Review of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) by Thefonz — 27 Jul 2012

I went into the movie well aware of some of the criticisms that people had, and honestly... I just don't agree with them. I loved the movie, and I came out of the theater very satisfied with what Nolan has done with this Batman trilogy. TDKR really takes the Batman story full circle - it's plot really keys off of the events of Batman Begins (and TDK to a minor extent).

I don't really understand a lot of the negative reactions. For example, a lot of people seem to dislike Bane in this movie. I thought he was wonderfully memorable - sure, he never quite captured the terrifying presence that Ledger's Joker did, but did anyone really expect him too? Ledger's performance was one of a kind. Considering that Hardy had to try and follow up his brilliance, I commend him for making Bane quite memorable in his own way. (I also had no problems understanding what he was saying).

Hathaway does a great job as Catwoman as well, all those who berated Nolan for casting her should be ashamed that they failed to trust him yet again.

I also don't understand why people complained that the villains had "no motivation". While normally I understand this criticism very well, I don't understand it in context of the movie. I understood what Bane was doing and why, and when the big plot twist (you'll know what I'm talking about if you've seen it) came along, I understood the motivations even better. Suffice it to say, if you understood the motivations of the villains of the first Batman film, then you'll understand those of this film - because they are THE SAME.

At 2 hours and 45 minutes, the move is definitely long - I can understand some of the complaints there. But for my part, I never felt that it collapsed under it's own weight as many said it did. The story is not as singularly focused as TDK's was - there's a lot of different things going on here more than just the Joker. Nolan is trying to resolve not only the issues brought up in this movie, but also trying to bring the entire trilogy to a close. As I said, the movie has a LOT of tiebacks to the first Batman film, and Nolan really brings the entire trilogy full circle. Obviously, he's going to have to take a lot more time to do so. In my opinion, he manages to keep events interesting and the plot moving - there's never a point where you think "ok, let's have something happen." Things are happening the entire movie. Nolan's action scenes, as always, are exciting. He understands that it's important to be able to follow what's happening - no shaky camera crap, and no blurry, lightspeed, can't see what's going on CG.

There was some criticism also about the political undertones of the movie - specifically those that took aim at socialism and the Occupy Wall Street movement. It is there, but it never really overshadows the movie. This movie is most definitely about Batman/Bruce Wayne and his journey. I don't know if people got rankled because they identify with the OWS movement (or with socialism), and didn't appreciate what they thought the movie was trying to say (honestly I'm not sure if the movie really took a stance, because ultimately Bane's goals have nothing to do with an OWS-like movement). I don't know why people would be offended by a movie that shows mobs trashing a city and dispensing it's "justice" upon people simply because they have move than they do, as wrong. Because it is wrong, and if Nolan really was trying to put a little message in there, then I applaud him for criticizing the "99%" mentality, because he shows what that mentality turns into when taken to the extreme. But like I said - the movie really ultimately isn't about that.

I could write a lot more, but I think I covered most of what I felt about the criticism. I see a potential for people to dislike some of the twists and wrinkles of the ending, but, I guess that's just up to personal taste. Personally, I loved the implications of the last 10 minutes of the movie. (hopefully they don't make a sequel and ruin it) Overall, ti was a fantastic and memorable way to end what has been one of the best trilogies I've had the pleasure to see. Certainly will be one of my favorites for a long time.