REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises

There are no spoilers in this review. It was my #1 most anticipated film of the year.

PLOT: Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

SPECIAL NOTE: Before I write my review, I want to say that I am shocked by the news about the midnight screening shooting that took place in Aurora, Colorado. (You can read about it here.) My prayers and condolences go out to those who were affected by this senseless act. That being said, I do have some thoughts on all this:

1) Can we please not immediately blame the NRA, gun laws, or the Tea Party for this horrific event? Seeing lots of this on left-wing media outlets and from celebrities on Twitter. Stricter gun laws do not help with fixing people with messed up brains. This was simply an irrational act. Irrational acts happen everyday all the time, so if you're going to start getting upset today, get upset everyday someone dies at the hands of a worthless human being.

2) Likewise, right-wingers, let's not say things like, "Well, if people carried more guns around, someone probably could have done something about this." It's just as dumb to blame the lack of guns as it is to blame the guns.

3) While we're at it, let's also not be quick to blame Hollywood and the movie studios for this. Yes, they make violent films, but it wasn't a film that killed people. It was a person who pulled that trigger.

4) The movie theatre is still a safe place, folks. Do not let this rare event deter you from going out to enjoy a good flick (And The Dark Knight Rises is a good flick.). I'm worried that this is going to have a negative effect on the opening weekend numbers for The Dark Knight Rises. The moment we show fear in going to a public place like a movie theatre, the more satisfaction people like James Holmes have.

5) Finally, it was reported by the media that a 3-month-old baby was injured during the shooting. That's very sad and could have easily been prevented. You do not take an infant to a midnight screening of a loud action film. I don't care how big of a Batman fan you are, this is an incredibly selfish thing to do. Now the child is paying the price for their parents' stupidity. Also read about a 6-year-old in the audience. That's just as despicable. Common sense, people.

In the end, what can we learn from this event? That the world can be messed up at times and there are few to blame. Let's not let our gut feelings or shotgun reactions to this news lead us to reckless decisions. Support the people and the families whose lives will be changed forever by this.

BATMAN: *in raspy deep voice* "I'm not getting a WiFi signal here."

THE GOOD: Christopher Nolan. I'm really sad that The Dark Knight Rises is Christopher Nolan's last Batman film. He and his brother Jonathan Nolan are geniuses when it comes to creating a captivating story. I think even Joss Whedon could learn a few things from Chris Nolan on creating a superhero film with more substance, as The Avengers felt like every other Marvel movie I've already seen. After 2008's The Dark Knight, I didn't think the Nolans could create that same sense of hopelessness that you feel for the city of Gotham, but sure enough, they did it. The Dark Knight Rises has a few ties to Batman Begins when it comes to The League of Shadows. Because of this, TDKR feels more like a second film than a third one since TDK was not as related to the first film. I don't want to get too deep into this for spoiler and other reasons, but just know that this Batman story continues to be fascinating. There are new characters, new vehicles, and new threats that are all given plenty of attention. It's Nolan's focus on these details that really makes his films work. This man continues to be one of the best directors of the present.

Special effects. A lot more effects were needed in this film compared to the previous two. There's that football stadium scene you see in the trailers, the bridges blowing up, and Batman's aircraft. Most of it is CG of course and it looks great. Sometimes it's hard to tell when it is and when it isn't.

BANE: "Let's hug it out, bro."

THE BAD: Villain. Bane is evil and super strong, yes. Fans of the Batman comic series know that he is the one who eventually breaks Bruce Wayne's back. But after Heath Ledger's unmatchable performance in TDK, Bane just doesn't seem like that much of a threat. The Joker felt unobtainable, even when they had him behind bars. But Bane feels like... I don't know, just shoot the guy. Okay, so Batman doesn't kill people. Then shoot his knee caps out or something. I wasn't that thrilled about what they did with his character, but that might be just me.

Not enough action. I don't mean this in a 'I need to constantly see things blowing up' sense. I was upset that a lot of the characters' motivations were more told to us through dialogue rather than action. Dave Chen from /Film points out that "Characters frequently appear out of nowhere, state their motivations explicitly, only to play out an obligatory action scene or just disappear." I agree with that on several circumstances and the reason for this is probably because the Nolan brothers just weren't able to do everything that they wanted to do to complete this series. Thus, some of the storytelling techniques are going to suffer. If I'm going to complain about this in a movie like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it's only fair that I mention it here.

Over. Seriously, how can they introduce so many things in this movie and call it the last of the saga? There is so much more story to tell. I wish Nolan wouldn't say that he's done telling his Batman story. Dude, I don't care if it takes you another four or five years to get another Batman movie out. You have to do it. Are you seriously just going to lay out all these new pieces and let it just be there? I mean, I was one of the many who cheered near the end, but still. I sure hope no one takes over and makes a fourth Batman film in this series. It just wouldn't be good without Chris Nolan. WB already plans to reboot Batman... again. And they also have Justice League to think about, but can it really ever get better than this? Still, I will be looking forward to Nolan's new original material.


THE END: Nolan's Batman films have been the best superhero movies ever made. The Dark Knight Rises might be equal to or slightly better than Batman Begins, but it still does not beat The Dark Knight for me. I went to a regular digital showing of the film at midnight. I plan on going to see it again at the IMAX in Pacific Science Center to watch the 70 minutes of IMAX footage they actually shot for the big screen. If you've enjoyed all of Nolan's Batman films, there's no reason not to see this. If you haven't seen Batman Begins before, you really should do so before watching this movie. If you have no interest in Batman, well, you stopped reading this a long time ago. Your life is probably very empty.

JOHN BLAKE: "They'll never find my drugs if I just throw it down this drain."

DISCUSS: What did you think of The Dark Knight Rises? What were your expectations? Did you guess the twists? How would you compare this movie to the previous ones? Did you go to a midnight showing? Did you go to a true IMAX showing?