The Dark Knight Rises

 

WARNING SPOILERS

Well been to see the much anticipated Dark Knight Rises ,I am not going to scrutinise it i think movies need a some pinches of salt and well this one has plot holes big enough for the QE2 to fit through

But it is a great ,no,brilliant popcorn movie ,If you like such films as Heat or Seven the kind of action adventure with a serious and somewhat violent  twist

Its not one for purists of comics then they never were, always Nolans Batman and his was uber realism in every way ,I liked Begins the first one, which is good as this is a direct follow on with a lot of same themes going on, the league of shadows rahs al  ghul etc the bringing down of Gotham reset the balance, it plays on some comic book elements so it is obvious nolan has done his homework as he takes bits and mixes them together to make his version the whole film is knightfall /no mans land /dark knight returns comic books in essence

Now we start with a Bane as antagonist then later realise he is just a puppet,
 in the comics Bane is a terrorist a genius a revolutionary from south America with a big thing personally against Batman and for chaos he is a walking mountain and trained in basically mixed martial arts and juiced up on a steroid like drug called Venom that makes him super strong
,the Venom has gone and that's no bad thing, this Bane is a genius and leads a revolt all check
does big speaches to and is in the mold of Che Guevara
but somehow sounds like admiral ackbar from star wars, when i could here him, i need subtitles what with Bales growling in the Bat suit to , fare enough to see someone physically Batmans equal brilliant and what a fine performance and the way he makes it a very Human bad guy from admiration of the singing to addressing the people but like i say he ain't only one in this plot and no i am not saying other than read some comics on ras al gaul
Sadly like the previous film was not the joker this is not Bane just  in the mold of

then there is (tho never mentioned by name) cat woman Anne Hathaway did a good acting job and was believable,
But not really a cat woman there was no whip or claws or climbing buildings i can believe that his wasn't cat woman in one sense if it wasn't for fact Selina kyle was her name no love interest development of her and Bruce making ending tad strange but then this is a rush job , and she is a tad redundant and is sort of left in the background a lot she has one main reason to be there for the closing scenes

then theres the usual brilliant performances of Gary Oldham Morgan Freedom and Micheal Caine  theres a new police captain/ chief  there is the new detective Blake, its just to many characters, tho was pleased to see Scarecrow return sadly sans mask its just way to many people and it has a lot to cram in this movie and does feel rushed while serving all these characters

The time line of these movies makes zero sense like we open on retired Bruce for 8 years Gotham has got its act together and bad people are locked away since end of Dark Knight tho no Arkham asylum just Blackgate Prison hmmmmm,bit of a icon missed

but then why is Bruce so messed up and limping ? he hasn't done anything to get like that in 8 years ?, then he has the leg brace so he can move unaided and kick holes in walls yet in prison fine without it ? this i feel is a set up to show how Bane can beat Batman and is frankly confusing and not explained

 like the batplane thing i thought there was one when he discovered the autopilot was fixed (a long laboured point made in the film is auto pilot) so how many were there why when Bane ransacked his armoury did he not take them as well ? ,why would Bruce fix them all ? so many questions , one i want to know how if only known to Fox and Bruce did Bane know this is the armoury at Wayne tech ? and that is a big fault of the movie so many questions as its packing in so much and does leave you thinking "what",how ?

This is a Bruce Wayne movie like the first a journey of a man and its defiantly Nolans story so theres lots to disagree with but i just went meh its Nolans story but the effects the action is all done brilliantly that cant be faulted

unlike the last film this contains more true to source comic gems and doesn't try to reinvent any wheels ,its character driven and focused and if you know your comics lots to be satisfied about the traits of all four robins put together to make one complete Robin Esq Character, it is not about the superhero or costume but the character this was nice 

I still do not like the Bat vehicles gadgets it is to raw for me no refinement i accepted it in begins as its him starting out ,fine that is ok by me ,oh look here's a cave wow what car i can use that as a Batmobile etc,and where is his signature Batarang ?

but theres not much in the brains of Bruce making this stuff himself ,where is the fully stocked DRY Batcave?,  i hate this underwater stuff it looks naff and makes no sense
 this is his base his war room there should be those tunnels (Nicest shot of the cave in all movies is the very last ) why not filled Gym a Computer and screen the size of a billboard racks of cars boats etc and other gadgets its all under a waterfall still and i was hoping for it to become more refined more Batman,
they even rebuilt the cave so why hasn't this been done ? but not to be and sadly this really pulls away from the Batman and Bruce wayne its like half of Batman is missing ,
and talking of missing biggest complaint his Bat logo ,where was it ? ,its sort of half on his chest but the middle is missing surely should could of done something with that ?,something i have NOT liked since the second film it was fine on first suit using a combination of gloss and mat blacks and was there on his chest now its missing and with such a noisy messy bitty looking suit it cant be made out

The Finale is brilliant and Blake is awesome and really shines here (ever seen third rock from the sun ?)
 Seeing a Robin  in the Batcave makes you smile (Again,Nolan takes names and nothing else from the comics his name could of been  Terry McGinnis Dick Grayson Jason Todd Tim Drake
you know possibilities )
 ,there is some brilliant set ups laced throughout the film to watch for and Nolans film making is brilliant and clever here he is good at his job (Needs to work on his story telling needs the kinks and rough edges dealing with)  ,
the visual reference to the well from the first movie and the pit in the prison looking alike and needing to be climbed out of to better himself first his back gets fixed with a punch and of course ala first  movie  sit-ups and push-ups for a few weeks Bam hes Batman
.how did he get back to Gotham or even get in ?
, the emotions done so well with such a brilliant cast of actors like Cain and Oldham ,to Batman flying away into the sunset all visually impressive,alas the realism of the look style dosent help your escapism sadly, but nice visuals and curious if that sucker is nuclear how come theres no radiation fall out ? You know for this uber realistic movie?

 Nolan has my respect for minimising CGI everything is in the lens and it shows,
as Batman story's gos this is a good one and theres been lots, if you  think of the various comics and serials and Graphic Novels one  shot story's, this is Nolans Batman and he did do a good job,if looking for a true Batman from the comic books that define him , the ones that everyone loves and completely reinvented the industry and well is Batman it is not here this is a nolan Batman very real but softly done no one gets blown in half no blood just urban USA
Didnt exactly understand the stock market thing  so ill just ignore it and move on suspenson of disbelief etc 

now this needs a rest as a franchise ,yes there will be other Bat films hopefully  a young upcoming film maker and it will be rebooted for sure i personally hope for a more comic inspired Batman one thats a genius builds his own tech more money than god and a mortal no superpower but his will and mind but tough enough to go toe to toe with the likes of Darkside the batman from Justice league you know "That Batman",
The cartoon films of a whole list of  villains done in a superhero comic book way they can get it right

The closure was unique and this is a end of the Nolan films, and he does end it no doubt , but with a open door