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Batman: All 3 films in The Dark Knight trilogy ranked from worst to best

By Michael Patterson

PITTSBURGH - JULY 31: Christian Bale stands in between scenes during the filming of the new Batman: Dark Knight Rises movie at the Mellon Institute building in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland on July 31, 2011. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - JULY 31: Christian Bale stands in between scenes during the filming of the new Batman: Dark Knight Rises movie at the Mellon Institute building in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland on July 31, 2011. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /
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Batman, The Dark Knight
Photo: The Dark Knight.. Image Courtesy Warner Bros. / DC Universe /

2. The Dark Knight

What is there to say about The Dark Knight that hasn’t already been said? The film changed the game for comic book movies, ushering in a new era of realism and grit and proving that the genre is capable of authentic stories built upon loyalty, love, corruption and hate.

Christian Bale was once again masterful as the tormented hero, expertly conveying the character’s turmoil over the lengths that being a true hero entailed (and whether or not he was willing to go to them). But Bruce was overshadowed this time around by an excellently villainous portrayal that has loomed over the film’s legacy ever since.

The film’s grounded variation of The Joker may have been rather different to that of the source material, but perhaps no medium has ever nailed the unpredictable nature of the character in the way that The Dark Knight did. Through every means necessary, the film magnified how it’s virtually impossible to defeat him because he simply doesn’t have anything to lose. He’s an anarchist by design and his plan to destroy Gotham from within would have worked if he wasn’t battling a symbol as incorruptible as The Batman.

Heath Ledger’s electric performance as The Joker is unquestionably among the greatest cinematic portrayals of all time, as he single-handedly redefined everything we knew about movie villainy in the space of two hours.

You might be a little shocked that The Dark Knight isn’t predictably in the top spot and that’s alright. It’s an exceptional piece of film; a masterpiece of theatrical proportions that will live on in history for being an absolute game-changer. However, as a great Batman movie, it was just pipped to the post by its predecessor.

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