Batman week Part 7

For the epic finale of my Batman week marathon, or Bat-a-thon, it's time to end off with the epic conclusion to the Christopher Nolan "Batman Trilogy." The last one came out last summer, July 2012, which was called "The Dark Knight Rises."

After the ending of "The Dark Knight," where Batman is being chased by Gordon’s dogs, everyone was anticipating the sequel. However, no one really knew who the villain was going to be. People were saying that Johnny Depp was going to be the Riddler, Phillip Seymour Hoffman was going to be the Penguin, and there were talks of a third villain, possibly Catwoman. The villains Christopher Nolan decided to go with were Catwoman and Bane. Now that's the way to end off the series.

Before beginning my review, I would just like to say that I saw "The Dark Knight Rises" on opening night, and when I came home, I had heard about the tragedy at the Aurora Theater shooting in Colorado. How sad is that? People come to the theater to see one of the most anticipated superhero films of the summer, and some nut who saw the film decided to come in and shoot innocent bystanders who were watching it? My condolences go out to every family in Colorado that lost someone in the shooting, now onto the review.

Now the premise to this movie would be familiar to Batman fans, if they had read the "Nightfall" story arc from the comics.

Tim Burton wanted to make the film as dark as Nolan did in "The Dark Knight Rises," but obviously couldn't do it after what people had said about "Batman Returns." However, with Nolan toning down the darkness in this film, I feel was appropriate because it's Batman, and it's supposed to be dark and set in a realistic setting, which is possibly why Batman has no superpowers.

Since I believe this movie is the best comic book adaptation ever made, I will be making a long review praising and defending it, as I feel that the movie was unjustly ridiculed and nitpicked at. However, I do hope that all of you enjoy my review.

My main reasoning for liking this film is because of Bane, played by Tom Hardy. I think that he is one of the greatest villains I have ever seen portrayed after a while, and in my personal opinion, I think he was even better than the Joker. Don't get me wrong, Joker is my favorite Batman villain, as for a lot of other people, if not everybody, but I had already seen him done before very well by Jack Nicholson in the '89 Batman. As I had mentioned before, Heath Ledger had escaped the shadow of Nicholson and made a tremendous Joker in his own way, but I understand if anyone prefers the Joker.

My reason as to why I prefer Bane is because Jeep Swenson's portrayal of Bane in "Batman & Robin" was obviously horrendous, so Bane was a fresh approach in this one. Like those who never read any of the comics, I watched the '90s Animated Series, so I was familiar with Bane and Batman's story through that cartoon.

When I saw Bane in this movie, I thought he was a good villain with an objective, a diabolical plot, which he pulled off perfectly in this.

His appearance will definitely give you a scare when you see his presence with that mask he wears and when he does those shifting eyes, you know that something is going to happen. His voice was just dastardly, hands down, which is something that they had changed. Before in the earlier trailers, they had his voice sounding much raspier than Batman's, about a hundred times harder to understand what he was saying, from what I heard. But the finished product on his voice, I thought was perfect for him. They gave Hardy some sort of a filter so that you could hear Bane's voice clearer and really projects his voice.

Nolan made Bane really enjoyable and how he's really soaking up, hamming it, and having fun being the villain. With everything you throw at him is great and he's really intimidating.

I thought it was funny on the plane when the CIA agent wanted to know about Bane by asking, "Tell me about Bane! Why does he wear the mask? A lot of loyalty, for a hired gun!" He doesn't know that Bane is right behind him, that Bane sneaks up behind the agent and replies, "Or perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man, before throwing him out of a plane?" Wanting to know more, the agent asks him, "At least you can talk. Who are you?" and Bane replies, "It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan. No one cared who I was until I put on the mask."

Another reason why he's so great is because he did what Ra's Al Ghul and the Joker almost succeeded on, but Batman stopped before they're plot was just about to be complete: take over Gotham City. He did just that, but I believe that he was a sympathetic guy when he announced that he was going to take over Gotham, but the Police that he had trapped underneath the tunnel were going to be kept alive, supplied with food and everything they needed. Remember, the Batman villains were only concerned about getting Batman out of the way, not the police. I understand if you say that the police would eventually get out of the cave since they were supplied with food, but it all depended on the material they had and how long it would take them to dig their way out of the cave when they used their resources. Bane would eventually fight everyone, he was just prioritizing everything. Every supervillain has their own way of prioritizing who, when and how they are going to fight everyone.

