- Hello friends, while arguments have waged for years
over which is the best comic book movie ever made,
there is one film that stands above them all,
the litmus test by which all others are judged,
and no it's not The Avengers,
or even Howard The Duck, it's The Dark Knight.
This week on heat vision break down
we explore the lasting legacy of Christopher Nolan's
ground breaking take on Batman,
and why so few films have been able to emulate it's success.
(high power music)
Ten years ago The Dark Knight hit theaters
and changed cinema forever.
Serious cinefiles have since dissected
Nolan's Magnum Opus like The Remains of King Tutankhamen.
While The Dark Knight is undoubtedly a master piece
in the super hero genre, it leave behind a legacy
much larger than Heath Ledger's Joker
inspiring every singles person's Halloween costume in 2008,
even me.
Nolan's realistic, dark approach to Gotham city
sparked a trend at Hollywood with countless knock-offs
trying to cash in on his signature slick, elevated,
and mature approach to comic book adaptations.
The grand irony however,
is that in the decade since the films release,
the majority of successful comic book films
are those that did the opposite of what Nolan put forth,
while those that followed in his footsteps, floundered.
The MCU, which officially launched mere months before
The Dark Knight hit theaters in July of 2008,
with Robert Downey Jr. Charming
all of our collective pants off in the first Iron Man film,
has gotten, well you know, kind of big in the past ten years
and grossed billions of dollars all while offering up
a brighter more light hearted universe
that served as the polar opposite to the gritty ground work
laid down by Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy on the DC side.
On the other hand, films that tried
to ride the wave of Nolan's success include
X-Men Origins:Wolverine pitched by star Hugh Jackman
as an Origin story similar to Nolan's Batman Begins,
but remembered for sewing shut Deadpool's mouth
and putting Will.i.am in a bejeweled cowboy hat.
Terminator Genisys, which just, no.
And of course the current DCEU.
- I want to die
- Nolan's fingerprints were all over 2013's Man of Steel
as he broke the story with Dark Knight collaborator
David S. Goyer, who penned the script,
but when Zack Snyder unveiled
his take on fellow DC Superman,
many were skeptical of the darker approach to the character.
Wildly know as a symbol of unwavering hope and optimism,
and wearing his unswear outside of his pants,
all of which Snyder did away with.
The grittiness only continued in 2016's
Batman V. Superman trial of the century,
which introduced the world to Batfleck,
who literally branded criminals,
so you know pretty dark stuff.
Films like Suicide Squad and Justice League,
both panned by critics also featured dark aesthetics.
Seriously I can't tell what's going on.
Where is the sun?
Film something in the daylight.
And subject matter that effectively sunk many plans
for the burgeoning DCEU.
The fact is, by distilling what Nolan accomplished
down to dark and gritty,
those trying to copy him tried to understand
what made his work great.
Attention to the smallest details that makes
even the tiniest moments in his film engrossing.
Nolan was the last hold out before the world
became obsessed with cinematic universes.
His movies were never about setting up the next thing,
and that includes the Joker tag at the end of Batman Begins.
At the time he did not actually know
there'd be a second film, much less
the Joker would star in it.
Nolan famously doesn't use second unit directors,
because he wants to be there for every shot,
and The Dark Knight notably had no deleted scenes.
Sorry if you bought the DVD,
because Nolan and brother/co screen writer Jonathan
were so strict during the scripting phase,
and coming three years after Batman Begins,
Nolan was given time to create what he wanted,
rather than having to adhere to
strict universe spanning release dates
that plague franchises today.
He took time to make a smaller film, 2006's The Prestige,
before The Dark Knight.
It created a pallet cleanser if you will,
or may he just had a personal beef with Hugh Jackman,
and wanted to see him drown hundreds of times.
Ultimately even Nolan himself
couldn't follow up The Dark Knight.
Whatever ever your personal opinions
on The Dark Knight Rises,
it failed to resonate in the same way as it's predecessor,
and had little to know lasting impact beyond solidifying
Tom Hardy as a legitimate star,
even if every character he plays
requires subtitles to understand.
What are you saying?
- Beavers.
- Whilst among the endless commentary pieces,
and deep dives into the mind of Nolan's Bruce Wayne
and Joker are the very real lasting impressions the film had
on the movie business at large.
While many remember Heath Ledger's posthumous
and very well deserved best supporting actor win
at the 81st Academy Awards, fewer seem to recall
the film itself was not up for best picture,
and the consequences that omission came with.
Following backlash from fans that the Academy would have
the gall to snub The Dark Knight.
The Oscars expanded their best picture category
to include up to 10 nominees.
A practice that is still in place today,
and was designed to make the Oscars
more appealing to general audiences,
but in reality had quite the opposite affect.
While the expansion allowed for the inclusion
of popcorn fair like James Cameron's Avatar,
and George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road,
it also diminished the prestige
of earning a best pick nomination
and lead to fringe contenders like Extremely Loud,
and Incredibly Close and The Blind Side
to earn nominations, though the latter earned Sandy Bullock
a best actress Oscar, and is also
just a delightful little film, I love it.
All of this of course, just goes to show how important
a film like the Dark Knight is,
as even 10 years after it's theatrical release,
it is still a subject of conversation
and helped elevate comic book films to a level of prestige
they had not obtained before.
None of it's imitators have been able to capture it's magic
and no super hero film since,
even great ones like Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
or Guardians of the Galaxy have had
quite the cultural impact on their own that Nolan's did.
Part of that is, their stories continue.
So instead of having to constantly reference those
great films we are always looking ahead to what's next.
Nolan forces us to look back
to stay with what he did ten years ago.
In a world dominated by cinematic universes
and countless sequels, The Dark Knight
is the rare stand alone film that remains consistently,
re watchable and influential years after it's release.
That is why it is why it is still the mark by
which all other comic book films must be judged.
(Clapping)
Made it through the entire video
without a singe Joker quote.
- [Mysterious Speaker] - "Why do serious?"
- All right.
(laughing)
So what are your thought on The Dark Knight ten years later?
Do you think it's still holds up?
If you don't, you're wrong,
but let us know in the comments anyway,
people will yell at you.
(high power music)