The Dark Knight Rises

[Jamison]

Saw The Dark Knight Rises last night..... it was perfection. I'll go more in detail with it later. But man, I could not have asked for a better film to end this trilogy.

[Jack Malone]

^Yeeeeah! I can't wait to talk to you about the film!! XD

[Jamison]

My review of The Dark Knight Rises:

SPOILER: Click to show

A great end to a brilliant trilogy. I'm not saying that Christopher Nolan's Batman films were masterpiece material, or that they should be ranked up with the greats, but for what they were, they are the best of their kind (in my opinion).

The Dark Knight Rises, I think, is the best film of the trilogy. I may change that opinion once I've gone back, and viewed all three films back to back, but from what I can remember, I enjoyed this film the most. Rises told the story of Bruce Wayne, as he attempts to get back out there, as The Dark Knight, after an eight year hiatus. We see him go through many valleys throughout the movie, and I think that's what makes Batman such a great hero. He's only human, and he has just as many flaws as the rest of us.

I won't get too much into the plot, but just talk about the characters:

Alfred stole each and every scene he was in (even though there weren't many). While it was sad to see Alfred missing in quite a bit of the film, I knew why they had him leave early on. I've always been a fan of Michael Caine's "Alfred," and I was very happy with the moments he did get to have with Bruce.

Oh my goodness, on to one of my other favorite parts of the movie -- Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I was one of those deranged people who didn't think Anne Hathaway would make a good Catwoman, but it turns out... she was great! Best portrayal of the character I've seen, and I really loved how multi-layered her character was; instead of the pure black and white archetype I was expecting. In the trailers, it seemed like she was trying "too hard" to be and sound "sexy," but I'm was glad to be proven wrong. *fans self*

Bane, in many ways, kicked ass. While I think I enjoyed The Joker more as a villain, overall, Bane was a suitable bad guy for this sequel. He was a strong, physical and mental threat, and Tom Hardy executed that intelligent brute-like character brilliantly.

Commissioner Gordon played a big role here. I really enjoyed watching his struggle with keeping the truth about Dent from being released to the public, for the sake of "the greater good." (Yeah... see how well that turned out)

John Blake... hehe... Wow. He's probably my favorite character of the film. I really appreciated his outlook on the situations throughout the film, and his hothead personality, and noble quality made him a great addition to this trilogy. Plus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quite awesome. Oh! And his scene, in the Bat cave, at the end was just... awesome. That was a special treat for the fans, and I'm glad they decided to go with that.

Lucius Fox... what can I say. I still like him from the previous two movies, but can't go in depth with what makes him a good or bad character. He's mostly there to provide moral support and much needed sarcasm. That, and the ever-so brilliant "Bat."

Now, onto one of my least favorite characters .... Miranda Tate. Don't get my wrong, it's not that I didn't like her, per say... everything up until she revealed herself as Talia al Ghul was good (even though I knew who she really was the second they said that Bane was Ra's son). I thought that "reveal" was too late in the game for its own good. It weakened Bane's character a tad; a character who we got to see at the very beginning of the flick, through the end, well... until Talia reveals herself as the true villain.

And then they decide to make Bane a love-sick puppy. Ugh. Reminded me too much of "Alpha" in the Joss Whedon series, "Dollhouse." Didn't like it all too much. Maybe it's the execution, maybe it was just too forced, or maybe I'm just picky, but I think that was my only complaint. It didn't keep me from enjoying the movie any less. And at the end of the day, Bane still did all those crazy things to Gotham, making him a bad ass villain.

Side note: I did not follow any press on this movie, so I was surprised and excited to see cameos from both Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy.

I really thought Bruce died. I really did, but the film managed to bring me to tears of joy in the moments leading up to the revelation that he, indeed, survived. I don't tear up watching films very often, but this made me so very happy, because Bruce Wayne/Batman, in this trilogy, was someone I was really rooting for to get a happy ending, and he did.

And with that, was the close of a sharply executed Batman trilogy, with a cast full with talent, and a director with a clear and innovative vision. All in all, loved this movie from beginning to end.

[Jay Paterson]

LOL