The Dark Knight Rises Review

                                                   

excellent entry from a producer/director/writer who has come to be expected of nothing less. The inevitable and unavoidable question that will be asked during the first day of its release, the weeks it spends atop the box office, the months until it is brought to DVD & Blu-ray, and the proceeding years is: is it better than 2008’s The Dark Knight? The answer is, as was written in “The Dark Knight Review,” there will never be a comic book movie better than The Dark Knight, maybe more of one’s personal favorite, but never better as in the quality of the film. However, TDK Rises is different. No ground is retreaded in the least bit, and that is what makes this one good.

Picking up 8 years after part 2, Rises features a Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who has given up the cape and cowl, because Gotham seems to no longer need him. The city streets are clean, leading new character officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to joke with Commissioner Jim Gordon that they will soon be chasing down overdue library books. Meanwhile, Bruce becomes an old, partially crippled recluse, obliviously driving the family empire into the ground, seemingly saddened that his Batman nights are behind him, and forever haunted by the death of his childhood friend Rachel Dawes.

   

Whereas The Dark Knight was more quickly paced, Rises is more methodical in its storytelling, as it features a Gotham without a Batman to put a stop to major crime, as that sort of criminal activity has ceased to exist. It radiates a nostalgic feel toward Begins in a way how it was an origin story, and now with Rises the same mood is taken, with 8 years having gone by and the need to explain what has been going on during that time.

   

That no major crime exists, happens to be a false belief, as crime in the form of Bane’s mercenaries lies dormant, until their planned “rise.” Once they are discovered by Commissioner Gordon in the sewers of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, Batman, and Jim Gordon mutually agree that it is time for the Dark Knight to return.

   

The need for Batman seemingly brings Bruce Wayne back to life. He steps outside of his home to meet with Luscious Fox, who no doubt shows him new toys, and takes a more active role in his company again. However, there is Alfred, who attempts to keep him out of the life of the cape and cowl, and instead into a life where he actively works as Bruce Wayne. At the heart of his ventures at discouraging the Wayne heir, he wants to see Bruce move on in happiness, not ultimately killed by the criminals he faces.

The main villain Bane (Tom Hardy) may never have had a chance at becoming as iconic as Heath Ledger’s Joker, however, his performance lacks nothing. From his off putting accented voice, with the added hum from that strength enhancing mask, to his ominous build, he is not a man one would feel very comfortable standing in the same room as. Yet there is more to the strong villain than an intimidating shape. Hearing him talk, it will not take long to note that he is also intelligent, a kick back to the original version of the character. His own origins tell the story that he learned from the League of Shadows, and now has come to Gotham, rising from the literal depths–he is building his army of mercenaries in Gotham’s sewer system–to finish what Ra’s al Ghul started some decade ago.

Anyone who knows the story of Bane, knows that he was the character that broke Batman’s back. To say that this movie follows that tale in many ways, would not be a spoiler. As Batman has and always will be my favorite superhero, there was a sadness, seeing him throw everything he had at Bane, pulling out all the tricks, but still being dominated.

In character development, Rises surpasses Begins & TDK, by creating more characters that the viewer can invest in. There is the aforementioned officer John Blake, an optimistic upstart, who never bought into Batman’s coverup crimes of 8 years past. He believes in the vigilante hero, though it is not a popular stance.

   

And there is Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), who moonlights as a cat burglar, claiming to take from the rich only what she needs to survive. Having a history with the law, her goal is to rid her legal record of those negative incidents, giving herself a clean slate and hopefully a new life.

   

Though he is a mainstay for the series, even Commissioner Gordon must be mentioned here. In a time where every other citizen of Gotham is running victory laps around the city, Gordon, like Bruce Wayne, though for different reasons, has a heavy heart, knowing his only true friend, Batman, is considered the city’s greatest villain, for taking the blame of the crimes of the supposed hero Harvey Dent.

   

Amongst all the likable characters, there are a couple more in the form of Foley (Matthew Modine), Commissioner Gordon’s would-be replacement, while he is injured, and Daggett (Ben Mendelson), a businessman attempting to absorb Wayne Enterprises, who one may hope and wait for to die, just because they are kind of annoying to watch.

In terms of action, Rises also surpasses its predecessors. There is Bane, breaking bones with every swing of his limbs, Catwoman, though she is not once called by that name, agile and fast hitting, and of course Batman, attacking from shadows and mixing it up with the best of them in any brawl.

   

Though the knuckle-to-knuckle brawls are entertaining, the best bits of action come when Luscious Fox’s inventions take to the field. Bane has Tumblers, yes, plural, Catwoman man’s the Bat Pod, while Batman pilots new toy “The Bat,” and the excitement flares during every moment of footage. 

If there are any criticisms for Rises, it is that, at least from what I saw, there was no clear explanation as to why Bruce Wayne was in such a crippled condition that he would have need of his latest accessory, a walking cain, then later a knee brace. Yes, he is older, but most do not age that way. And maybe I was not so much a fan of one particular character knowing who Batman is. But neither mess up the story.

In directing The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan has brought a fitting end to undoubtably the best comic book movie series to date. And now the debate of whether The Dark Knight, Inception, or The Dark Knight Rises is Nolan's best work. And will he ever again create a movie that is less than movie of the year?

