The Dark Knight Rises (Spoilers)
So, I haven't been on here in month. I could do a recap of said month, but I'll do it later, because right now, I think there's only one thing to talk about: Chris Nolan's final Batman movie. So, here... we... go...
Most movie trilogies I think can be defined by something called the Rule of Thirds (which is also a little in joke for anyone who knows anything about films). Basically, that in most movie trilogies, there is usually one movie that is severely lacking when compared to the other two, as we see in "Return of the Jedi," or "Spider-Man 3," or "The Godfather, Part 3." I would also cite the third Alien movie as an example, but thanks to Ridley Scott, I feel we now have a strong movie trilogy with "Prometheus," "Alien," and "Aliens." But I'm getting sidetracked already.
There are exceptions to this rule, however, both good and bad. And I fully expected Nolan to know what he was doing, especially since after "The Dark Knight" was made, he said that he would only direct a third movie if he felt the story was good enough. And also Christian Bale said he would only come back if Nolan was directing.
The first two movies gave us the villains that are arguably Batman's perfect nemeses in the comics: one who wants the same thing Batman does, but feels it can only be achieved through brutal means, and the other who is the complete antithesis of everything Batman stands for. I'll assume anyone reading this knows which is which. So I initially thought that out of the rest of the rogue's gallery, Bane was an interesting choice. Of course, Bane has never really been treated with respect in the visual media. In fact, the only thing I've seen him in where he wasn't a glorified henchman was the Young Justice episode "Drop Zone." And about two weeks ago, I started reading "Knightfall," and finally realized just how much Bane had largely been mistreated in screens both big and small (*cough*JoelSchumacher*cough*).
And as expected, Chris Nolan does amazing things with him. He's cunning, he's ruthless, he's a physical and psychological tour-de-force who manages to bring both Batman and Gotham City to its knees. And in keeping with the theme he has going through his trilogy, Nolan comes up with a good reason for Bane to wear a mask. I just wish his voice had sounded different. This wasn't Tom Hardy's fault, since he was trying his heart out, but the Bane voice came off as a bad Sean Connery impression with a smidge of Emperor Palpatine and Adam Sandler thrown in. But still, great villain.
I also thought Anne Hathaway was the best Catwoman I've seen on the screen. And I was especially amused at how her night-vision goggles were her "ears" when they weren't in use. To be honest, I'm a little surprised people were still questioning Nolan's casting choices even after Heath Ledger stunned movie audiences. I mean, I'm not an Anne Hathaway fan (largely because she mostly does chick flicks), but she was amazing as Selena Kyle. This also may be the only adaptation of Batman where I've seen Bruce and Selena wind up together in the end, but to be honest, I kind of liked seeing that for once. Unless I'm missing another one.
A few things that I didn't like about the movie: after the initial scene with Bane, it took a while to get going. I mean, we had some good exposition, and some great scenes with Selena in action, but I don't think the movie really grabbed me until Bane robbed the stock exchange. I also think it was kind of weird to just have a new character (John Blake) show up and announce to Bruce Wayne the first time he meets him that he knows Wayne is Batman. I'm not too bothered by this, since I think the purpose was to establish Blake's detective skills, and also his background as an orphan, which would ultimately lead to the set up of him eventually becoming a new Batman after Bruce retires for good. Still, it feels a little awkward. But I think Steph was bothered by it more than I was.
And one minor nit: I understand that Chris Nolan said he wasn't going to be using the Joker again, and that Heath Ledger is tragically no longer with us. However, the character was still alive at the end of "The Dark Knight." And when Gotham was turned into a lawless quasi-military state, a small part of me wondered why he wasn't taking advantage of things. At the beginning of the second movie, we had Batman nab the Scarecrow so that no one would be asking questions about him. So maybe just a small piece of dialogue about how they were keeping the Joker locked up at Arkham (because let's face it, the League of Shadows would never want him working for them), or maybe a shot of a newspaper clipping describing his incarceration, would have been nice. But again, that's a very, very minor nit. Because I'm such a neat freak.
Once the movie did grab you, it didn't let go for a minute. If you take the comic book elements out of the first two movies, they're crime dramas. Take the comic element out of this film... and it becomes a war movie. And like any war, there are casualties. And it doesn't try to put a pretty face on things. And... Talia Al'Ghul. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I did not see that coming. I feel like I should have, when they mentioned that R'as had a child, but despite my comic knowledge, I was convinced that in Nolan's movies, it might be Bane. Especially because Marion Cotillard was credited on IMDB as Miranda Tate, and both she and Nolan said in interviews that Tate was her character, not Talia. But when she was revealed... both Steph and I nearly pissed ourselves, we were so happy. It is so hard, especially in this age, to truly surprise an audience in a summer blockbuster. All I can say is: Chris Nolan, you crazy son of a bitch, you fucking did it.
And the movie even wrapped up beautifully, both with pacing and exposition. It didn't overstate things, it said exactly what it needed to say, and it left you with an incredible sense of closure.
So, in the end, this ranks among one of the most well-rounded movie trilogies I've seen, up there with "Lord of the Rings" and "Back to the Future" in the category of all three movies being very strong. I would say of the three, "The Dark Knight" is still my favorite (at least, on an initial viewing of "Dark Knight Rises", but his third movie is definitely not lacking. If anyone decides to reboot Batman again someday, they have a very difficult act to follow (maybe even impossible). To Christopher Nolan, the cast, and everyone else who helped bring us these movies: Thank you very, VERY much.