For those who say that the good guys are going up against Bane and his henchmen, who have AK-47s, with sticks and batons, remember that Robin and Batgirl don't have that much in their arsenal of weapons.

In this film, which it couldn't have been complete without Nolan inserting this: Bane breaks Batman's back over his knee, and kept him away for months. That is until he was helped by the people in the well he was thrown in, to recover by snapping his back right back into place. Before Bane broke Batman's back, I loved it when Bane said, "Ah, yes... I was wondering what would break first... Your spirit, or your body?" When he's down in that prison, he asks Bane, "Why didn't you just... kill me?" to which Bane responds, "You don't fear death... You welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe." That is another great Bane line.

Also, it takes time for a back injury to heal, which is why it took him a while to get better. You might be saying, "Well what about the people who are in wheelchairs because of broken backs? Would I have to just snap their backs back into place and they'll be cured?" Listen here nitpickers: what Bane did to Batman wasn't "as" severe as other people's broken backs, so calm down. Don't go, "Bruce gets better in that well?" Just look at it from a medical view and think that the back injury wasn't as severe.

The people in the well told Bruce that only one person was able to get out, and with the "Deshi basara!" chant helping him out was great. Of course, that was played in the trailer, and no one knew what it meant until we saw the film, which the chant meant "Rise."

One point of defense is that when complaining about the jump out of the well, I heard a complaint that Bruce could have just used a chisel and climbed his way out, but this was to keep the suspense, which is what it did perfectly. They asked a professional rock climber about that issue, and they said he could have jumped out of it easily, but I feel it kept the suspense, and when he came out and the bats were flying all around behind him, it was Bruce rising again as Batman.

Remember, Bruce's back was fine. He was just trying to rebuild his spirit. That's why he spent so long in the well. He was trying to mentally get himself back into action. He was thinking that he wasn't worthy and that there was nothing left for him. No villain had beaten Batman the way Bane did. Bane had broken Bruce's spirit, so Bruce had to mentally get himself back together and rise again as the superhero we all know and love. Think of it as similar to Jesus resurrected.

People probably complained that they didn't see anyone do anything when Bane was taking over, but Gotham's citizens must have been planning. It wasn't necessary to show who was planning a way to stop Bane.

Also, people might have complained with how Batman came back and just punched Bane really hard to win, but I thought that it was a well-done battle, and overall, well put together up to his demise. If you were expecting something better, then you should check out another Batman film you like. Remember, this is a war film, so you would only expect what you saw at the end.

With Catwoman, she is played by the gorgeous Anne Hathaway. I had seen Anne Hathaway in the two "Princess Diaries" films, "Ella Enchanted," and Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," but I was familiar with some other films she did that had a PG-13 or R rating. This was the first film that I saw Hathaway casted in where she was doing something more geared towards the teenagers and/or adults.

Hathaway as Catwoman was well done, and she is up there with actresses who played the best Catwoman. She is one of the best Catwoman actresses I have seen, but I would say that she and Michelle Pfeiffer are good in their own respective ways.

Hathaway goes back in forth between the typical damsel in distress and then becoming serious, which was just for show. She plays the different parts in the character and she is having fun with it.

Nolan made Catwoman more of a spy in this movie, which worked great, and I think she was made more like the Catwoman from the comics.

Whenever you see her and Batman together, you know something is going to happen.

I especially liked her goggles in this, where it went to the top of her head, it looked like cat ears, which I thought was a nice touch, hence the reason why she is called, "The Cat Burglar" and not Catwoman.

There is a third villain, who is played by Marion Cotillard, and her character name is Miranda Tate. Around the third act, she reveals herself as Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia. I thought that was a dark and interesting twist, but people probably thought that Ra's Al Ghul was going to be in this because you hear his voice in the trailer. There is a scene where Bruce sees Ra's Al Ghul, but it turns out he was a vision.

