Christopher Nolan & The Dark Knight Rises

[Mitch Henessey]

The Dark Knight Rises will be one of the most anticipated blockbusters in 2012. In fact, this film could be one of the more successful box office hits of all time, because so much hype is surrounding this film. There is this bizarre obsession for the pics of Anne Hathaway's Catwoman costume, everyone is drooling over the teaser trailer, and a few rumors about the story have already started a good amount of gossip. The Dark Knight received tons of praise, and this film did wonders for Nolan's popularity, but The Dark Knight Rises could surpass it. The Dark Knight Rises could become an enormous box office hit, and this one film could take Christopher Nolan's career to the next level.

Christopher Nolan has become one of the more recognizable and popular directors/screenwriters over the years, The Dark Knight gave his career a tremendous boost, and Nolan will be known as the guy, who resurrected The Batman film franchise. Nolan's work has already drawn comparisons to Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock and Kubrick are legendary filmmakers, so Nolan has received his fair share of praise.

Personally, I was already a fan of Nolan, when I first saw Memento years ago. Memento is probably my favorite Nolan film (Batman Begins would be a close second), and Nolan really showed off his talents in the physiological thriller genre with this film. Of course, Nolan has taken a different turn over the years. Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception have all become popular mainstream films, and each film was a box office hit. Also, The Prestige was a solid film, and this one did have a decent enough run at the box office.

Nolan has made his mark in the world of blockbusters, but Nolan's films don't fit into the regular Hollywood blockbuster mold. You won't see a bunch of flashy and over the top action scenes, he doesn't drown his films in redundant and corny clichés, and you're not going to see any hot women, who can't act, and only serve the purpose of eye candy. Nolan's blockbuster films always feel smart, and his stylish directing takes everything to the next level.

The Dark Knight Rises WILL be a big deal next summer, and this film could elevate Nolan's status, and he could come one step closer to becoming a great director and screenwriter. He could become an all-time legend, but does he deserve a place amongst the greats?

I've always liked Nolan, and you can't deny his popularity. But I think Nolan still has a long way to go. He is a fine director and screenwriter. I just think he needs more time and more films on his resumé. All eyes will be on The Dark Knight Rises next summer, and The Man Of Steel should see a good amount of spotlight in 2013. Nolan definitely has the talent, because he has proven he can produce a good amount of high quality films, but he will have to sustain his record of consistency.

What are your thoughts? Will The Dark Knight Rises help Nolan reach that level of greatness? Or is he already there?

 

[Paralyzer Z]

Christopher Nolan will end up being one of the greatest directors of all time. Even if he never directed a film after the Dark Kight ever again.

When I first saw Memento I was amazed at how great it was. I had heard the internet critics hype up the film so I took a look. Needless to say afterwards I began to really get into christoher nolan films. My favorite is Inception! I am extremely into psychology and the dreaming world so this film had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire thing.

The dark knight in my opinion..... is not as good as everyone says. any scene that doesnt involve Heath ledger is for the most part boring. anyway onto the Dark knight rising, there is NO DOUBT that it will make tons of money for nolan. When he ressurected that Batman series after the failure of Batman and Robin He took a step into immortality.

Dark knight rises will only add to the legacy of christopher Nolan.

 

[Mr. HD]

The dark knight in my opinion..... is not as good as everyone says. any scene that doesnt involve Heath ledger is for the most part boring.

This.

The Dark Knight was only good for the few weeks it was out because it was....well The Dark Knight. I have my gripes about that movie, but that's for another thread for another time.

Anyway, I'm not too big on Nolan's work outside of The Batman movies and Inception (which was fucking awesome), but I could tell the guy is intelligent and knows what sells. He has this mind to make movies that make you really think which some movies don't make you do anymore.

The Dark Knight Rises is going to be absolutely amazing. Nolan's already going down as one of the greatest of all time and this movie is only adding to it.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I can't imagine Nolan putting out a bad film. I won't go as far as mentioning him in the same sentence as Kubrick or Hitchcock, but he's definitely good at what he does.

Tom Hardy is a great actor, so Bane should be fun to watch. I know he isn't big enough for most fanboys, but that doesn't bother me. You need an actor to play this role, not another body builder. Hathaway as Catwoman doesn't bother me, because she's an extremely talented actress (check out Havoc and/or Rachel Getting Married). I don't care how insane her suit looks, seeing this isn't the first suit in this series to look gadgety. Look at the Batmobile, for Christ sakes.

