I went to go see the highly anticipated, 'The Dark Knight Rises' Saturday. I was eager to go because I was curious how the series would end, and a couple friends who went to the midnight screening praised the film greatly. I left the theater afterwards disappointed at their opinion. What follows is my review of the film.
Warning: There are some slight spoilers. For the sake of length, BB= Batman Begins, TDK= The Dark Knight and TDKR= The Dark Knight Rises.
Nolan's version of the Batman tale was a gritty, dark, and satisfyingly adult vision. TDKR opens with Harvey 'Two Face' Dent falsely martyred at the hands of the mysterious vigilante, Batman. Gotham City is surprisingly crime free thanks to a new law placed in remembrance of Dent. Batman and Bruce Wayne have disappeared, with Bruce sporting a cane and an awesome limp... that they never explain. Nevertheless a storm looms on the close horizon, a storm called Bane, who aims to destroy Gotham City completely.
Add into the mix the sexy, yet dangerous, scene stealing Catwoman who only seems to care about her own self satisfying agenda.
But let's get to my opinion.
It's unfortunate that this movie came out after TDK. TDK was amazing, epic in many ways, my only real beefs with it being that at times there was too many branches of story going on in a really long movie. Secondly, my concrete belief that Heath Ledger got the girls interested in the film. His death got everyone else to go see it. Unfortunately. Because I for one, along with everyone else didn't know that man was that talented until then.
TDKR gets so wrapped up in attempting to be bigger, and better, and larger than TDK that it completely misses the very thing that should be the essential cog in a super hero movie. An actual adventure. I swear, in all of the 240 minutes or so of TDKR, if I paid money to see Batman, well I expect to see Batman y'know...be Batman. Instead I got maybe for maybe 32 minutes of Batman. The rest was Officer Blake (Josh Gordon Levitt), some orphans, a prison that's pretty damned silly, (complete with this nonsense: "Your vertebrae is sticking out" *He pushes it back in*) and some corporate takeover that kinda felt like a take on the Occupy movement. In fact, now that I think about it, I think Officer Blake had more screen time than Batman did. No, I'm sure of it. Speaking of Officer Blake, the Robin joke was cute- but what's the point in leaving him the bat mantle if you won't train him, Bruce? Hell, in BB it took you SEVEN YEARS in a super secret cult to learn how to be Batman. What's Blake gonna do?
In my opinion, there is very little excitement in TDKR. I literally got more amped up from the crowd OUTSIDE the theater. At no point in this film was I held in suspense, did I tense up and grab my armrest. For real, there will be no sell outs of Bane costumes this Halloween. There will be no 'Why So Serious?' scrawled on school lockers or train doors. In fact, I can't for the life of me remember any cool one liners from the film other than when a businessman condescendingly stated that he was in control of Bane, and Bane gently placed his massive hand on the businessman's shoulder and as he towered over him, replies: "Do you feel like you're in control?"
The action felt a little blah, and I'm trying not to compare it to anything else, but dude... in the previous movie I saw the caped crusader fucking jack knife an 18 wheeler, after a gripping and pulse racing car chase through Gotham City. (How awesome was that Batpod ejecting from the Bat Tumbler sequence??) Sorry. I started to digress there. As I was saying, TDKR doesn't have any impressive action. I get the whole pugilistic aim in the fight between Bane and Batman, but seriously, I can't honestly say I was all that moved by the fight. I speak of the first one, because the rematch was just...silly to me. To non-comic fans it fails to explain just how Bane was able to bare hand punch through solid rock columns, but whatever. Speaking of that final action scene, all of Gotham's cops fight all of Gotham's criminals in a street war. Both sides are heavily armed, yet it turns out being a huge melee. WTF.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the movie sucked, nor am I saying I didn't enjoy it. I guess I just felt like this film had so much potential, and in my opinion it failed to meet it. Sure, within all the nonsensical plots there is a genuine story going on about redemption and sacrifice.... the kind of twisted character development that made Nolan look like a cot damned genius in Memento and Inception. I just feel that instead of trying to be bigger than TDK, and be the most epic of the trilogy, it came off as just plain excessive. I'm STILL trying to see the point in the damn Batplane other than using it as a plot device in disposing of Bane/Talia's bomb.
Oh yeah. Talia Al Ghul is in the film. ...she's revealed as a "plot twist" Bats incorrectly deduces that Bane is Ra's child. *sigh* So basically, if you've ever read a comic book with Ra's Al Ghul in it, or at the least, played the highly popular video game Arkham City you would've seen that coming 2 hours prior.
Consider this: In BB we subconsciously accept that there's villains and heroes, Ra's Al Ghul is one of those villains, and he wants to blow up JUST Gotham City even though he's got a hard on for the downfall of ALL corrupt society.