10/10

Comments are appreciated

The Dark Knight Review

                                                    

Groundbreaking. Monumental. If there are enough of those sort of words, The Dark Knight deserves every single one of them. From long before the first minutes of the film began to roll, one probably got the sense that this movie would be more than any of us movie fans could have expected.

   

Sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight is a far superior film in every facet. Skimming through old reviews, one may be left to wonder when the day came when critics stopped criticizing art, and instead began to stand in admiration of achievements. Surely there are complaints, however, with those critiques, it far more often seems as though one is reaching for a complaint. Because nothing created of human hands is supposed to be perfect, right? No, likely a lot closer to wrong. The Dark Knight appears on my short list of “perfect” films, which includes the likes of Gladiator, The Last Samurai, and Inception, to name a few. This motion picture, Christopher Nolan’s magnum opus, has become something of legend to the point where, as far as the consensus goes, there will never be another comic book movie to surpass it. 

   

With so many compliments to pay, the first has to go to the performances, especially one in particular. No surprise that this performance is the late Heath Ledger’s Joker, the agent of chaos. The portrayal of this classic and iconic villain, in a way, makes this film, pushes it over the edge of greatness to legendary. During one part, the Joker claims to not really have a plan, and it seems to reflect on how Heath played the roll. In watching, one may never get the feeling that he is operating on a how-to-play-the-Joker manual. Every single scene seems to so widely differentiate itself from the last that it seems as though he is really out of his mind.

   

Needless to say, the rest of the cast hold their own, with performances to stand up to the groundwork they had lain in Batman Begins. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart were newcomers to the the Batman franchise, yet they seamlessly fit right in with the rest of the cast (Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain). 

The pacing of the movie is another excellent factor. It feels like there is 3 1/2 hours of content here, jam packed into just 2 1/2 hours of screen time. Yet it does not seem rushed. Instead it has a scene-to-scene formula that does not waste an extra second on unneeded stares and overacted performances.

   

The genius in the scripting of the Joker was that he was not over thought with purposes of why he is evil. As Bruce Wayne’s loyal friend and butler Alfred said, some people just want to see the world burn.

   

Then there is the closest thing to a mastery of the two-villains-in-one-movie idea that before this movie had yet to be done very well on screen, with Joker/Two Face. The most disappointing facet of that formula in most other previously released comic book movies is that they are always in cahoots together, a part of the same plan, with the same agendas, or one works for the other, etc. Though they have contact, the Joker and Two Face are independent of one another. The mold was broken, with the aforementioned Joker being about the senseless chaos and destruction of Gotham city, while Two Face went on a mean streak, targeting policeman and city officials for their betrayal of justice.

   

Endless paragraphs could be written to speak of how good The Dark Knight is, but I will stop here, giving this film a perfect rating.

10/10

Comments are welcome

The Amazing Spider-Man Review

                                                                     

The Amazing Spider-Man is a retelling of Stan Lee’s classic comic book franchise. When it was first made clear by the original news and trailers that it is a reboot, I must admit, my initial reaction was one full of disappointment that I would have to sit through another 2 hours of a story I was told a decade ago via Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.

The idea in starting from the beginning of Peter Parker’s (Andrew Garfield) tale, however, is a respectable one. Sony was so displeased with the direction the last trilogy took, they wanted to cut ties completely, and a complete overhaul was the only way.

   
The movie plays out much the same as the original, the radioactive spider bite, Uncle Ben’s (Martin Sheen) death, Peter seeking revenge, and on the way becoming Spider-Man, etc. What separates the Amazing Spider-Man, however, are the intricacies. 

   
Probably the best change is that Peter Parker is actually a scientist. He develops his own webbing, using the classic web shooters. He does research to create his costume, basing it around the spandex that professional athletes. And the list goes on to the point where one gets the sense he is actually passionate about science.

   
Peter’s love for science plays a rather large part in the overall plot of the movie, too. After impressing Dr. Connors, he is invited to the Oscorp tower, wherein he helps further research that is important to the story. To keep from spoiling the movie, though, I will leave it at that.

Becoming a “superhero” does not entirely change who Peter Parker is as a character. He still caries all the insecurities that come with being a high-school teenager. He stalls, stutters, and stumbles over words, when talking to his crush Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone), and makes her the screen saver for his computer. (More to say about Gwen later...) Yet it is when he puts the Spider-Man costume on, added with his newfound abilities, that he gains the confidence to trash-talk, like the character is known for.

  
(...Back to Gwen) Luckily for both the character and the sake of the viewers, Peter’s  crush is not unshared; Gwen likes Peter, as he likes her and, too, has her uncomfortably shy moments, like when she invites him to dinner. Emma and Andrew work well together to say the least and are very much a high point of this film.

   
Many people have said that the Amazing Spider-Man is a darker take on the franchise than what Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. I think “more serious” is more of an appropriate term, however. It lacks some of the humorous moments that the last trilogy had, i.e. when Peter was trying to figure out how to use his webbing, but replaces those moments with Peter’s aforementioned trash-talk and his and Gwen’s lighthearted crush. People should not at all make the mistake thinking this is “dark” like Batman: The Dark Knight, though.

   
In closing, I am thinking there is not too much bad I can really say about it. The Lizard is certainly not the most intriguing of villains, but outside of the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, and Venom, Spider-Man does not have very many interesting bad guys. Aside from anything minor, I think it is an absolute upgrade over the last 3 movies and definitely one to watch.