Both "Spider-Man", and "Batman Begins" are commonly considered among fans to be the movies that have raised the bar of comic book movies the most. "Spider-Man" was, until "The Dark Knight's" release, the highest grossing movie of its genre, and it is still considered a masterpiece among many. "Batman Begins" was one of the first to take on a serious, much more realistic feel to a comic book movie, and many things about it are more believable than those in previous comic book movies.
Both "Spider-Man 2" and "The Dark Knight" are considered some of the greatest comic book adaptations ever created, and some of the best ever, period. "Spider-Man 2" continued the adventures of Peter Parker as he struggles to balance his relationship with Mary Jane, and his duties as Spider-Man, all while taking on Alfred Molina's priceless version of Doc Ock. "The Dark Knight", as stated before, is the most financially successful comic book film ever, and probably even more so with the critics it acquired a Rotten Tomatoes' 94% approval rating. It also gave us perhaps the greatest villain portrayal to date.
As said before, "Spider-Man 3" was extremely anticipated following the success of "Spider-Man 2" . With the promises of the black suit, Sandman, and even Venom for this movie, fanboys went through the roof. Then after its release, nearly everyone dissed it as a failure. From emo Peter Parker scenes to, too little Venom, negative statements flew across the world. And as mentioned many times over, part of the reason why most people didn't like it was likely because their expectations were too high.
"The Dark Knight Rises" finds itself in a similar position that "Spider-Man 3" was in. With rumor after rumor, confirmation of Bane and Catwoman/Selina Kyle to be featured in this movie, and the fact that Warren Pfister read the script and said it topped "The Dark Knight", fanboys are probably at Jupiter when it comes to anticipation. But the thing is, after "Spider-Man 3", should we really have our anticipations rocket-high? And with the likelihood that we won't get as strong performances as Heath Ledger's Joker, will "The Dark Knight Rises" best its predecessor?
I'm not questioning whether or not "The Dark Knight Rises" will be good in the slightest. After all, Nolan said that he wouldn't even do a third movie unless the script would be as good as, if not better than "The Dark Knight"; he even asked once how many third movies in a series are good.
Which brings me to my next question - can "The Dark Knight Rises" survive the 'threequel curse'? The curse that befell series such as "Spider-Man", "X-Men", "Superman", and even the original "Batman" series. Rarely does a series go without the third movie being spat on far more than the rest of the trilogy. With the exception of "Superman", the second movie in all these series' is considered the strongest .
Another arguement that can be made, that no other comic book film series has, had such a filmmaker attached to the project, and has embellished so much into it as Christopher Nolan has with the recent Batman series. With some filmmakers, their ideas, and options with their film especially if they work for Sony, can be trown off the radar, and make way for the studios choices.
Christopher Nolan seems to have more freedom than any other director when it comes to comic book films. Again the Batman series was in desperate need for a new mind to come into the series to rejuvenate it from it's darkest depths. With the massive success of "The Dark Knight", we can probably say that Warner Bros. have full faith in Nolan, and Nolan has full freedom with "The Dark Knight Rises".
So in conclusion, the question that should ring out is: Can "The Dark Knight Rises" defy threequelitis and establish the franchise as the strongest in comic book history, or could it fall victim to the curse and face ridicule like "Spider-Man 3"?
Do you think "The Dark Knight Rises", can suffer the "threequel curse" ?
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