DACrowe
Avenger
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2000
- Messages
- 30,765
- Reaction score
- 624
- Points
- 78
We saw this movie this afternoon and I'm still processing my thoughts on this final Nolan Bat-epic.
I will say first and foremost that it is a really damn good movie. From beginning to end it is a vision to behold. One of the many things that I love about Nolan's take on the genre is that he never repeats himself. I know some are disappointed it isn't the same formula or pacing as TDK (i.e. a movie in perpetual-climax/crisis) or that it doesn't follow the basic three-act structure of most superhero movies like BB does or the other two superhero films this summer did....but I love Nolan instead tried to merge this film into a sort of revolutionary/apocalyptic epic of the likes of Doctor Zhivago or Lord of the Flies. I am still not sure if he was entirely as successful at this attempt as he has been in his previous ambitions, but even so it works strongly and effectively and left me awed by the end.
I feel that BB and TDK are Nolan's serious attempts at adapting Batman's mythology to screen. I look at them and I see a definitive cinematic interpretation of multiple sources (Year One, The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, etc.) and while I note the obvious influences on this film (Knightfall/Knightsend and No Man's Land), it is entirely Nolan's vision of the character. I still question if anyone can do Batman better on screen than TDK as that movie nailed the dawning of his mythology spreading wide open. And with his next film, Nolan has chosen to speed into its twilight. But to complete his vision for a 3-film arc it works. It's as much Dickens as it is Dixon or whoever wrote No Man's Land. And I love that about this movie.
Individually, Bale was fantastic and at his best of these three films. After having to share the lead with Ledger and Eckhart last movie, Bale's Bruce/Batman is squarely the lead of the film again. And he takes it home. I felt every painful sting of his masterful journey towards "rising" and ultimately, ascendancy. I was said to see Gary Oldman, such a strong factor of TDK, relegated to a more supporting role in this film, but in his diminished role, Michael Caine is allowed to shine. I loved Caine's Alfred in the last two, but I didn't feel how strong his rapport was with Bale's Bruce until this film and [blackout]Alfred leaves.[/blackout] If anyone gets an acting nomination for this film (and no one will, sadly) it should be Michael Caine's astounding work here.
As for the villains: I deeply enjoyed Tom Hardy as Bane. I know comic book purists complain that he isn't muscular enough or his mask should have looked like a Mexican wrestler, etc. etc. All I can say is: who cares? He nailed the role of a brutal force of existential destruction with a dizzying intellect. But the real surprise?
Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. When it was announced she was cast as Selina Kyle, I stayed cautiously supportive of her and Nolan. She had impressed me in Rachel Getting Married and Brokeback Mountain so unlike those who judged her as a Disney princess/or the romcom girl, I knew she could act. Still, I admit I had trouble seeing her as Selina Kyle. But she nailed it. She knocked it out of the park into the parking lot where she sprinted out, grabbed the ball before anyone else could and ran away with it and the rest of the movie. I loved her version of Catwoman so much, I consider it a crying shame that she isn't in the film more than she is. She and Bale needed more scenes together, because they were electric in the few that they did have.
All that said, this movie had its fair share of problems. I think by starting it with the choice of having Batman retired and building it to a French styled revolution at the end with Bane as Robespierre, Glenn Beck, Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party and every other type of populist backlash/opportunistic demagogue complete with Batman having to [blackout]Rocky himself out of a broken back[/blackout] made for a very sparse film with a lot of moving bits. And unlike TDK or even Inception, I don't feel like Nolan is able to keep all the balls in the air smoothly and without problems. It's very uneven and it feels like so much is happening at once and becomes very dizzying. I'm glad I'm seeing it again tomorrow with some friends who haven't seen it yet, because while I understand the broad strokes, the details felt at times very muddled and this is from someone who thought Inception, The Prestige and Memento were very easy pieces of plotting to understand on their first viewings.
As for the ending....
So, overall I liked the movie and the ending, even if I wasn't as on the edge-of-my seat as the last two Nolan Bat-films. I'm still not sure which I like better, BB or TDKR. Either way this is masterful filmmaking. It may have problems, but like other satisfying trilogy closers (ROTJ and ROTK for me), if it closes the book gracefully enough on the story threads of the first two, I am more forgiving if it is more bogged down the inherent problems of third installments. This one does have more issues, but like the tile, it rises above them in triumphant fashion.
On its own: 8.5/10
As a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy: 9/10
My review.
I will say first and foremost that it is a really damn good movie. From beginning to end it is a vision to behold. One of the many things that I love about Nolan's take on the genre is that he never repeats himself. I know some are disappointed it isn't the same formula or pacing as TDK (i.e. a movie in perpetual-climax/crisis) or that it doesn't follow the basic three-act structure of most superhero movies like BB does or the other two superhero films this summer did....but I love Nolan instead tried to merge this film into a sort of revolutionary/apocalyptic epic of the likes of Doctor Zhivago or Lord of the Flies. I am still not sure if he was entirely as successful at this attempt as he has been in his previous ambitions, but even so it works strongly and effectively and left me awed by the end.
