Alright! Today I'm finishing strong with my Batathon and ending with The Dark Knight Rises, the weakest of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy. But let's not forget - being the weakest of The Dark Knight Trilogy still makes it one of the best movies ever made. It just means there are a bit more problems with it.
Number one on that list is that it is far, far too long. Clocking in at two hours and forty-five minutes, the movie is immense and long and not in a good way. While the moments that the movie hits hit hard, the moments it's a bit slower are slow.
My other issues with the movie are mostly specific to me - the divorce of Jim Gordon, for example, ruins the wholesome family dynamic I love so much about the character. I also hated how Jim was sidelined in the hospital for most of the movie, reduced to sending the entire police force of Gotham City into the sewers. I wasn't too fond of that.
Subjectively, I also hated Talia al Ghul in the movie. To be fair, I dislike Talia in most of her appearances, with the best contribution to the Bat-lore she has being Damian Wayne, but especially here. Marion Cotillard is absolutely unbearable in the two movies I've seen her in (This one and Inception). And her death monologue and accent are just absolutely terrible.
I also disliked how the Bat voice sounded. The Dark Knight gets a lot of flak for a more gravelly Bat voice, but The Dark Knight Rises is near incomprehensible. And every time he's in the Batsuit his mouth is open. It kind of feels like he forgot to leave the room so air could get to his nose.
The last thing I disliked about the movie was the fight choreography. While the fight sequences between Batman and Bane are incredible, the extras in large fight scenes end up falling over without anything hitting them, specifically the Catwoman and Batman fight and the final fight with the police officers. Kudos to them for setting the final fight in the day, it was awesome seeing Batman fighting alongside the police with snow falling.
But some stuff I loved about the movie - man, Catwoman here is incredible. Anne Hathaway does a great job capturing the slinky antihero traits that make the character so beloved. And, while it is unfortunate that she's never called "Catwoman," it is still quite a lovely portrayal.
I often think about how often fans malign comic book movies for not being comic accurate enough. The Dark Knight Rises just proves that that line of thinking is flawed - while the Bane here is a far cry from the drugged-up Mexican wrestler, Tom Hardy's portrayal is absolutely fantastic. He often gets overshadowed by how brilliant Heath Ledger's Joker was, but here we have a practically original character whose voice, physicality, and appearance have all become just as iconic. I could listen to him talk all day, his voice is enchanting.
Another change from the comics I loved was the Lazarus Pit. While it's never explicitly called that, the parallels are certainly there. A pit, tied to the Al Ghul family, where one is reborn. And I love that - even if it's not an immortality-granting vat of chemicals, the Lazarus Pit still offers rebirth and new life and creates one of the most inspiring movie scenes of all time.
I also loved the Hans Zimmer soundtrack, as always. Always a pleasure when he composes. While it's not always a beautiful symphony like The Dark Knight was, the theme punctuates some absolutely amazing beats in the movie such as the aforementioned "rise" scene and Batman carrying the nuke out of Gotham.
I also loved the subtle cameos and fan service throughout. I remember the movie getting a lot of flak for the "Robin" reveal towards the end, but I thought it was done very well. The only thing that would have made it better would be if his name wasn't John Blake and was instead Dick Grayson or Tim Drake, or the name of some other actual Robin. I also loved the Scarecrow cameo, as always.
But while the movie isn't perfect, nearly all of that is set off by how absolutely and devastatingly beautiful the ending is. Those last five minutes never fail to choke me up. It's really the only way I see Batman's story ending, the one suggested here or becoming old and cranky and mentoring Terry McGinnis.
Like, the emotions that come into effect in the last few minutes of the movie are all *chef's kiss.* It's hard to understate how perfect the ending is. For as long as the movie is, for as many personal ticks I have against it, this ending makes up for all of it. It's devastating. I'd be surprised if anyone left the theater in 2012 not teary-eyed.
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| What a beautiful trilogy. |
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