So, while I had no intention of going to see The Dark Knight
last night, I ended up being invited to watch the entire trilogy by a friend.
After Batman Begins, I remembered how good it was, even for the third time.
After The Dark Knight, I realized I had only ever seen the movie twice, both at
the theatre. By midnight I was already
in awe, and was concerned that The Dark Knight Rises would be able to top what
had already come. I write this now when I should be sleeping, to tell you it
most certainly does.
I have decided not to review either Batman Begins or The Dark Knight. Anyone alive today knows that they are amazing, and has hopefully seen Christopher Nolan’s new envisioning of Batman. It’s darker and grittier, and a lot more realistic than any other superhero movie franchise around. A lot of people love this more mature and realistic envisioning of Batman, and some other superhero movies have tried to follow suit, with mixed results. I read when reviewing The Amazing Spiderman that someone thought they had tried to do the same. However, I feel like only Batman can ever truly make that transition to the realistic style of The Dark Knight trilogy. That is because Bruce Wayne has no superpowers. He is just a man, a man who has lost much, who sees only darkness taking over Gotham, and who seeks a way fight against such corruption and despair. While, The Dark Knight has already set up how Bruce will fight the darkness, our consuming question is simply, will he give everything for Gotham? Even his life?
The Dark Knight Rises, for being the conclusion of the
trilogy, has both a strange name, and develops a hell of a lot of Batman cannon
for one movie. On the first, I was just commenting on the strange titles that The
Dark Knight trilogy has been given. They seem a little out of order, but
whatever, we’ve had stranger movie titling systems. The second is rather
significant. Considering how many decades of Batman comics there are,
Christopher Nolan has a lot of source material to draw from. Having already
drawn out a surprising amount of cannon characters, from Scarecrow to Two Face,
The Dark Knight Rises showed us a new envisioning of the villain Bane. Now,
Bane had already gotten a pretty sloppy showing in the black sheep of batman
movies, especially considering who he is in the comics. There Bane is the man
who beats Batman. The man who breaks his back, and destroys Batman. While not
everyone knows that, I think it makes for a very interesting piece of knowledge
to walk into the movie with. All I’ll say is that aside from some notable, but
not terrible problems understanding what Bane said, he gets a much better
showing this time around.
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| Like any good butler, Alfred ages at 1/4 the rate of Master Wayne. |
As we know, the
trilogy has a great cast. This time however, Nolan comes armed with a
powerhouse, many acquired from Inception. Joseph Gordon Levitt is great, all
though his purpose only become clear at the end. Catwoman makes her appearance,
played well by Anne Hathaway. Gary Oldman, Micheal Caine, Morgan Freeman and Christian
Bale continue to excel at their roles, alongside all the new faces. There was
also a lot of smaller faces I recognised, such as Juno Temple, who really wasn’t
necessary however. There was also a Liam Neeson spotting, and I also recognized Josh Stewart but couldn’t place him the whole time. Overall, the cast was very strong,
and Nolan sure knew who he was picking.
Another name people are now familiar with is of course, Hans
Zimmer, who once again scores the movie powerfully, but also subtly, as the
pounding beat tends to play quietly in the background, instead of overtop of
everything. I rather liked it that way. Of course, the movie is also stunning
visually. While I didn’t see it in I-max or anything fancy, I can’t complain.
The city of Gotham, however they pieced it together looks real and amazing, especially
in the winter. The costumes and gadgets look realistic and functional, while
still giving us that stylized comic book superhero feel. Don’t worry, Catwoman
still wears a skin-tight suit. The special effects and CGI are perfectly done,
and not at any point did I think anything looked overtly fake, or unrealistic.
The only gadget I didn’t like was The Bat, or The Batwing, or whatever it was
called. Rather like a clunky flying street cleaner, I was glad it wasn’t too
heavily featured. But where is the Batboat?
The Dark Knight Rises, of course is about Batman rising,
well again. Having been rather beaten down by the events of The Dark Knight,
thing don’t turn Bruce Wayne’s way for quite a while as we see him beaten down
even as he struggles to defend the city he love. This only makes it better when
he rises up again, the iconic symbol of hope in the dark city that is Gotham.
Overall, the trailers revealed nothing of the movie’s plot, and without an
extensive knowledge of Batman comics, I’m not sure if the trilogy is following
anything, or just piecing elements together. Eitherway, if you thought the
story was strong so far, it doesn’t disappoint. Batman continues to kick ass
while a myriad of social issues are brought up as we go. Bane’s plan goes
beyond anything anyone would have imagined I think, but I think it was extremely
interesting and enjoyed it a lot, for as much as Batman wanted to save the
city, the citizens would have to stand for themselves. Or at least the cops.
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| Not a big fan of Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, but she kinda got overshadowed by awesomeness. |
Now be warned there be spoilers ahead. Skip to the next
paragraph, or just go and see it now.
So, with The Dark Knight Rises having been rather firmly
established as the end of this Batman trilogy, and Christopher Nolan’s work on
Batman, there is a lot of worry about whether he will stick the landing. I’d
say he scores a 9.5 in that department.
We get both the ending we dread, but new we might have to accept when
Batman sacrifices himself for the city. We get to see what the world would be
like without him. Then, because no one could possibly stand to let poor old Alfred
despair as he would, we get first a hint, then a full out statement that Batman
is alive, and presumably living ever after with Selina Kyle. But the biggest
the most significant thing is Det. Blake who I felt was supposed to be the embodiment
of Robin, throughout the movie. I thought it was smart of Nolan not to try and
cram in a Robin origin story in the final movie, but instead he goes beyond,
and sets up Levitt to take on the mantle in the future. So, while Nolan may claim he is done, he did
not destroy the universe he built, but has left it set up for anyone to take
the reins. So, will Batman returns, or is Levitt going to take up the mantle of
the boy wonder? (That was Robin’s name right?) We will unfortunately only have
to wait and see.
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| Who carries around that large a caliber bullets? Couldn't you just get a gold chain? |
So, was the midnight premiere worth it? Absolutely! The Dark
Knight Rises is probably the biggest movie of the summer if not the year. Am I
disappointed it is over? Yes, but if it had to end this is the way to go. I
enjoyed seeing the entire marathon and the midnight opening, even though I’ve
had two hours of sleep and am writing this at work. I don’t think the marathon
is running again after opening night, but if you attended one, kudos to you.
Best $25 I’ve ever spent at a theater. Anyone
going to the movies this weekend should really only be seeing The Dark Knight
Rises. While, The Dark Knight trilogy is finished, I’m sure it will be watched
over and over again until someone else once again dons the mantle of The Dark
Knight. But will anyone want to follow up Christopher Nolan?
Link:
The Dark Knight Rises IMDb
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