Most movie trilogies I think can be defined by something called the Rule of Thirds (which is also a little in joke for anyone who knows anything about films). Basically, that in most movie trilogies, there is usually one movie that is severely lacking when compared to the other two, as we see in "Return of the Jedi," or "Spider-Man 3," or "The Godfather, Part 3." I would also cite the third Alien movie as an example, but thanks to Ridley Scott, I feel we now have a strong movie trilogy with "Prometheus," "Alien," and "Aliens." But I'm getting sidetracked already.
There are exceptions to this rule, however, both good and bad. And I fully expected Nolan to know what he was doing, especially since after "The Dark Knight" was made, he said that he would only direct a third movie if he felt the story was good enough. And also Christian Bale said he would only come back if Nolan was directing.
The first two movies gave us the villains that are arguably Batman's perfect nemeses in the comics: one who wants the same thing Batman does, but feels it can only be achieved through brutal means, and the other who is the complete antithesis of everything Batman stands for. I'll assume anyone reading this knows which is which. So I initially thought that out of the rest of the rogue's gallery, Bane was an interesting choice. Of course, Bane has never really been treated with respect in the visual media. In fact, the only thing I've seen him in where he wasn't a glorified henchman was the Young Justice episode "Drop Zone." And about two weeks ago, I started reading "Knightfall," and finally realized just how much Bane had largely been mistreated in screens both big and small (*cough*JoelSchumacher*cough*).
And as expected, Chris Nolan does amazing things with him. He's cunning, he's ruthless, he's a physical and psychological tour-de-force who manages to bring both Batman and Gotham City to its knees. And in keeping with the theme he has going through his trilogy, Nolan comes up with a good reason for Bane to wear a mask. I just wish his voice had sounded different. This wasn't Tom Hardy's fault, since he was trying his heart out, but the Bane voice came off as a bad Sean Connery impression with a smidge of Emperor Palpatine and Adam Sandler thrown in. But still, great villain.
I also thought Anne Hathaway was the best Catwoman I've seen on the screen. And I was especially amused at how her night-vision goggles were her "ears" when they weren't in use. To be honest, I'm a little surprised people were still questioning Nolan's casting choices even after Heath Ledger stunned movie audiences. I mean, I'm not an Anne Hathaway fan (largely because she mostly does chick flicks), but she was amazing as Selena Kyle. This also may be the only adaptation of Batman where I've seen Bruce and Selena wind up together in the end, but to be honest, I kind of liked seeing that for once. Unless I'm missing another one.
A few things that I didn't like about the movie: after the initial scene with Bane, it took a while to get going. I mean, we had some good exposition, and some great scenes with Selena in action, but I don't think the movie really grabbed me until Bane robbed the stock exchange. I also think it was kind of weird to just have a new character (John Blake) show up and announce to Bruce Wayne the first time he meets him that he knows Wayne is Batman. I'm not too bothered by this, since I think the purpose was to establish Blake's detective skills, and also his background as an orphan, which would ultimately lead to the set up of him eventually becoming a new Batman after Bruce retires for good. Still, it feels a little awkward. But I think Steph was bothered by it more than I was.
And one minor nit: I understand that Chris Nolan said he wasn't going to be using the Joker again, and that Heath Ledger is tragically no longer with us. However, the character was still alive at the end of "The Dark Knight." And when Gotham was turned into a lawless quasi-military state, a small part of me wondered why he wasn't taking advantage of things. At the beginning of the second movie, we had Batman nab the Scarecrow so that no one would be asking questions about him. So maybe just a small piece of dialogue about how they were keeping the Joker locked up at Arkham (because let's face it, the League of Shadows would never want him working for them), or maybe a shot of a newspaper clipping describing his incarceration, would have been nice. But again, that's a very, very minor nit. Because I'm such a neat freak.
Once the movie did grab you, it didn't let go for a minute. If you take the comic book elements out of the first two movies, they're crime dramas. Take the comic element out of this film... and it becomes a war movie. And like any war, there are casualties. And it doesn't try to put a pretty face on things. And... Talia Al'Ghul. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I did not see that coming. I feel like I should have, when they mentioned that R'as had a child, but despite my comic knowledge, I was convinced that in Nolan's movies, it might be Bane. Especially because Marion Cotillard was credited on IMDB as Miranda Tate, and both she and Nolan said in interviews that Tate was her character, not Talia. But when she was revealed... both Steph and I nearly pissed ourselves, we were so happy. It is so hard, especially in this age, to truly surprise an audience in a summer blockbuster. All I can say is: Chris Nolan, you crazy son of a bitch, you fucking did it.
And the movie even wrapped up beautifully, both with pacing and exposition. It didn't overstate things, it said exactly what it needed to say, and it left you with an incredible sense of closure.
So, in the end, this ranks among one of the most well-rounded movie trilogies I've seen, up there with "Lord of the Rings" and "Back to the Future" in the category of all three movies being very strong. I would say of the three, "The Dark Knight" is still my favorite (at least, on an initial viewing of "Dark Knight Rises", but his third movie is definitely not lacking. If anyone decides to reboot Batman again someday, they have a very difficult act to follow (maybe even impossible). To Christopher Nolan, the cast, and everyone else who helped bring us these movies: Thank you very, VERY much.