The Dark Knight Rises (Twice in 7 hours. Yes, I'm crazy.)
*Spoilers* Do not read on, if you haven't seen the film *Spoilers*
Four years. We've waited four years for 'The Batman' to return to the big screen and last night; the wait was finally over... and it was well worth it.
'The Dark Knight Rises' is set 8 years after the events of 'The Dark Knight' where Batman took the blame for the crimes that Harvey Dent committed. Since then, the Harvey Dent Act has been set up to keep organized crime to pretty much zero. Gotham is safe and no longer needs Batman.
That is.... until Bane shows up.
Bane, if you've read the comics or did some reading, is the villain who's known for breaking Batman's back. Bane is not only Batman's match physically, but he is actually not mentally challenged.... unlike the piece of shit that 'Batman & Robin' was (Fuck you George Clooney).
Fans expressed their doubts about Bane's voice when the first few trailers emerged on the Internet. However, I didn't have any problems hearing what he had to say so I assume they did some work on his voice.
Anne Hathaway -- Selina Kyle -- the actress, who everybody rejected when she was announced, did an excellent job in my opinion. She brought out a totally different side that we've never seen in Bruce Wayne/Batman and this was very interesting to say the least.. Especially when she's able to steal Bruce's Lamborghini and disappear in front of The Batman.
"So that's what it feels like..." - The Batman
Michael Caine didn't have much screen time in this one but delivered a very emotional performance especially when he tried to persuade Bruce to stay out of the fight.
"I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I knew there was nothing here for you but pain... and tragedy..." - Alfred
Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Marion Cotillard all did a magnificent job as the supporting cast of the film. Commissioner Gordon's injury in the film kinda pushes Batman to come back from retirement. JGL also plays a part in instilling some confidence back into Bruce Wayne.
The Scene That Gave Me Goosebumps
After Bane and his crew crashed Gotham Stock Exchange, the cops tried to chase them down into this tunnel. This was the scene which gave me goosebumps. Coupled with Han Zimmer's epic music, Batman's first appearance in 'The Dark Knight Rises' had me on the edge of my seat!
The Fight Scenes
The Dark Knight Rises had two major fight scenes and boy, were they grueling. This marks the first time in cinematic history where The Batman has been defeated in hand to hand combat. He was totally outmatched the first time he fought Bane, as he was in a weakened state.
The second scene was also the first time we've seen Batman appear in broad daylight in this trilogy. Overall, I enjoyed the action scenes a lot but if there was one thing I didn't like in this movie, it would be the fact that I wish Batman would have had a been more screen time.
Necessary Evil and Twists
Basically, the story's about Bane and Miranda Tate (AKA Talia Al Ghul) trying to destroy Gotham, as Ra's Al Ghul (Talia's father) once tried to do but failed. They get their hands on Wayne Enterprises' Clean Energy Reactor Core and turn it into a nuclear weapon. Miranda had everybody fooled in the first place and even gained the trust of Bruce Wayne until he stabs Bruce in the back... at the end of the movie.
In my opinion, this was a very good twist but may appear unnecessary to those who do not know the origins of Talia.
The Café Scene
Earlier in the film, Alfred described his visions when he would go on vacation whilst Bruce wasn't in Gotham (prior to The Batman). He had hoped that, during his travels, he would have seen Bruce in a café with a wife and maybe some children.
This tied in heavily with the end after we see Batman seemingly make the ultimate sacrifice.
"You don't owe these people anymore, you've given them everything.." - Selina Kyle
"Not everything... not yet..." - Batman
Even though Batman, Selina, Gordon and John Blake successfully stopped Bane and Talia from manually detonating the nuclear bomb... it was still an imminent threat. So Batman takes the nuclear bomb on his aircraft, The Bat, and flies it out of Gotham and makes the ultimate sacrifice. He flies off into the distance and we see the bomb explode. We were told that there was no auto-pilot on the Bat so this meant the end of Bruce Wayne/The Batman...
Or does it...?
After an emotional scene with Alfred returning and crying in front of Bruce's tombstone, we see a scene where it is revealed that John Blake (who is actually Robin) will take up the mantle, as he discovers the Bat Cave and becomes Gotham's protector.
Finally, the ending scene shows Alfred in a café by himself, as he had described before, and he looks across and sees Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. They both smile and nod and it ends.
The movie was EPIC. Gotham is safe from Bane and Talia and Bruce Wayne finally gets to rest his soul and live a peaceful life with Selina.
A Third Time In IMAX
Yes. I am watching it a third time in the near future but it will be in IMAX.
Thank you to Mr. Nolan and the rest of the cast (Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and co) for bringing this epic trilogy to the big screen because without you guys, superhero movies would still be shitty as hell.
