After waiting several months, I've finally seen Batman. Twice. And I may go another three or four or five times if anyone needs someone to go see it with.
Here are my thoughts about the final movie in the Dark Knight Trilogy:
(Warning...I may spoil some parts if you have not seen it yet.)
The film lasts two hours and forty minutes. It never felt that long until there were awkward (and slightly boring) stretches of dialogue, one in particular by Bane. There were a few scenes that appeared to be unimportant fillers. There was a lot of talk about the mechanics and physics of the atom bomb that were way over my head. I'm not so sure the kids in the theater could understand what was going on with the whole bomb situation. Despite that, I guess it was pretty black and white for them as to who was bad and who was good. But it probably did not matter because after about the second hour I noticed lots of little heads in mamas' laps. (I went with my little cousins last night and it took them a minute to understand who Officer Blake turned out to be, but once they did their faces lit up with excitement. It was cute).
So there's Bane, the bad guy, played by Tom Hardy. I thought the actor did pretty well but to his unfair advantage, it was a little difficult to look at him and have deep felt emotions because of the apparatus that covered his face the entire time. By emotions, I mean that there is obvious dislike against Bane (which later fuels to a feeling of hopeless surrender due to his merciless beating of Batman). But once we find out more about him it still leaves you feeling unfulfilled and indifferent about his character. I did not feel much sympathy for him as to why he has the breathing apparatus on his face (which you don't find out until later than you'd like). I also did not feel torn about him saving "the child" from death, as if he were to be looked upon as heroic. Maybe that's how I was supposed to be made to feel, but I still think a better bad guy could have existed. Other than his mask and size and power, he did not do much for me. The Joker is still the best bad guy.
On a positive note, I did like his accent and calm, slightly amused tone when he spoke.
Anne Hathaway played Catwoman/Selina Kyle and she was as beautiful as ever. She dressed like Holly Golightly, which I adored. However, she came off a little badly scripted. Her acting was fine but her script seemed weak. I did not see major chemistry between her and Batman, seeing as she does not have enough "good" to really be an equal. I assume that changes by the end of the film when they end up together (but does this seem a little forced, a little too expected?). Michelle Pfeiffer probably did better at being a darker Catwoman, but Anne Hathaway has the big eyed beauty and innocence that make her a more deceitful Catwoman.
The best thing about Rises is the cameo appearances and surprises. Since I saw the midnight movie on Thursday, I shared the room with other die hard fans. It was pretty fantastic because every time we saw a character reappear from previous Batmans or were shocked to find out who the actual bad guy was, we commented and reacted as a group. (CB didn't understand why we kept doing that so I later had to explain.) I'm not so sure about Henri Ducard's character coming back as immortal. He was placed there to tell us something important and maybe (I'd like to believe) that Bruce Wayne was just so dillusional which is how and why he saw him. The last five minutes of the movie were incredible, leaving you wanting more (which hopefully the Nolan brothers will give us in a couples years or so).
I was so sure that one of the frequent characters we love, Fox, Alfred, or Gordon, would not make it to the end of the trilogy. I'm happy to say that they all survived.
Speaking of Gordon, he and Batman have had one of my favorite relationships throughout the trilogy. Although Gordon is an ordinary man, Batman treats him almost as a capable equal. They help each other, giving ordinary citizens (the Gotham City Police especially) a bit of a heroic quality as well. Although Bruce Wayne appears to be an arrogant socialite, Batman is not. He is good through and through.
Someone asked me if I thought Christian Bale was good looking. And I do, but I'm not sure if it's because of who he is as an actor or if it's because he plays Batman. He is one of my favorite actors either way and the best Batman to date. He looks aged in Rises, which I think helps us further see Bruce Wayne as human.
I have other thoughts and I think you need to watch the movie more than once to really pick up on everything (especially the ending with the atom bomb- auto pilot, brillant!) but overall I enjoyed the final film. I do think Christopher Nolan was at his best on The Dark Knight (still my favorite). He tried to pack a lot in with Rises, maybe to up the second one and to make the audience feel a satisfied finality. I'm not sure if he succeeded but you should still go see it because the beauty in the film is that it leaves you feeling empowered and exhilirated.
And call me if you need someone to go with you.
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