In TDK the villain is bat shit crazy (pun intended) and he makes some scary ass points- points that he not only proves, but he also convinces the only beacon of hope in this hellhole of a city to become a murderous psychopath.
TDKR just seems like whatever. Instead a likely progression or a new method of threat, Bane and his silly cockney accent just wants to finish what Ra's started. (no originality there, Bane) Then he frees all the prisoners and locks up the cops because the criminals are the only ones that understand how the world reallyworks. (Well, wait. Didn't the Joker show us that last time?)
Catwoman's tale is actually in my opinion the only part of the story that makes sense. Well, and Alfred who I found myself feeling SO sorry for.
Also, I felt like instead of forcing us to miss Harvey dent so much- how about remind us why Batman's leg is jacked up in the first place. (It happened in the fall saving Gordon's kid at the end of TDK)
Anyway, I'd like to take a moment to just repeat, I feel like this movie (if we could go back in time) should have been the second one. The existence of this film totally negates the SUPER EPIC ending from TDK. An ending that SHOULD be the end of a trilogy.
That whole speech Gordon gives his son/eulogy at Dent's funeral as Batman limps to his bike and then rides off into the light like a fucking cowboy riding into the fucking sunset. As that score plays in the background. WOW.
But anyway, It didn't suck, but it wasn't as epic as people are pretending it is.
It was NOT the best Batman film. In fact, it is probably the weaker of the three. (Nolan's trilogy)
It WAS NOT better than Marvel's The Avengers. If you seriously believe that, then I have to assume you also do massive amounts of peyote.
In fact, it seems to me the less of an actual comic fan you are, the more you will enjoy this film.
But what do I know. I'm just a fanboy.
It was good. Not worth $16.00 to go see it in IMAX. See it in a normal theater. Definitely NOT the greatest superhero film of the year.
Hell, I walked out of The Amazing Spider-Man more satisfied... but I know my readers.
They will say I'm biased. Whatever.
P.S. Fanboy sheep fans of Nolan...don't start no shit there won't be no shit.
P.P.S. Can I also mention the rock climbing scenes that made NO FUCKING sense? Bruce Wayne is climbing a wall, with a rope tied around his waist... (which is odd seeing how his back was supposedly JUST broken, but whatevs...) and there's a guy holding the rope at the bottom like an anchor, and he falls repeatedly with said rope tightening around the SAME DAMN WAIST AREA THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY JUST BROKEN every time he falls, which he does a LOT. Problem.
Why is the guy holding the rope at the bottom? If he falls, and Bruce dangles in mid-air because the guy is still holding the rope- that means the rope HAS to be tied at a point higher than where he fell from. THAT'S BASIC FUCKING PHYSICS.
So... why doesn't the guy just give him some slack when he sees he's falling so the fall won't hurt as much? Or better yet...
WHY NOT RAISE HIM HIGHER OUT OF THE FUCKING HOLE?
I'm done.
Nolan's version of the Batman tale was a gritty, dark, and satisfyingly adult vision. TDKR opens with Harvey 'Two Face' Dent falsely martyred at the hands of the mysterious vigilante, Batman. Gotham City is surprisingly crime free thanks to a new law placed in remembrance of Dent. Batman and Bruce Wayne have disappeared, with Bruce sporting a cane and an awesome limp... that they never explain. Nevertheless a storm looms on the close horizon, a storm called Bane, who aims to destroy Gotham City completely.
Add into the mix the sexy, yet dangerous, scene stealing Catwoman who only seems to care about her own self satisfying agenda.
But let's get to my opinion.
It's unfortunate that this movie came out after TDK. TDK was amazing, epic in many ways, my only real beefs with it being that at times there was too many branches of story going on in a really long movie. Secondly, my concrete belief that Heath Ledger got the girls interested in the film. His death got everyone else to go see it. Unfortunately. Because I for one, along with everyone else didn't know that man was that talented until then.
In my opinion, there is very little excitement in TDKR. I literally got more amped up from the crowd OUTSIDE the theater. At no point in this film was I held in suspense, did I tense up and grab my armrest. For real, there will be no sell outs of Bane costumes this Halloween. There will be no 'Why So Serious?' scrawled on school lockers or train doors. In fact, I can't for the life of me remember any cool one liners from the film other than when a businessman condescendingly stated that he was in control of Bane, and Bane gently placed his massive hand on the businessman's shoulder and as he towered over him, replies: "Do you feel like you're in control?"
