Review: The Dark Knight Rises And the Real Life Heroes Rise With Him
Wayne has gone as off the grid as an internationally famous billionaire can for eight years, leaving rumors that he has become disfigured or gone mad. He only re-emerges because a mysterious thief forces him to, but he returns with a death wish from having lost so much. The world he saved still regards the tainted Harvey Dent as its unfallen hero, and its cowled crusader as the monster who killed him. Like Winston Churchill after World War II, he has been cast aside. Bane strides the stage as a modern Robespierre armed with the latest weaponry, with no apparent hero left to challenge him while he “liberates” the city as only a true madman can. As the story progresses, we find out that in some ways Bane is a mirror image of Batman, with the wicked self-righteousness of Osama bin Laden and Darth Vader. He takes his justice cues directly from the French Committee of Public Safety, and sits a fellow villain on the throne to rule for life or exile for the presumptively guilty. The Occupy movement might have gone in that direction too, but thankfully it never had a Bane to will it to power.
The third and final film in the Nolan Batman trilogy is the most hyped, but least predictable, of the three. While Bane lacks Joker’s wit and gift for misdirection, he makes up for it with cunning and brute force. The Dark Knight Rises is a five-star masterpiece despite one or two holes in the plot. The basic storylines go somewhat as expected, particularly if you are really up on your Batman lore, but once the opening exposition is done with, the action and twists come quickly with perfect pace. Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman is the best that has ever been put on screen by far, smouldering one second, playacting victim the next, landing on her feet from one disaster to another, some of them of her making, some not. Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines as the everyman cop who, as the disaster unfolds, rises to become an extraordinarily ordinary hero. Christian Bale’s Batman defines the character.
I caught the movie at an early screening this morning.
It’s absolutely fantastic. I had my doubts as to whether Christoper Nolan could top The Dark Knight, but he did.
And the ending had me smiling from ear to ear. Haven’t done that while watching a movie in a long time.
Good taste:
Take this down.
For a day,
For two,
But take it down.
Let people bury their dead.
Basic decency.
How does “basic decency” dictate that one not review a movie on it’s opening weekend?
Sorry you lost me at the “Greatest Comic Book Film Ever” headline. It’s not half as good as the previous film. It was overly long, pretentious and boring. Not to mention the ending was really trite. Good cinematography and visuals though…
Well, actually James Holmes wasn’t stopped by “everyday heroes wearing blue.”. He just got tired of shooting, went out the back door and waited to be arrested. Not that the police aren’t heroes, but they did not stop this particular psychopath.
I think the real hero of the story is a young man by the name of Jarell Brooks who stopped and helped a young woman with a baby and a four year old, after the baby-daddy left said infant crying on the floor because he thought the crying would draw attention to him. He left his own child and bolted to safety. Jarell, a total stranger, came by and helped the mom & kids get out, taking a bullet in the process.
He’s the hero today. God bless him and the others who sacrificed their own well-being, and maybe their lives, when all they had planned on doing was catching a movie at the neighborhood theatre.
“It is a moral and historical film, drawing most of its true inspiration from the French Revolution.”
In other words, it is actually a sort of “rip off” of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Dang, I’m so confused. Just last month – was it? – that ‘The Avengers’ was the greatest comic book movie ever – evAH!
With the price of movies today, I cannot afford the fantastic prices theaters and producers charge for – that’s right! – the greatest comic book movies ever.
I know that these movies encapsulate the spirit of the American people and reveal the innerworkings of our most vile criminal elements, through the thought provoking imagery of the comic – pardon me – graphic illustrations – so that we can come to terms with our metabolistically shredded psyches. I know that – but at what cost?
Am I a better person for having participated in this magical event – a man in a bat costume flinging himself around the GREAT GOTHAM metropolis, a costume so cumbersome that surely he must injure himself if ….
And, on and on, in my senile tirade. Forgive me, for obviously I do not know what I do … I just don’t understand. Someone please explain to me the social, political, military, psychological benefits that the world garners from such excessive display.
>I know that – but at what cost?
Um, like 10 bucks, first run, or maybe 15 if you want to see it in 3D.
I’ll wait til it shows up on Encore. I absolutely will NOT subsidize Hollywood. I will not subsidize developmentally stunted jackwagons who think kicking grandpa’s shins is some subtle societal commentary. They’re not competent to make societal commentary.
The collapse of the studio system was the collapse of watch-worthy cinema. And before the pile-on, I am the only one qualified to determine how the dollars I earn are spent. I will not spend them on hollywood.
Uhhh… you subscribe to Encore? You’re subsidizing Hollywood 24/7 dude. I leave the premium cable channels alone and at least get to pick and choose which Hollywood products to pay for.
This movie will become a classic, despite the attempts by numerous factions to demean it, because it is a metaphor of our times. Film classics need time and history to achieve that status. True hereoes are most often ordinary people doing extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice, this is happening all over the world every day and night before God’s eyes, not ours. Rarely do we get to rejoice in good over evil in today’s manufactured media, because the story must fit a narrative of their indoctrinated idealogy. That is one reason there is film, to give the people hope thru entertainment, despite the leanings of most of Hollywood. The Avengers movie is but an updated version of the Three Muskateers, flawed men coming together to fight for the common good. Batman is the loner, like Zorro, like Gary Cooper as the sheriff in the classic film High Noon, forced to step up because no one else will. Hereoes are usually born by necessity and circumstance, for that particular moment. Good is spontanenous and special, evil is constant and ageless. People go to the theater watch a film, walk away and say , “It’s just a movie”. God watches the world and says “That’s Life.” and weeps, but every once in awhile a hereo arise and God says “That”s Good.” and smiles.