Also, I found it surprising that they made her Bane's girlfriend in this, and the child that made it out of the well, leaving Bane behind. Batman had thought, as did everyone else who was watching this, that Bane was the one who made it out of the well, but apparently not. Talia made it out, and Bane tried to fight the people off while she escaped.

Even though she died unexpectedly, and had a wimpy death to some people, I thought it was a nice addition, and no one probably expected that.

The music in this film was excellent, which is a big part as to what makes any film so captivating because without it, it wouldn't be as exciting as it is. However, there are parts in the film that don't have music in them at all, and they are actually done very well. If you remember in "The Dark Knight," when Batman confronts the Joker in the streets, and no music is played, in "The Dark Knight Rises," there is a scene similar to that, which is effective.

I actually liked the plot in this film better than in the last two because I believe it was a fitting closure to the Batman storyline, told by Christopher Nolan. Since the stakes were higher in this film, it made it more interesting.

If you remember from the beginning of the film, eight years has passed since Harvey died. Bruce is seen in retirement looking really old. When he hears that a terrorist named Bane is going to make Gotham City into unbridled anarchy, which is something that the Joker and any super powered villain always tried to do, Bruce sees that Gotham is in serious trouble and whips himself back into shape, which he did a good job of doing. However, he's in serious trouble after Bane breaks his back.

It's very dark and depressing story, but this is how this chapter is supposed to be since every superhero has that moment where their powers are lost or they are momentarily defeated. Remember in "Superman II," when Superman gave up his powers to be with Lois Lane, or in "Spider-Man 2" when Peter decided to not be Spider-Man anymore? A new opponent comes around, who is like a superhuman being, and defeats the hero, so it's all about the fall and rise of that hero. Batman had defeated every villain he has encountered, but Bane was the first villain to beat Batman and break his spirit.

You're probably wondering if the whole film is completely depressing, but no, there are some funny scenes in this. One that you remember from the trailer is when Bane is taking down a football field, and the field is destroyed, but one player is running, which someone can take either as the player running from the destruction or trying to score a touchdown. You might probably be wondering, "He wouldn't know the field is being destroyed because he doesn't turn around until he scores the touchdown." True, but the ground is shaking, so I guess it would be hard not to know.

Like "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight Rises" is very story-driven, which is what I really liked because you get to know the back-story of both Bane and Talia a lot, which makes it interesting.

The run-time of the film didn't feel as long as it did, and went by really fast, but that's probably because I got into it so fast. However, the beginning was slow, but quickly picked up as the film went on. Very few films should have the allotted run-time as "The Dark Knight Rises," but that's something people can debate on. A lot of stuff was happening in this, and new characters were introduced, which would make a person want to get into it, if they would enjoy it and it's the Batman film for them. It's a fitting closure to the Nolan trilogy, and he also co-wrote the screenplay once again with his brother, Jonathan.

The Nolan trilogy are their own distinct genres, since they are crime dramas with Batman, and this a war film, which I think they did a good job on. He set them in a realistic setting, and it looks completely realistic, with the explosions and stuff that he did. In "The Dark Knight," the hospital that Joker blew up was an actual hospital that had ran out of business for a while.

That's what I like about Christopher Nolan, since he made the films with no CGI effects. I think it's a job well done since everything seems to have CGI in it, but there are exceptions to when it's fitting and good in a film.

In the end, if you have seen the film, Batman files away in the Bat-Copter, or Bat-Chopper, whatever you want to call it, maybe Bat-Jet, and it blows up. Before I go further, let me defend one thing here. I heard that Batman would not have made it out as far as he did in time, and the explosion would not have exploded just the Chopper. Listen, it's a time-suspension rule that every film has done, so once again, chillax!

