First off, I would like to say that I am sorry for all the victims and their families of the Aurora, Colorado shooting. This was a tragedy and something should never had happened. I would like to link you this, http://www.facebook.com/thedarkknightrises.
The most recent post (at this time) is a statement from the director, writer, and producer of the Batman movies Christopher Nolan. I do not think that I could say it any better than he does here. I do not think that this movie had anything to do with the shooting and do not let one man's actions, tarnish this movie for everyone.
Once again, My condolences.
On with the review.
This film is the conclusion of director Christopher Nolan and every member of the cast and crews hard work. Upon re-watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight before watching this in the theater I thought there was absolutely no way that Nolan could make it better than them. I was mistaken. The Dark Knight Rises is an amazing film that concludes a trilogy which competes with the likes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The characters that are present are all amazing, most of which have been present throughout the whole ordeal. Christian Bale is the best Batman I've seen in a film. Gary Oldman is an amazing actor who I'm convinced could pull off any role (looking forward to Lawless with him and Tom Hardy). Michael Cain is the perfect Alfred and steals every scene he is in. Morgan Freeman. Enough said. Then there are the newbies on set, even though each of them are great actors in their own right, just new to this set. Anne Hathaway is a better Catwoman than Halle Berry could ever dream of being, Tom Hardy's Bane didn't involve a lot of acting but his character was written amazingly. Not only that, but he does actually act, all with his eyes. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has yet to be in a movie I don't like so I was glad he had a much, much bigger role than I expected. Check out The Lookout if you like his work but have only known about him since Inception or 50/50. Then there's Marion Cotillard who is really good for this role. My one issue with this movie, is it seems to be more about the supporting cast than it is Batman himself. Bruce Wayne is probably in the film more than Batman is and that really wasn't quite a problem as much as a surprise. I think that it is going to be generalized more as a Batman movie over a great piece of cinematography that Nolan obviously sets out to make it and that bothers me at both ends. As a fan of Batman, I want my Batman movies to actually have Batman in them. On the other hand, I love films. So when you look at this movie as a standalone piece it is brilliant. As part of something larger, its not as great. Still good, but not great.
Also, there will be a rather large spoiler section at the end. It will be pointed out.
Also, there will be a rather large spoiler section at the end. It will be pointed out.
One thing that is glaringly obviously when you think of these movies is when you look at these as a series, is the absence of the Joker in this one. Was he killed? Is he in prison? If he's in prison how come he hasn;t tried to escape yet? It isn't explained, it isn't mentioned, and it's fairly annoying; once you start analyzing the film for a review after the initial viewing you start to realize things such as that. It's really a painful glaring hole in the story-telling when this is thought of. Still, Tom Hardy did good with the limited amount of space he had to work with as Bane but it's hard to forget Heath Ledger's joker. And I realize I haven't even got to the plot yet but I wanted to get this out of the way first. So yeah in short, little Batman as seems possible, but it works for the story, great actors and supporting characters are the center piece of the film. On with the plot, spoiler free.
Plot
The final installment of Nolan's Dark Knight it's been eight years since the last installment. Harvey Dent's legacy still lives even though no one in Gotham really know the truth about what happened. However, because of the falsified nature of his death they passed legislation that helped the cities police crack down on crime in Gotham. They locked away many criminals and the streets of Gotham are cleaner than ever before. The only cost has been heavy emotional weight on Bruce Wayne/Batman and Police Commissioner Gordon's shoulders because they are the only two that know's the truth. Batman is officially in hiding and Bruce Wayne is on a bum leg. Wayne and Gordon both seem ready to accept their sad existences until Bane threatens the city of Gotham. At this point Wayne dusts of the suit gets ready to kick some ass.
That is really just the basis of this plot. With Hathaway, Gordon-Levitt, and Cotillard also each a big part of this movie (especially Gordon-Levitt, not a spoiler. Just saying you see a lot of him in this movie) there are many sub-plots and moving pieces to what really is an absolute masterpiece of a film. My recommendation is go see it. Definitely go see it. It may not be the best end to a series, but it most definitely is a great film all on its own. In fact, the ending is the only thing keeping it from a perfect ten even though the ending was awesome in it's own right. If you've seen it you know what I mean. If you've seen it and don't know what I mean, you're a brain-damaged mule in the desert. Read the spoiler section and I will guide you home (like The Change-Up reference?).
Tomorrow there will be a new series starting about box office sales. Not just an update, but a look at highest grossing that current week and throughout the year and other things. I'm using tomorrow as a jump off point for it but it will actually be released on the 1st and 15th of every month.
9.5 bat caves out of 10
*Spoiler Section*
So if you've seen the movie you should read this section, if you haven't I really don't recommend reading this section. So proceed if you dare.
