Top Ten Dark Knight Trilogy Scenes

With the new Joker movie earning stellar reviews and generating Oscar buzz for Joaquin Phoenix, it’s looking like light at the end of the tunnel for DC fans. For so long (the last decade), they had to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe hit homer after homer and basically redefine the superhero film genre. To say DC movies have struggled to keep up would be an understatement, as finding the right balance between commercial and critical success has seemingly eluded DC movie producers. And yet it wasn’t supposed to be this way. When British director, Christopher Nolan decided to take on the first Batman movie the world had seen since 1997’s disastrous Batman and Robin, it seemed a tall order. But with the overwhelming success of his Batman Begins movie, it not only became clear that Batman was still a compelling character for the big screen, but that it was possible to make a serious superhero film that could make eight figures in the box office. The sequels that followed, The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) helped set a ridiculously high standard for DC movies to follow. This list looks at some of the biggest, most iconic scenes from Nolan’s critically acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy.

Ten Batman’s First Appearance (Batman Begins)

It feels like a trick of the mind that Batman didn’t make a full appearance onscreen until about 1 hour and 30 minutes into the Begins movie. But in a way it makes sense – the film was as much about Bruce Wayne and his gradual transformation into the dark knight. When it did come, it was as exciting as the prolonged buildup merited. Using fighting techniques learned from the League of Shadows (a callback to an earlier point in the movie), Batman makes short work of Falcone’s henchmen at the loading dock. What puts the cap on the fantastic scene is Batman introducing himself to Falcone with his iconic, “I’m Batman”.

Nine

Bruce witnesses his parents’ deaths (Batman Begins)

Although most viewers should have already been aware of the circumstances surrounding Thomas and Martha Wayne’s deaths – Batman is only one of the most popular superheroes ever – Nolan’s decision to draw a symmetry between young Bruce’s traumatic fall in the bat infested well and the opera the Waynes saw the night of their death was inspired. When the concerned parents decide to leave the opera early to take Bruce home, they get confronted and killed by a mugger on the street. More than just faithfully recreating Batman’s origin story, Nolan takes great care to show how influential Jim Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth were in supporting the orphaned Bruce. It would come full circle at the end of the trilogy.

Eight

Joker exploding the hospital (The Dark Knight)

It’s probably not one of the most important scenes in The Dark Knight – let alone the entire trilogy – but it is easily one of the most visually stunning and iconic scenes in the series. It’s Heath Ledger (as the Joker) in a nurse’s uniform, striding lackadaisically out of the hospital with a detonator in his hand. Apparently Ledger had no idea that his pushing of the detonator wouldn’t work and as such the reactions we see afterwards with him casually fiddling with the device are unscripted. Whether these rumors are true or not, it works so well as it plainly shows how casually Joker treats the mass destruction of property and people’s lives.

Seven Bruce confronts Falcone (Batman Begins)

It is somewhat understandable that Bruce Wayne never really got over the murder of his parents. What was less understandable was the rage that he almost let destroy his future. When Bruce tacitly confesses to Rachel – lifelong friend and love interest – that he wanted to kill the mugger responsible, she quickly sets Bruce straight. The mugger is only a product of the seedy underbelly of Gotham that mob bosses like Falcone ruthlessly exploit. Armed with this new knowledge (and his aforementioned rage), he boldly seeks a confrontation with Falcone. The experienced mob boss humors him for a while before brusquely giving Bruce his second dressing down of the night. Little did Falcone know that his harsh words would help set Bruce on the journey to becoming Batman.

Six

Bruce escapes the pit (The Dark Knight Rises)

Although the action scenes in the trilogy might not be able to live up to what the best Marvel movies can provide, the dialogue in the more dramatic scenes make for truly compelling cinema. After his fight with Bane leaves him crippled, Bruce finds himself stranded in an underground prison where his enemy has left him to die. At this point Bruce is a battered, bruised and (literally) broken forty year old man who has little in the way of hope. And yet watching him defiantly recover before trying to make an impossible escape is arguably the film’s high point. His discussions with his elderly prison mates give his eventual escape an emotional weight rivaling anything you might get from an epic sports drama.

Five

Final Scene (Batman Begins)

The closing scene of Batman Begins contains 3 of the more iconic moments of the entire trilogy. First, Batman gives a knowing nod of approval at Gordon’s initiative in creating the bat signal. Then Gordon shows Batman the Joker’s calling card which perfectly sets up the Dark Knight sequel where Batman would do battle with his most iconic villain. Then when Batman prepares to make his exit, Gordon says he never thanked him for all his help. Batman simply replies, “And you’ll never have to”. Brilliant, just brilliant.

Four Joker infiltrating the mob’s hideout (The Dark Knight)

Speaking of the Joker, how good was Heath Ledger as Batman’s arch nemesis? His electric performance saw him win many honors (posthumously) and saw him set a ridiculously high standard for the supervillain role. In his first extended scene in the movie, the Joker not only interrupts the meeting of Gotham’s most powerful mob bosses, but ends up emasculating them in remarkable fashion. He calls them out for their fear of the Dark Knight and kills one the boss’s bodyguards before making them an outrageous offer: a dead Batman for half the mob’s money. It’s the first of several scenes Ledger steals with effortlessness and helps establish the fact that of all Batman’s foes, none rank quite as high as the Joker.

Three

Final Scene (The Dark Knight Rises)

If there’s one thing Nolan proved with the Dark Knight trilogy, it’s that he’s a director who cares about the details. With the closing scene of Dark Knight Rises, Nolan not only brings a final victory for Bruce Wayne’s Batman, but neatly wraps up the trilogy for all the major players – old and new. Gordon gets to oversee a new era as police commissioner, Alfred inherits the rest of the Wayne estate, Blake is given access to the Batcave to become the new Batman and Bruce finally gets his happily ever after. But perhaps greatest of all, Batman is finally recognized and accepted as a symbol of justice as opposed to a misunderstood vigilante.

Two

Batman and Bane Fight (The Dark Knight Rises)

The Dark Knight Rises can basically be split up into two separate parts with this iconic scene being the divider. Although Nolan deserves credit for recreating one of the more iconic moments from the Batman comics, he deserves even more for making this scene more than just a homage. Everything from the setting to the score to the dialogue comes together to create a fantastically eerie scene for Batman fans. Tom Hardy (Bane) is brilliant here as he delivers his lines with as much power as Bane delivers punches to Batman’s ever weakening body. It is truly unsettling to watch the Dark Knight so powerless against a foe, and that’s before he delivers the final break to Batman’s back.

First

Batman Joker Interrogation (The Dark Knight)

Good vs evil. Black vs white. Order vs chaos. Life throws up so many dualities that seem simple enough on paper, but on closer inspection are complicated. When Joker finally gets the one on one versus Batman he wanted, it’s after he’s been arrested and held in police custody. In this most iconic of scenes, we get to see the paragon of justice face off with the ultimate agent of chaos and it is riveting stuff. Ledger and Bale bounce of each other in engrossing fashion as the two actors deliver this most dramatic of scenes. Despite Batman having home territory and physical strength as advantages, Joker is in full control here and he knows it. He knows Batman won’t kill him and has nothing to threaten him with. As he surmises at the end of the movie when Batman finally stops him, the duo are destined to collide perpetually. Batman vs Joker. A battle for the ages.

#batman #joker #bane #robin #darkknight #alfred #gordon #nolan