Tim Burton's Batman films were a joke in comparison to Nolan's. I watched Batman with Jack Nicholson last night after watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and that film is boring and underwhelming compared to Nolan's films. I am not stating that Batman and Batman Returns were bad, they were definitely good movies for that time but Nolan's version of Batman has completely blown Burton's out of the water. The characters are a lot better, the storylines are superior and the acting is better.
I think Jack Nicholson did a great job at playing the funny Joker and yes, many will argue that Joker is meant to be funny; hence Nicholson's version was more accurate than Ledger's. However, Ledger's version of The Joker kept me drawn to the film the entire time. He was sadistic, laughed at everything and overall, he was Batman's perfect match. Was he funny? Sometimes but who cares? I definitely preferred Ledger's version.
I did not think much of The Penguin. I used to love Batman Returns but after rewatching it a couple of years ago, The Penguin seemed pretty ridiculous to me. The only character that drew me into that film was Michelle Pfeiffer which brings me to my next point.
I cannot even compare Pfeiier to Hathaway because I did not get the impression that Hathway played Catwoman. I felt that she played Selina Kyle, a burglar. When she first introduced int he first comic, she was introduced simply as The Cat who was a burglar. Therefore, I cannot be disappointed with Anne Hathway's performance. I absolutely loved Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman but Anne Hathaway did a good job playing a burglar. I do wish we learned more about her background though.
As for the other villains, Nolan perfected all of them. Scarecrow was wonderful, Ra Al Ghul and yes, Talia as well. I do wish we could have learned more about Talia in the movie but it was a good twist. Marion Cotillard is an excellent actress so I was very pleased with her performance. Oh wait and let's not forget Bane. He was wonderful! I couldn't understand him at times but he kept me interested and similarly to the comics, it was evident that Bane was Batman's biggest challenge. He was a lot more powerful than him. They did an excellent job conveying that.
Now, who is the better Batman, Keaton or Bale? I will have to go with Christian Bale. Not only was he a better Batman, he was a better Bruce Wayne. He perfected the billionaire that lost his parents at a young age exceptionally. As for his role as Batman, he brought so much dept to the character and one liners that I will always remember such as "it's not who I am but what I do that defines me. Also, Gordon says "I never said thank you" in Batman Begins and Batman responds, "And you'll never have to." Moreover, he played the dark knight rather than the superhero perfectly. I just felt that his portrayal of Batman was a lot more accurate. Batman struggled with his demons so well in all three films.
I would now like to discuss The Dark Knight Rises. I loved it! Yes, there were some plotholes but overall, it kept me interested and it definitely did not feel like a 2 hour and 45 minute movie. I thought Bane was a great villain. I am not sure how I feel about Catwoman being the one to kill kim. It appears that some people were disappointed that Batman wasn't the one that defeated him but we know Batman's one rule which he will never break, he cannot kill.
Also, there were some arguments that Batman and Bane's fight in the ending was weak. Am I the only one that thought that was the point? Wasn't Batman supposed to come back stronger and kick Bane's butt?
There were also arguments that the shocking twist took away from Bane's character because it appeared that he was simply destroying Gotham for his lover, Talia. What did you guys think?
As for the ending, I did not think it was a dream. I truly do think that Batman survived the explosion and decided to fake his own death. It was the perfect ending. I did not see it ending any other way.