The only thing I really want to talk about here is the end. It was really good, and yet really unexpected. Many things about it remain unexplained (e.g. how did Wayne end up in that cafe with Selena Kyle?) but one thing remains certain. This studio probably isn't done with Batman. Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan are more than likely done, but Warner Brothers and DC Comics aren't. The man that seems to be slated to be the next Batman, or possible Nightwing, is none other than Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It is apparent throughout the movie is an integral character and he does it well. He is on screen almost more than really anyone else but it isn't quite revealed until the end what his bigger importance is. It is shown that his NAME is Robin at the end but that he ISN'T Robin. People seem to be getting this wrong, he is NOT Robin, it's just his NAME. Anyways, he gets something from Bruce Wayne in his will (yes, Wayne/Batman "dies" in the film for those of you who are here spoiling it for yourselves. SHAME ON YOU by the way) and it turns out to be some directions to a variation of the Batman cave. This caught my attention more-so than the other emotional bits with Alfred in them. It appears that in the same movie, DC Comics has given you the ending to one series and the leading character plus his backstory for another possible series. The only question here, is what will be Joseph Gordon-Levitt's future part? Will he be Nightwing or Batman? Will they even do one? If they don't they really just added this in for no reason and it makes little sense. Going through Blake's back story throughout the movie is useless space if they weren't setting him up for more things. They did set up John Blake in such a way that I could see him training and devoting himself to be Batman, especially with the scene with the badge/bridge and where he is held up at gun point. My point is, the ending was good. In the matter of setting up a possibility for this, it was amazing. It just didn't really give enough closure to Nolan's universe which it was supposed to do. Everyone really expected it to, but it didn't. Yes, Wayne ending up with Selena was a nice touch but was it what people expected? No. Bruce Wayne never STOPS being Batman. Never.
Another theory I have.........
Well now.... Here's what I think. They are putting out a new Superman right? Well if they "reboot" Batman with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and then maybe do a Wonder Woman, maybe a new Green Lantern (or keep Ryan Reynolds), a Green Martian would be totally badass, and then look at what we have here.....
The Justice League
Of course, the problem here is that there are many more Justice League members than there are of the Avengers. I say do the key ones, this new Batman with JGL, the new Superman, Wonder Woman, and maybe a Flash or Green Martian. Just through in the other characters during that film and it will work. It's all jut speculation though as we all just have to wait and see.
That is really just the basis of this plot. With Hathaway, Gordon-Levitt, and Cotillard also each a big part of this movie (especially Gordon-Levitt, not a spoiler. Just saying you see a lot of him in this movie) there are many sub-plots and moving pieces to what really is an absolute masterpiece of a film. My recommendation is go see it. Definitely go see it. It may not be the best end to a series, but it most definitely is a great film all on its own. In fact, the ending is the only thing keeping it from a perfect ten even though the ending was awesome in it's own right. If you've seen it you know what I mean. If you've seen it and don't know what I mean, you're a brain-damaged mule in the desert. Read the spoiler section and I will guide you home (like The Change-Up reference?).
Tomorrow there will be a new series starting about box office sales. Not just an update, but a look at highest grossing that current week and throughout the year and other things. I'm using tomorrow as a jump off point for it but it will actually be released on the 1st and 15th of every month.
9.5 bat caves out of 10
*Spoiler Section*
So if you've seen the movie you should read this section, if you haven't I really don't recommend reading this section. So proceed if you dare.
The only thing I really want to talk about here is the end. It was really good, and yet really unexpected. Many things about it remain unexplained (e.g. how did Wayne end up in that cafe with Selena Kyle?) but one thing remains certain. This studio probably isn't done with Batman. Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan are more than likely done, but Warner Brothers and DC Comics aren't. The man that seems to be slated to be the next Batman, or possible Nightwing, is none other than Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It is apparent throughout the movie is an integral character and he does it well. He is on screen almost more than really anyone else but it isn't quite revealed until the end what his bigger importance is. It is shown that his NAME is Robin at the end but that he ISN'T Robin. People seem to be getting this wrong, he is NOT Robin, it's just his NAME. Anyways, he gets something from Bruce Wayne in his will (yes, Wayne/Batman "dies" in the film for those of you who are here spoiling it for yourselves. SHAME ON YOU by the way) and it turns out to be some directions to a variation of the Batman cave. This caught my attention more-so than the other emotional bits with Alfred in them. It appears that in the same movie, DC Comics has given you the ending to one series and the leading character plus his backstory for another possible series. The only question here, is what will be Joseph Gordon-Levitt's future part? Will he be Nightwing or Batman? Will they even do one? If they don't they really just added this in for no reason and it makes little sense. Going through Blake's back story throughout the movie is useless space if they weren't setting him up for more things. They did set up John Blake in such a way that I could see him training and devoting himself to be Batman, especially with the scene with the badge/bridge and where he is held up at gun point. My point is, the ending was good. In the matter of setting up a possibility for this, it was amazing. It just didn't really give enough closure to Nolan's universe which it was supposed to do. Everyone really expected it to, but it didn't. Yes, Wayne ending up with Selena was a nice touch but was it what people expected? No. Bruce Wayne never STOPS being Batman. Never.
Another theory I have.........
Well now.... Here's what I think. They are putting out a new Superman right? Well if they "reboot" Batman with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and then maybe do a Wonder Woman, maybe a new Green Lantern (or keep Ryan Reynolds), a Green Martian would be totally badass, and then look at what we have here.....
The Justice League
Of course, the problem here is that there are many more Justice League members than there are of the Avengers. I say do the key ones, this new Batman with JGL, the new Superman, Wonder Woman, and maybe a Flash or Green Martian. Just through in the other characters during that film and it will work. It's all jut speculation though as we all just have to wait and see.
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