The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises.

I have to say it's an AMAZING film. I was dazed when I left the movie theater close to 3 hours later. Did not drag at all. It was an amazing story. The greatness of this film is the story and the characters.

I loved Tom Hardy as Bane. I can feel his presence in the movie and it was intimidating. You can feel the evil by his presence, his eyes and his voice. People complain about his voice being "too loud" or whatever but I think that was the point. They didn't want Bane to be as physically big as he is in the comics so they did that by his voice.

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman…wow! A total surprise! I think she played the part so well. Since it was announced Hathaway got the part, people judged and jumped to the conclusion that “she is going to be terrible” and “she’s not Catwoman material” and blah, blah, blah. I wasn’t so sure myself. I’ve seen some of Hathaway’s work and it was hard to picture her as Selina Kyle but I had the feeling she was going to surprise us and I trusted Nolan’s judgment so I left it at that. And she totally nailed the part!

Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character, John Blake was another great character! I loved how he was a mix of three Robins: Dick Grayson – being a cop and an orphan, Jason Todd – his anger, Tim Drake – his belief on Batman and detective skills. At the end he rises from the platform, leaving us with the question: is he going to take the mantle of Nightwing or Red Robin or Batman...?

You see more of Lucius Fox, played by Morgan Freeman, which I really like. For me personally, James Gordon (Gary Oldman) didn’t really shine. He just didn’t seem really there. Marion Cotillard’s character ended up being Talia al Ghul and that was a big shocker for me! I know some people were saying (especially on this site) that she was Talia but I didn’t pay attention to that. I feel that ruins a movie and I’m so glad I didn’t cause that was the best part of the movie. That little boy was the first one to climb out of the pit, turns out to be Talia, brilliant.

My favorite part of the film is the metaphorical meaning. Life is about falling down and having the strength to get up. Not being consumed by the negative things in life. Which is the main reason I love most about superheroes, no matter what they always seem find the strength to get up (at least the good ones do). In TDKR, Bane throws Batman into the "pit" which I think it’s suppose to represent rock bottom, all hope was lost, he was broken, physically and mentally, but to get out of the "pit" he had to make the choice to RISE. Not physically but mentally. And I think that also goes for Selina, she was making all the wrong choices, got mixed up with the wrong people, they made her do things she didn’t want to do (I doubt she wanted to give Batman to Bane) Deep down she’s a good person but made LOTS of wrong choices.

OH! And what happened in those 8 years Batman was gone? Here's my answer: Who Freakin Cares?! In a movie, your suppose to get right to the point and only put what really matters in the final script. Obviously what happened between TDK and TDKR is not relevant. Is it possible for nothing to happen during those 8 years? No. But between the police and The Dent Act, I can believe it was handled. Remember, in the end of The Dark Knight Harvey was the "hero" to the city, the mobsters were pretty much wiped clean and the pass of the Dent Act.

I do have to say, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy is NOT Batman from the comics, it is not the character us fan have grown to love. This film is a different Batman, a Batman who only operated for a couple of years in total. In these films, Batman is only supposed to be a symbol, not just one man. It’s an interesting concept and I think that’s the reason why most fans are throwing a fit. After seeing this movie, I see now that it is NOT a Batman movie. Nolan has created a new Batman, made Batman into a drama, action, suspense film, NOT a superhero/ comic book movie. Huge difference! Calling TDKR a “comic book movie”, I feel is down-grading it.

The ending is open to interpretation. I don't think anyone is wrong. Christopher Nolan seems to like to end his movies that way. If you think he died in the end, well that’s your view. Me personally, Batman survived; Alfred really saw Bruce sitting in a table in front of him with Selina Kyle. How can he survive the explosion? He’s the freakin Batman! Of course it’s possible for him to survive! I don’t care what vision of Batman it is, he always finds away! That’s a perfect ending for THIS Batman trilogy. That wouldn’t work in the comics but for these films, it did.

Overall, I give this movie 5/5. A great end to this trilogy. But this movie is definitely not for everyone, not even some hardcore Batman fans. If you just like to be entertained than maybe this movie isn’t for you but if you like movies that make you think definitely check it out! Have an open mind when watching it and really think about the lesson of the film is. This isn’t my favorite from the three that one still goes to The Dark Knight but it’s a close second.