The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises has the pleasure and curse of being one of the top three anticipated movies of the year (along with The Avengers and The Hobbit).
As it is a straight up sequel, not a collaboration of movies like the Avengers, it almost has more pressure because it will be compared success and fail to The Dark Knight from 2008. Which you’ve seen right? And of course Batman Begins? If you haven’t then you are silly for wanting to see this movie or read this review. Watch the first two movies first, it matters.
What in the what, hey, you there. Stop that! You don’t belong in that safe.
Don’t worry, I wont spoil much. But here, let me set the scene.
The movie takes place eight years after The Dark Knight. Harvey Dent is celebrated as a hero, and Batman (Christian Bale) has taken the fall for his Two-Face badness. So at this point crime is way down. No masked vigilantes, no super humans running amuck. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) is being a commisioner, and thinking about letting the world really know.
Bruce Wayne is now a shut in, hurt leg, and doesn’t go out much, despite Alfred’s (Michael Caine) best attempts. Wayne Enterprises, still run by Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman) isn’t poor, but isn’t making really any money anymore. Mostly sucks for all the orphanages and stuff that worked on his funding. A lot of money was tied into a sustainable energy project, brought on by an environmentalist Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).
But when a pseudo masked strong man, Bane (Tom Hardy) takes up residence in Gotham city, err, well why is he there? And why the heck is some chick (Anne Hathaway) stealing his jewels when he wants to just be a shut in? And what is with that shifty eyed cop, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) with his notions of justice?
Bitches ain’t nothin’ but hoes and tricks.
Ughhh, I wish I was reviewing this in 2014 so I can say all the spoilers. Because yes, 2 years is enough time to allow it.
Performance wise, I loved both Catwoman and Bane. Anne Hathaway personally never disappoints me, and I think she won a lot of naysayers over. Bane was so diabolically creepy to me. Strong, and smart, the best of both worlds, he dismantled all of Gotham and his voice and eyes were just so full of emotion to me. I almost found myself on his side, due to his weird form of Charisma.
Also, fucking Michael Caine. Every time he spoke, you listened. Powerful performance from him.
I think the story still may have been a bit too long. I think early on a few scenes dragged on a bit too long, but I understand the necessity of it all.
I’ve heard people note that there isn’t enough “Batman” in the batman movie. Instead, it felt like a lot more Gotham centric movie, and I loved the attention that went to all the different players. Maybe a bit too much time for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but hey.
I think I need to say powerful again, because there are a lot of powerful moments. I almost teared up twice, and actually did once again. I like that the expected ending wasn’t what actually occurred. Unfortunately, my comic based activities and hearing rumors gave me a specific mind set going into the film. I kept forcing plot points to go to my mindset instead of how they were presented, and fuck me, I was right.
From Fear, to Chaos, to Pain, I think the trilogy as a whole will be celebrated for its “Realism” in terms of a comic book movie, and great attention to detail, along with the social implications of it all. Whether or not this is what the people who grew up during the late 70s felt when Star Wars was being released, I don’t know, but it probably will be one of the closest relatable feelings I have to something like that.
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***POSSIBLE SPOILERS – DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE***
I think the only thing I would say about the length, is that it would have suffered horribly if it had been rushed, or glazed over some of the development of the desperate and dismal atmosphere in Gotham after Bane’s takeover. Some of the more drawn out elements of the suffering in Gotham, and Bruce Wayne’s imprisonment had specific depth that resonated with the audience, as we felt the despair of the people. If we didn’t feel the struggle Bruce Wayne felt with his multiple attempts to escape the pit, and the depth of character that evolved as he learned that some things are worse than death, which makes life worth living, would have been lost to an abbreviated story line. Even the build up to the action set the stage for how Batman is just a symbol, and as a symbol he inspired heroism in other characters such as JGL, and the turnaround of Catwoman’s character. Overall I think it was a wonderful performance by all actor’s involved. I was especially impressed with Hardy’s portrayal as Bane. Being limited in facial expression due to the mask, he really had to develop the character through his voice, his body positioning, and other mannerisms. I’m calling it right now, Tom Hardy wins the Academy Award for best Supporting Actor in 2012. An especially tough feat considering he had to follow Heath Ledger who played the previous villain in this trilogy.
If I had to cut anything, it would probably be a bit from the beginning, definitely not the Gotham chaos scene or pit rehabilitation. Probably some of the orphan stuff, I think.
Maybe also less with that construction tycoon, who wanted to take over Wayne Enterprises.
Hard to remember everything that really happened, given the length, and only the really important scenes stick out.