People think that he is dead, and Alfred cries at the funeral saying that he failed the Wayne parents in promising to protect Bruce. The Wayne House is now going to be a museum, Batman is recognized as a hero, but the one thing about Bruce is that he gave Alfred, Lucius, and Gordon a ray of hope inside, which no one else had, that he's possibly still alive. Alfred told Bruce earlier in the film, "Remember when you left Gotham? Before all this, before Batman? You were gone seven years. Seven years I waited, hoping that you wouldn't come back. Every year, I took a holiday. I went to Florence, there's this cafe, on the banks of the Arno. Every fine evening, I'd sit there and order a Fernet Branca. I had this fantasy, that I would look across the tables and I'd see you there, with a wife and maybe a couple of kids. You wouldn't say anything to me, nor me to you. But we'd both know that you'd made it, that you were happy. I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I always knew there was nothing here for you, except pain and tragedy. And I wanted something more for you than that. I still do." At the end, he goes to Florence, sits in the cafe, orders his Fernet Branca, looks over, nods his head, and sees Bruce and Selina sitting there, finally retired.

Gordon sees that the Bat Signal is repaired, and Lucius finds that the autopilot in the Bat-Jet was fixed. So now they know that Bruce is still alive.

One more thing: you would complain about is that Michael Caine is not in the film as much. Didn't Alfred say that he wasn't going to help Bruce anymore? Remember that part before you complain about Caine being nowhere until the end. Alfred helped out Bruce in the beginning, but once he got the hang of going out to fight crime at night, there was no need for Alfred to keep helping Bruce.

People complain that Alfred wouldn't just up and leave Bruce the way he did. If something were to happen, since Alfred took care of Bruce since he was a boy, Alfred would have come back to Gotham and looked for Bruce. There was nothing about Alfred coming back and helping Bruce get everything he needed to take down Bane. He isn't in the background helping Batman out, but what people need to understand is that Alfred's role, despite being more condensed in this movie, is still phenomenal. He has many key scenes.

My defense to this complaint is that normally with the Hero's Path, the mentor doesn't show up so much, even though I acknowledge Alfred is supposed to be there all the time. The comics and movies are two different entities. Also, it's now Bruce's job to find Alfred. You can't expect Alfred to hold Bruce's hand through everything. One day, he has to learn, despite that Bruce is in his late 30s to early 40s in this movie. I know that it's strange that Alfred would leave him at that old of an age, but Alfred wasn't there for Bruce when he was away from Gotham all those years.

Michael Caine did a great job as a mentor who did give long lectures, but there was some valuable lessons, despite the tone Michael Caine gave Alfred. Also, look at when and for how long Michael Caine was available to shoot his scenes as Alfred. I don't know if he was shooting something else, but just think about that.

Now there is one character that I didn't mention, a young police officer name John Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who in the end reveals that his birth name is Robin. When he quits the force, he discovers the Bat Cave, possibly hinting there will be a Robin spinoff or possibly he'll be the next Batman. Whatever the case might be, Nolan is officially done with the Batman series.

Overall, I believe that "The Dark Knight Rises" is the best Batman film, my all time favorite comic book adaptation, another one of my favorite films, and the best superhero film of all time. Other people would disagree and call it the worst of the trilogy, but they probably over thought and nit-picked it to death. I don't see why they would, it's an amazing movie. Just check your brain at the door, sit down, and enjoy the movie for crying out loud. Stop nitpicking things to death. There is such a thing as "too far," which people have done a lot with the Nolan trilogy.

One person says that in this trilogy, Batman gets outsmarted every single time. This is a modern look at Batman people. He did use his head and he still has his brains, doesn't he? I don't see where Batman gets outsmarted in the trilogy.

I'm sorry for being so defensive and I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but still, it's just a movie. I understand if you grew up with a different version of Batman than I did, but you should still accept the movie for making a valiant effort for capturing the comics as best as they could. I know the comics will always superior, and I feel the same way about every novel adaptation that I see on a novel that I read, like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.

So, what's next for Batman? Well, I'm hearing rumors of a reboot because they're planing on making a Justice League film, but we'll see. In the mean time, go watch "The Dark Knight Rises," I highly recommend it, and I think you'll enjoy it. I hope you enjoyed my Bat-a-thon, and stay tuned for more of my reviews.