The action felt a little blah, and I'm trying not to compare it to anything else, but dude... in the previous movie I saw the caped crusader fucking jack knife an 18 wheeler, after a gripping and pulse racing car chase through Gotham City. (How awesome was that Batpod ejecting from the Bat Tumbler sequence??) Sorry. I started to digress there. As I was saying, TDKR doesn't have any impressive action. I get the whole pugilistic aim in the fight between Bane and Batman, but seriously, I can't honestly say I was all that moved by the fight. I speak of the first one, because the rematch was just...silly to me. To non-comic fans it fails to explain just how Bane was able to bare hand punch through solid rock columns, but whatever. Speaking of that final action scene, all of Gotham's cops fight all of Gotham's criminals in a street war. Both sides are heavily armed, yet it turns out being a huge melee. WTF.Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the movie sucked, nor am I saying I didn't enjoy it. I guess I just felt like this film had so much potential, and in my opinion it failed to meet it. Sure, within all the nonsensical plots there is a genuine story going on about redemption and sacrifice.... the kind of twisted character development that made Nolan look like a cot damned genius in Memento and Inception. I just feel that instead of trying to be bigger than TDK, and be the most epic of the trilogy, it came off as just plain excessive. I'm STILL trying to see the point in the damn Batplane other than using it as a plot device in disposing of Bane/Talia's bomb.
Oh yeah. Talia Al Ghul is in the film. ...she's revealed as a "plot twist" Bats incorrectly deduces that Bane is Ra's child. *sigh* So basically, if you've ever read a comic book with Ra's Al Ghul in it, or at the least, played the highly popular video game Arkham City you would've seen that coming 2 hours prior.
Consider this: In BB we subconsciously accept that there's villains and heroes, Ra's Al Ghul is one of those villains, and he wants to blow up JUST Gotham City even though he's got a hard on for the downfall of ALL corrupt society.
In TDK the villain is bat shit crazy (pun intended) and he makes some scary ass points- points that he not only proves, but he also convinces the only beacon of hope in this hellhole of a city to become a murderous psychopath.
TDKR just seems like whatever. Instead a likely progression or a new method of threat, Bane and his silly cockney accent just wants to finish what Ra's started. (no originality there, Bane) Then he frees all the prisoners and locks up the cops because the criminals are the only ones that understand how the world reallyworks. (Well, wait. Didn't the Joker show us that last time?)Catwoman's tale is actually in my opinion the only part of the story that makes sense. Well, and Alfred who I found myself feeling SO sorry for.
Also, I felt like instead of forcing us to miss Harvey dent so much- how about remind us why Batman's leg is jacked up in the first place. (It happened in the fall saving Gordon's kid at the end of TDK)
Anyway, I'd like to take a moment to just repeat, I feel like this movie (if we could go back in time) should have been the second one. The existence of this film totally negates the SUPER EPIC ending from TDK. An ending that SHOULD be the end of a trilogy.
That whole speech Gordon gives his son/eulogy at Dent's funeral as Batman limps to his bike and then rides off into the light like a fucking cowboy riding into the fucking sunset. As that score plays in the background. WOW.
But anyway, It didn't suck, but it wasn't as epic as people are pretending it is.
It was NOT the best Batman film. In fact, it is probably the weaker of the three. (Nolan's trilogy)
It WAS NOT better than Marvel's The Avengers. If you seriously believe that, then I have to assume you also do massive amounts of peyote.
In fact, it seems to me the less of an actual comic fan you are, the more you will enjoy this film.
But what do I know. I'm just a fanboy.
It was good. Not worth $16.00 to go see it in IMAX. See it in a normal theater. Definitely NOT the greatest superhero film of the year.
Hell, I walked out of The Amazing Spider-Man more satisfied... but I know my readers.
They will say I'm biased. Whatever.
P.S. Fanboy sheep fans of Nolan...don't start no shit there won't be no shit.
P.P.S. Can I also mention the rock climbing scenes that made NO FUCKING sense? Bruce Wayne is climbing a wall, with a rope tied around his waist... (which is odd seeing how his back was supposedly JUST broken, but whatevs...) and there's a guy holding the rope at the bottom like an anchor, and he falls repeatedly with said rope tightening around the SAME DAMN WAIST AREA THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY JUST BROKEN every time he falls, which he does a LOT. Problem.
Why is the guy holding the rope at the bottom? If he falls, and Bruce dangles in mid-air because the guy is still holding the rope- that means the rope HAS to be tied at a point higher than where he fell from. THAT'S BASIC FUCKING PHYSICS.
So... why doesn't the guy just give him some slack when he sees he's falling so the fall won't hurt as much? Or better yet...
WHY NOT RAISE HIM HIGHER OUT OF THE FUCKING HOLE?
I'm done.
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