Oh my, what a weekend. Went down and celebrated buddy's 30th birthday party on Saturday, which was lovely. I forgot how loud bars are though. It was really hard to hear what everyone was saying. I just kept asking everyone to repeat themselves until I gave up and started chugging beer. I think I need was of those old timey ear cone things.
I went to see Dark Knight Rises twice in a 24 hour span too, which was nice. It's bittersweet for me though. The first time I sat there almost depressed that this was the last Nolan/Bale Batman I was ever going to get to see. As always, they did a wonderful job pulling the story from the comics and adapting it for the screen. Although, at this point, those aren't really superhero movies. I'd say they're more like crime dramas or something. Comparing that to Spiderman or The Avengers is like apples and oranges. There's a dark tone throughout the movie and it takes itself very seriously. I'm very curious as to what they would've done had Heath survived. While Bane is the villain in Batman's greatest story, The Joker is and always has been Batman's greatest foe. The two could never coexist in one movie, so it would've been really interesting to see what he'd have done. Spoilers after the jump!
The wonderful thing about Bane is that he is Batman's physical and intellectual equal, some would argue his superior. You never get to see that with other Batman villains. There's something about watching Batman confront someone he realizes he cannot beat. Bale does a phenomenal job conveying the despair he feels in his first battle with Bane. It's basically what The Matrix tries to capture with Agent Smith and Neo, but it never works, because two of those films were terrible. You always want to pull for a hero that knows he cannot win, but persists anyway.
Catwoman was great in the movie, and I'm not just saying that because I want to bury my wang between Anne Hathaway's cans and go to town. This was the truest adaptation of her from the comics. She is a two dimensional character in the comics, so it's really hard to give her a deep storyline. Nolan did a great job sprinkling her in. She's selfish but she has a good heart and she's essentially a femme fatale. It was masterfully done.
I'm not here to argue weak points of the film. I've read a few reviews where people bash the predictability of the film...Um, good typically triumphs over evil...what the fuck did you think was going to happen in the end? The bomb goes off and levels Gotham? You're stupid. All of the other minor gripes were the length of the film (I wish it would've been longer) and other lamer shit. I don't really take minor plot holes into consideration either. A certain amount of willful suspension of disbelief has to be made with every movie, so just deal with it...
And now, Tom Hardy. What a lovely man. Excellent casting as Bane. He was basically unable to use half of his face, so his use of body language was phenomenal. They also did a great job shooting it in such a way that he seems much larger than Batman. In the comics, Bane hulks over everyone.
Robin. Oh Robin. Everyone hates Robin. Fun Fact: DC comics had a poll for the fans to decide what happens to Robin in one of their storylines. He was captured by The Joker and the fans voted on what was going to happen to him. They chose to have The Joker kill him. It was a landslide. All that aside, Robin Blake in this was great. There have been many Robins, this one was supposed to Tim Drake, I believe. Now, my assumption is that he actually takes up the mantle of the bat, and does not actually become Robin.
The war for Gotham finale was just tremendous too. Such a great way for Batman to hand the city back to the citizens and be remembered as a hero. I think the movie would've been more powerful had he died and been "carried back on his shield", but I'm happy that he lived and started a new life. It's a fitting end that is uplifting and appropriate for the trilogy's conclusion.
My final note about the film is Talia al Ghul. There's way to much history between her and Batman to really get into (They fucked and she had Batman's kid!). I do like that everything came back to Ra's, The League of Shadows and the destruction of Gotham. Trilogies are all about going back to the beginning and discovering something new, and Nolan did a fantastic job with that.
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