Does good really triumph? I wonder what unseen darkness may lurk behind this infatuation we have with a mythic “Superman” whose sudden parousia saves us from ourselves?
Does good really triumph? I wonder what unseen darkness may lurk behind this infatuation we have with a mythic “Superman” whose sudden parousia saves us from ourselves?
Oh please, do not start any new religions.
OT: In real life, there is no Batman. However, in real life, there are no extras, either, or writers to maximize the carnage. The booby traps left by this loser did not add to his aura of ruthlessness and cunning. They were detected and disarmed by some cops who didn’t even get a name on the bill.
Now if only there was just one person in the theater carrying protection and similarly divorced from comic book roles and caricatured morality.
I thought the first two movies were boring. They had no art direction, no cleverness, no conspicuously bright cinematography, goofy casting. I don’t get the hub-hub.
Bub.
Typical Frank Miller screed. I’m sure the man-boys are mesmerized by it. (When does someone ask about the release date of the game?) Otherwise, its about how much over-the-top violence can they fit into 90 minutes and wrap it in a moral outcome so its all OK.
Keep patronizing this filth, boys and girls, and watch the REAL violence in society metastasize. Garbage in – garbage out. Shields up!
I wonder how come cavemen were killing each other. Those cave paintings must be full of violence.
You know who usually speaks with such confidence about a topic he clearly knows absolutely nothing about? A liberal.
“Bruce Wayne is the .000000001% which makes him the natural target.”
I should say so; since 0.000000001% equals one in a hundred billion, and there are seven billion people on the planet, Bruce Wayne is a rara avis indeed.
I saw it last night. Meh.
I have never been very terribly impressed with superhero movies, yet I keep going to see the better reviewed ones, like The Avengers or the Batman movies. For the most part they leave me thinking I wasted my time and money. I accept the basic premise that superheroes are, well, super heroes, so I can suspend disbelief for many fantastic stunts and gadgets. But the plots are forced and extremely contrived. This one has an unforeseen plot twist, but so what? There isn’t any real drama or uncertainty. It just goes along and stuff happens.
Sigh. Why is it that The Incredibles is by far the best superhero movie?
The least predictable? Seriously? It was by far the most predictable of the three movies – by far more predictable than any Chris Nolan movie. Everything was telegraphed well in advance.
I’m not sure we saw the same film. It took the worst parts of the previous two films with none of the surprises and very, very little of the humanity. Stilted and waaaay too much talky-talky.
Maybe it was the theater we were in, but the sound was also badly off. The dialogue in whole scenes was incomprehensible. The music blared over important lines at times. Hardy’s voice was very, very clearly dubbed in places. And the music seemed to be wholly recycled from The Dark Knight with the exception of the chant.
And all the good stuff that got done with Caine’s Alfred in the past two films? He’s completely changed in this film – turned into an awful nag, then removed for 2/3rds of the film, given a horrid bit of overacting to do, and then given a predictable but nice scene at the end.
The least of Nolan’s films is still far better than, say, Prometheus or Amazing Spider-Man. He finally hired a cinematographer who could film action semi-decently (no shaky-cam), which is a huge plus. But when scenes don’t include Hathaway and Bale (which is far too much of the film), they lack any of the sparkle that the previous two had.
And I thought my jokes were bad? Usually I’am the anal pretentious a-hole, making every single thing a philisophical spectacle, sure to wow the masses with assize vocabulary and terminology that could only propel me into the start heavens of the academic elite…BUT…it’s just a damn movie people. If you think Hollywood is so horrible and corrupt, then here’s a noble idea, don’t go see this movie. No point in boring us with unnecessary big words and loop hole reasoning just to simply tell the world “I’m not going to see this movie”.
-now that that’s off my chest-
One can’t really compare any of Nolan’s Batman movies. Heres why; Christopher Nolan never planned for Batman to become a trilogy, hence not making the same movie three times over, and each movie deals with a different theme, and is made in a different style. Batman Begins is an origin story and probably the closest of the three to a true “comic book film”..if such a thing really exists. Begins deals with the themes of fear and compassion. The Dark Knight is a straight-forward noire film that happens to star characters from the Batman comic. We see a different side of Batman (more of a detective role, and less of a brawler), and we also bare witness to one hell of a performance by Heath Ledger; UNMATCHED by ANY actor in ANY comic book film for that matter (one could arguably reason as one of the best villains in film also).This movie is candy for anybody who is a sucker for more cerebral philosophical movies, and deals with the themes of chaos, anarchy, and duality. The Dark knight Rises is a much bigger spectacle. This movie deals with the themes of revolutionary terror and redemption/salvation. In this film, there is a lot going on, as revolution is in full swing. The blunder of this film unfortunately is that there are so many character developments, sub-plots, and sub-stories, that it takes away from the laser like focus on the underlying plots that happen in the other two films. As a result, many great opportunities were missed, as we only have three hours to see an entire revolution played out with many many faces to progress it. On the flip side, we get to see more cool toys and gadgets that batman breaks out, Batman’s rise to redemption is emotionally moving as anything else in film, the films villains (and there are quite a few) don’t fail to deliver in contrast to their heroic counterparts, and Alfred basically ends up stealing the show. 9/10 overall, and i will be seeing this many more times.
My mature college-age son gave it a B. And yes he went to see it with his friends after the shooting. Like your article tho. Looking for the silver linings always:) God Bless America.