I feel that BB and TDK are Nolan's serious attempts at adapting Batman's mythology to screen. I look at them and I see a definitive cinematic interpretation of multiple sources (Year One, The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, etc.) and while I note the obvious influences on this film (Knightfall/Knightsend and No Man's Land), it is entirely Nolan's vision of the character. I still question if anyone can do Batman better on screen than TDK as that movie nailed the dawning of his mythology spreading wide open. And with his next film, Nolan has chosen to speed into its twilight. But to complete his vision for a 3-film arc it works. It's as much Dickens as it is Dixon or whoever wrote No Man's Land. And I love that about this movie.
Individually, Bale was fantastic and at his best of these three films. After having to share the lead with Ledger and Eckhart last movie, Bale's Bruce/Batman is squarely the lead of the film again. And he takes it home. I felt every painful sting of his masterful journey towards "rising" and ultimately, ascendancy. I was said to see Gary Oldman, such a strong factor of TDK, relegated to a more supporting role in this film, but in his diminished role, Michael Caine is allowed to shine. I loved Caine's Alfred in the last two, but I didn't feel how strong his rapport was with Bale's Bruce until this film and [blackout]Alfred leaves.[/blackout] If anyone gets an acting nomination for this film (and no one will, sadly) it should be Michael Caine's astounding work here.
As for the villains: I deeply enjoyed Tom Hardy as Bane. I know comic book purists complain that he isn't muscular enough or his mask should have looked like a Mexican wrestler, etc. etc. All I can say is: who cares? He nailed the role of a brutal force of existential destruction with a dizzying intellect. But the real surprise?
Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. When it was announced she was cast as Selina Kyle, I stayed cautiously supportive of her and Nolan. She had impressed me in Rachel Getting Married and Brokeback Mountain so unlike those who judged her as a Disney princess/or the romcom girl, I knew she could act. Still, I admit I had trouble seeing her as Selina Kyle. But she nailed it. She knocked it out of the park into the parking lot where she sprinted out, grabbed the ball before anyone else could and ran away with it and the rest of the movie. I loved her version of Catwoman so much, I consider it a crying shame that she isn't in the film more than she is. She and Bale needed more scenes together, because they were electric in the few that they did have.
All that said, this movie had its fair share of problems. I think by starting it with the choice of having Batman retired and building it to a French styled revolution at the end with Bane as Robespierre, Glenn Beck, Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party and every other type of populist backlash/opportunistic demagogue complete with Batman having to [blackout]Rocky himself out of a broken back[/blackout] made for a very sparse film with a lot of moving bits. And unlike TDK or even Inception, I don't feel like Nolan is able to keep all the balls in the air smoothly and without problems. It's very uneven and it feels like so much is happening at once and becomes very dizzying. I'm glad I'm seeing it again tomorrow with some friends who haven't seen it yet, because while I understand the broad strokes, the details felt at times very muddled and this is from someone who thought Inception, The Prestige and Memento were very easy pieces of plotting to understand on their first viewings.
As for the ending....
I am totally fine with how it ended. I admit that I called from when Alfred talked about imagining seeing Bruce with his "wife" in a cafe in Florence that the movie would end with him and Selina Kyle there. And for me, that made Batman's "sacrifice" at the end an emotional because I felt Nolan telegraphed the ending in the first act. But in our party of 4, I was the only one who caught that, so I can't feel like it was too obvious.
I loved Bane and Batman's final confrontation. I have no problems with Talia pulling Bane's strings as it seemed more like a partnership to me than her manipulating him. And again, while I knew she was Talia form the word go, I have read too many comics and otherwise she'd seem too peripheral and unimportant beyond the damsel role for Nolan's style. It worked for me as long as I ignore the comics and made for a satisfying ending. It also had my favorite lines in the movie:
BANE: You and I both know I have to kill you now. Just pretend you can feel the heat.
....
CATWOMAN: I'm not a big fan of your no-guns rule.
BTW, all the haters finally got Robin....and then cut to credits!
I loved Bane and Batman's final confrontation. I have no problems with Talia pulling Bane's strings as it seemed more like a partnership to me than her manipulating him. And again, while I knew she was Talia form the word go, I have read too many comics and otherwise she'd seem too peripheral and unimportant beyond the damsel role for Nolan's style. It worked for me as long as I ignore the comics and made for a satisfying ending. It also had my favorite lines in the movie:
BANE: You and I both know I have to kill you now. Just pretend you can feel the heat.
....
CATWOMAN: I'm not a big fan of your no-guns rule.
BTW, all the haters finally got Robin....and then cut to credits!
So, overall I liked the movie and the ending, even if I wasn't as on the edge-of-my seat as the last two Nolan Bat-films. I'm still not sure which I like better, BB or TDKR. Either way this is masterful filmmaking. It may have problems, but like other satisfying trilogy closers (ROTJ and ROTK for me), if it closes the book gracefully enough on the story threads of the first two, I am more forgiving if it is more bogged down the inherent problems of third installments. This one does have more issues, but like the tile, it rises above them in triumphant fashion.
On its own: 8.5/10
As a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy: 9/10
My review.
