The true title of this post should read something like this: Spiderman 3, X-Men 3, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Return of the King, etc et al, and why we deserve better from Christopher Nolan…
But that’s not very catchy, and at least the current title has three words starting with a ‘T’, which feels pretty rewarding.
We have been blessed (thanks Hollywood?) with an influx in ‘Good’ adaptations for the last several years, assuming you forgive the misfires: Transformers, both Punisher movies, Superman Returns (Brian Singer you ass, you should have finished out X-Men), Daredevil, etc. Unfortunately, what we’ve seen is a tendency to build towards a great second film, only to be followed by a disappointing conclusion. The rising costs and egos involved must doom most of these third acts. Or is it something else? Do we the audience expect so much from a third film that it is impossible to deliver?
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s second film in the Batman reboot, may have been the finest film released last year. No one truly believed that Heath Ledger’s Joker would hold a candle to Jack Nicholson in the original Batman. Instead, Ledger took Nicholson’s comedic tour de force and twisted it into something dark and wicked, the proverbial train-wreck: you flinch and you squirm and you won’t look away. With excellent supporting work from Eckhart, Caine, Bale, Freeman, and Oldman, the film is a powerhouse. Nolan managed to plumb the depths of his heroes and villains alike, and at the end of this film there is no happy conclusion; no celebration or fireworks or reuniting of friends.
That is likely why the second film in a trilogy will always be the most compelling. The grand victory and laying down of arms is better hoped for than conceived. The characters that we love and hope for and those we fear and curse are defined by their conflict. In its resolution they simply become shells of themselves.
And maybe we are quietly rooting for the bad guys the whole time. Tired of the goody-two-shoes act, the infallible heroes we will never be, we anticipate the downfall.
This is interesting. It made me think about each movie as an act in a three act play. A basic search for the definitions of those acts led to this about the second act "This is the destruction of the hero's plan. At the end of Act Two the protagonist should be almost destroyed, and at the lowest point in the drama, either physically and/or emotionally. He (or she) is flat on his back and it looks like there is no way he can succeed." Which is far more interesting than the description of the third act "This is simply the resolution of the problem." The Empire Strikes Back was incredible because it could end and it didn't have to be neat and tidy. Hopefully this Batman trilogy will not end with Bruce Wayne/midget parade.
The Trilogy Trap
You'll Wish You Were Blind Too
I warily step forth into Bjorn’s domain:
The true title of this post should read something like this: Spiderman 3, X-Men 3, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Return of the King, etc et al, and why we deserve better from Christopher Nolan…
But that’s not very catchy, and at least the current title has three words starting with a ‘T’, which feels pretty rewarding.
We have been blessed (thanks Hollywood?) with an influx in ‘Good’ adaptations for the last several years, assuming you forgive the misfires: Transformers, both Punisher movies, Superman Returns (Brian Singer you ass, you should have finished out X-Men), Daredevil, etc. Unfortunately, what we’ve seen is a tendency to build towards a great second film, only to be followed by a disappointing conclusion. The rising costs and egos involved must doom most of these third acts. Or is it something else? Do we the audience expect so much from a third film that it is impossible to deliver?
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s second film in the Batman reboot, may have been the finest film released last year. No one truly believed that Heath Ledger’s Joker would hold a candle to Jack Nicholson in the original Batman. Instead, Ledger took Nicholson’s comedic tour de force and twisted it into something dark and wicked, the proverbial train-wreck: you flinch and you squirm and you won’t look away. With excellent supporting work from Eckhart, Caine, Bale, Freeman, and Oldman, the film is a powerhouse. Nolan managed to plumb the depths of his heroes and villains alike, and at the end of this film there is no happy conclusion; no celebration or fireworks or reuniting of friends.
That is likely why the second film in a trilogy will always be the most compelling. The grand victory and laying down of arms is better hoped for than conceived. The characters that we love and hope for and those we fear and curse are defined by their conflict. In its resolution they simply become shells of themselves.
And maybe we are quietly rooting for the bad guys the whole time. Tired of the goody-two-shoes act, the infallible heroes we will never be, we anticipate the downfall.