The Dark Knight Rises.... and wanes...

anatess · #1 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 08:11 AM

Arrrggghhh!!! This is so frustrating.

It's so hard to explain how I feel about this conclusion to the Dark Knight Saga. It was so awesomely good and so awesomely lacking. Ouch!

Okay, one piece of advice. Although Rises is so much better to see if you remember the story from the previous episode, I suggest not to watch the previous episode before you watch this one. Just wikipedia the plot to get the story.

I watched the entire trilogy at the theater last night - back to back. First movie started at 6:30PM and it was a refreshing set-up to the marathon... getting you into the groove again. The 2nd movie with Heath Ledger is just... ah, is just too crazily awesome. I've seen that movie probably 20 times, but last night was somehow more adrenaline-pumping with all the Batman fanatics clapping when the Joker first appears, going psychotic at every major Joker performance, etc. Oh yeah, I watched the entire thing with costumed Batmen all over the place... The 3rd movie had no chance. I mean, watching it right after the Joker pans out of the screen... it was just so unfair.

I was thinking in-between the 2nd and 3rd movie, "Wow, that was just so awesome I don't know how you can top that"... but then, if there's anybody who can match The Joker, it would be Tom Hardy. I love that guy!

So then the conclusion started promptly at midnight, I'm well into my 3rd popcorn bucket... and sure enough Bane hulks his way into the first 5 minutes... ohhh... sooo cool! Yeah, very promising indeed. We're still in the groove, we're still all in suspended disbelief... and we realize, dangit, that stupid mask covering Tom Hardy's best feature is starting to get really annoying. And, me with English as my 3rd language is wishing for the subtitles so I can understand what he's yammering about! No, don't get me wrong, Tom Hardy was super aweseome despite having to emote only through his eyes... that guy grew big in the Warrior movie, but as Bane, he even got bigger if you can imagine that! I mean, he was really ginormous without any cgi-effect or rubberized bulkers... which was really menacing. But when he talks, they made it so it's echo-ey and cavernous like Darth Vader so it made it feel like it's detached from Tom Hardy! I mean - c'mon you already took out the use of half his face, now you took out his voice too... it's just too much a challenge for an actor even as magnificent as Tom Hardy to overcome.

Okay, so the rest of the movie unfolds, we're waiting for Bruce to finally get off the couch and don the batsuit and... he doesn't. For a while. So I'm just wanting him to get on with it already! And then he finally does, he gets on a gig with Catwoman (Anne Hathaway was surprisingly cool - I mean, I wasn't expecting much from her - except they gave her such a shallow subplot which is so un-Nolan), gets on a street-brawl with Bane (I'm still not sure how I feel about that - I mean, this is Batman, the gadget king, and he goes mano-a-mano with the ginormous Bane, but then, I liked how it looked on the screen)... and then takes off the suit again... for a very long time... very very long time. So, besides the new bat plane (which I thought was lackluster compared to the bat mobile), there's really not much gadgets for the nerds to be satisfied with this movie.

So anyway, tra-la-la Batman saves the day on an age-old race-against-time-until-the-very-last-second way... it's okay as a satisfying conclusion, but not something you would expect out of Chris Nolan, ya know? I mean, you expect something more brainiacky... but, it's fine. Even after realizing that it's already 3:00AM when the curtain finally closed.

Everyone else - Gary Oldman, Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotilliard, Morgan Freeman... they were all great in their own roles.

But, I think, if I just didn't watch the 2nd movie right before this one, I would have felt much better about this movie. The 2nd movie is the best out of all batman movies - ever... I mean including the very old ones.

I'll watch it again tomorrow and see if I feel any better about it.

Oh yeah, one last thing... it's filled with political stuff. And they're all conservative-leaning. Just so you know...

Dravin · #2 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 08:17 AM

*Resists the urge to change the spelling of "wanes" to "Waynes" to amuse himself*

changed · #3 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 09:24 AM

After what happened in Colorado, I'm not going to watch it. It would just seem too depressing.

norah63 · #4 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 09:31 AM

Violence is reaching a peak in our society. These movies cannot be a way to improve our lot.

pam · #5 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 10:18 AM

Gunman kills 12 in Colorado movie theater - CNN.com

anatess · #6 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by changed

After what happened in Colorado, I'm not going to watch it. It would just seem too depressing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by norah63

Violence is reaching a peak in our society. These movies cannot be a way to improve our lot.

What are you guys talking about?

Okay, Colorado. Why would that make watching the movie too depressing? I mean, was going to school depressing after the shooting in Columbine? I don't understand what you mean.

What does the movie have to do with violence reaching a peak in our society? You see a lot more violence on CNN at any day of the week than in this movie. More graphic even.

Dravin · #7 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Why would that make watching the movie too depressing?

Because she'd probably be thinking of the CO shootings while watching it. It wouldn't be my thought process, but to each their own.

Jennarator · #8 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 10:47 AM

Anatess, turn on the news. There was a mass shooting at one of the premiers in CO.

anatess · #9 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jennarator

Anatess, turn on the news. There was a mass shooting at one of the premiers in CO.

I know that. I heard it right after I got out of the theater last night - about one hour after it happened. I don't understand how a shooting in Colorado would make it depressing to watch Batman. Dravin mentioned about being reminded of the shooting when watching the movie... I guess that's a reason. My mind doesn't work that way. I don't get depressed going to school after Columbine. I don't get depressed walking into a building or riding an airplane after 9/11. If anything else, watching Batman after the shooting is an affirmation that bad guys always lose to the good guys. But, that's just me.

Dravin · #10 (**permalink**) 07-20-2012, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norah63

Violence is reaching a peak in our society. These movies cannot be a way to improve our lot.

What do you mean by violence is reaching a peak? Because to my understanding violent crime rates are at historic lows (at least in the US).

Links:
FBI: Violent crime rates in the US drop, approach historic lows - U.S. News
Bureau of Justice Statistics Violent Crime Rate Trends