly, fan fiction about what happens next. We all know about the rocky road surrounding Selena Kyle and Bruce Wayne but what threat does Gotham City face next? Will we see it? Will Robin become Nightwing outright or will he don the red and green? Who knows… but the beauty of it all is that we’re going to be talking about that for years to come.
While the movie trilogy isn’t yet a thing of the past, it will be once franchises learn how to utilize other media. We’ll take a deeper look into this but until then, continue to camp out and await the next big thing.
