Friday, July 20, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises



And here we go. Where do we begin. Yes I know I started the post with two lines from the series it seems fitting. AMAZING. Is how I would describe this film. From the opening shot to the rise at the closing. The main theme of the 3 Nolan batman films I feel has been What is a symbol mean? From the start of the first film we follow Bruce Wayne as he rises to a hero to the fall guy back to a hero.
The film starts with an amazing plane takeover that will leave your jaw on the floor. The first time I heard Bane's voice I was a little taken back. The laugh factor is there you can either go with it or not. Go with it and enjoy if not get up and leave. Cutting to Gotham we are told that the Harvey Dent Act has pretty much killed crime in Gotham. Batman has taken the fall for the deaths that Two-Face committed at the closing of The Dark Knight. We find that Bruce Wayne has shut himself off from the world hanging up his cape and cowl. The death of Rachel Dawes in TDK has left him broken well that and falling off a two story building at a very bad angle. We meet Selina Kyle as she breaks into Bruce's safe that was suppose to be the best safe money can buy. Anne Hathaway plays the role of Selina like she is having a blast. In the comics Selina is played as good/bad here is the same. You see her play the part of good/bad really well. Her disappearing act on Bats was one of those moments where you laugh and really enjoy it. Michael Caine is given less to do in this movie but his moments of trying to make Bruce see beyond Batman are touching. You see that he wants Bruce to move on have a life and a family be happy. The great Morgan Freeman is always reliable. Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon looks that he is burning from the inside just waiting to explode. I was really hoping that we would get the Oldman from The Professional. I have always thought that he is underused in the movies. I wanted "Get everyone" " what do you mean everyone?" EVERYONE"  moments but he gives it his all. Matthew Modine as Foley just oozes backstabber. But the real break thru is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake. His rise is one of the movies best arcs.  Now to Tom Hardy as Bane. Heath Ledger as the Joker will be hard to top no matter who plays the role. Where Heath was able to use his entire face here Hardy is forced to use his bodies size and his eyes. Much like The Joker there is no force to stop Bane. The unstoppable force vs the unmovable object.
Some reviews have said that the plot gets a little sloppy and hard to follow during the time Bruce puts the mask back and the breaking of the bat till the return of The Batman. I followed it just pay attention. Its really not that hard of course some people just want things easy as possible. Nothing wrong with just having to think its not that hard trust me.
There are some really great little moments and cameos. Some you are going to see from miles away. Some not a chance you see coming. Now to The Joker. He is no where to be found. His name is barely said. I think maybe twice. You see more of Two-Face. It is for the good of the picture that way.
The fights between Bane and Batman are brutal. Bane's breaking of the bat is played to show his pure unstoppable physical domiance of an out of shape Batman. This is a way to get around how Bane broke Batman the first time in the comics by releasing the Rogues of Arkham and Blackgate. That pushed Batman to his physical limits and when Bane confronted Batman in Wayne Manor. Batman weak and spent was broke. The famous breaking the back is there but its not as dramatic. The breaking of the mask is the point of the battle that is played up. You see Batman try everything that he has. But he is not up to the fight and it shows. The water failing on the batsuit gives it an defeated look as Bane just beats him.
I won't say much more on the fact that the rest is worth seeing and enjoying. More than once. Nolan brings his Dark Knight Saga to a close in a fitting end. We will miss it. Trust me We will miss it. And by the way Robin is in it. Trust me.  Go out see it and enjoy. The fire rises and the fire dies. Thank you Christopher Nolan. 12 out of 10.

Real life


The actions of one man can sometimes make a difference. Other times it makes no difference. Then you have last night in Colorado. A sadly disturbed young man killed at least 12 people and injured at least 50. At a midnight showing for the final chapter in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight series. As a fan of the previous films my wife, my brother and my cousin along with myself were there at the gra...nd theatre to enjoy the film which we did. 3 hours later we all were smiling and laughing talking about how incredible the film was, not knowing what had happened in Colorado. It was a shock for me because we were in the same situation watching the same movie at the same time. Ready to slip into a word where a masked man saves the day. But those people where attacked by a masked man in real life. His reasons may never be known nor do I care. All he deserves is a needle in the arm with some nice chemicals running thru his system for a nice long dirt nap or better yet what the hell firing squad. He took a great time and destroyed the lives of so many why?? His girlfriend breakup with him? His mother took away his bottle to soon? Didn't hold him enough? Many that watched the movie at the theater are huge fans of the series as are the rest of the 25 million dollar spending community that got tickets to it. I say we honor then by going see the movie again and again even if you didn't like it nor cared. Not just for us but for a small part for them. In closing kiss and hold your kids a little closer tonight. Try to seek or forgive someone for petty crap be adults. A fire will rise and a fire will fall. Now is the time to pick ourselves up.