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Volume 372
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Wednseday, August 1, 2012
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Page 2 of 4
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was difficult not to be impressed with how Nolan used that tragedy to transform both Dent and Wayne into even more troubled figures.
There were several other notable tragedies in this trilogy, but Rachel Dawes' death was the most interesting; killing off such a vital character set in motion
a series of events that made this trilogy even more profound than it would have been, otherwise.
The Acting
From Batman Begins onward, it was hard not to be impressed by the A-list cast that Nolan brought to the series. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine accepted small
roles in all three films, playing technological genius Lucius Fox and butler Alfred Pennyworth, respectively.
Nolan was also lucky to get a leading man like Christian Bale, a highly-acclaimed character actor who won an Oscar for his performance in The Fighter (2010).
Also on board for the entire series was acclaimed thespian Gary Oldman, who played the small but pivotal role of Commissioner Gordon, Batman's unlikely ally.
There were dozens of other highly-acclaimed actors who took on roles in the series, including Liam Neeson, Tom Wilkinson, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie
Gyllenhaal, Tom Hardy,
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Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard. It's hard to argue with a cast like that, and many of these actors delivered some of their best
performances in these films.
The Villains
One of the greatest things about this entire franchise was the Oscar-worthy performance of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. The Joker was portrayed convincingly
by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie, but Ledger took the character to a whole different level, replacing Nicholson's manic character with a
psychopath intent on showing the darkness that lies in each of us.
Ledger posthumously won the Academy Award for his brilliant performance and created one of the greatest cinematic villains that's ever existed. Of course, Liam
Neeson and Tom Hardy took respective turns as the murderous thugs in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises, and both created solid characters, but it was Ledger's
performance alone that created a new breed of cinematic villain.
The Direction
Christoper Nolan is an imaginative and intriguing director. In movies like Memento and Insomnia, he told complex stories with strong thoughtful
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