I'm pumped. I'm not sure it can surpass Batman Begins or The Dark Knight (in terms of quality), but with this group of actors, I wouldn't be shocked if it did.

 

[Vermillion]

Tom Hardy is such a great actor in my opinion. He did such a good job in the Warrior as a badass that I am willing to give him a chance here. He should do a good job as Bane.

I agree with that poster that said that the Dark Knight is a little overrated. Great movie that I could watch at any time, but it’s not the best movie ever like some people would like you to believe. Anyways, Nolan is on fire. The guy just keeps putting out these amazing movies. Hopefully Dark Knight Rises does amazing when it finally comes out.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I think DKR will only cement Nolan's position as one of the best current directors. The amount of thought he and his crew put into all aspects of the productions always benefit the films immensely and I love the fact he tries to shoot as much practical footage as possible without relying on CG.

The cast is looking very strong once again, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt also getting in on the act as John Blake (?) who is a very good actor and has been for a long time. It's quite good to see Nolan already has an assortment of actors who are keen on working with him and whom he (hopefully) can keep getting the best out of, like Keitel and De Niro in the 70s with Scorsese.

Following on from what Big Nick said about Kubrick and Hitchcock, comparisons with former directors are always likely to be made as they are 2 of the most influential directors of the modern era, but I hope he doesn't get bogged down with the label of a "new <so-and-so>" when he has shown enough skill and imagination of his own.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

What Nolan is fantastic at is making a blockbuster seem intelligent. Most of them really aren't. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight pretty much spell everything out for you....meaning it's not intelligent. However, they appear as such and actually do have a lot more substance than most blockbusters. Inception was mostly cool philosophical BS, which is fun and makes people think (but doesn't make it intelligent) so again, great blockbuster style movie with a great immitation at sophistication. If you get too sophisticated, you lose your audience. he finds a great balance.

I'm an enormous fan of the god damn Batman so I'm excited for TDKR.

The actors chosen are perfect. Hathaway isn't this amazing actress some people make her out to be (she pretty much plays roles she's good at and doesn't ever really change like say Daniel Day-Lewis), but she's not a dumbfuck with tits either like that Transformers girl. Hardy is kind of a dude version of her.

I REALLY hope this is the movie Nolan writes some shit for Bale to spread his wings in. I want to see him cry at his parents gravesite, I want to see him go Bat(eman) shit crazy, I want to see him seduce Catwoman just to put her behind bars, I want to see Bale's full range. He's an amazing actor and even though he won a best supporting actor award, still criminally underrated.

I think this will be as good as the other 2. I like Begins more because it feels more like a comic. But I loved TDK and saw it like 5 times in theaters.

I think TDK is only overrated by fanboys who think it's this genius crime film that should have won best picture and should be put in the top 10 of AFI's top 100 movies ever. It was the best blockbuster of the year, maybe ever, but not film.

So in short, this won't be There Will Be Blood, but it won't be GI Joe, it will be what Nolan does best. A blockbuster made as smart as you can make it without confusing the ******s.

 

[Dave]

I think Nolan earns enough success to be put amongst the best directors of our time. As far as him being comparred to Kubrick and Hitchcock, I definitely see some similarities. However, as was outlined by Mitch in his fantastic opening post, he has a lot of ground to make up on two men who will forever be classed amongst the greatest of all time.

The issue with Christopher Nolan is that he doesn't create movies that are going to win Academy Awards and it is a sad truth that many will look down on him because of his Academy exposure. Personally, I think that Nolan is a fantastic director that continually gets the best out of the actors who work under him.

His movies are epic, that's what he sets out to accomplish. Memento and Inception speak for themselves and he is individually crafting The Batman series into something that everyone can be proud of. He brought Batman out of the basements of comic books avid readers and brought them into the living rooms of billions of people. For that, we should be thankful.

That being said, he does need to keep up his efforts. It is clear that he has unlimited talent and perhaps by the end of his career, he will be known aw one fo the all time greats. Whether The Dark Rising will get them there remains to be seen but one thing is infinitely true, if he can live up to the hype surrounding the movie one more time, then he will certainly be on his way to becoming a director that people associate with the greatest movies of our time.