The Fire of A Neverending Legend Rises!!!! Chistopher Nolan's Dark Knight Finale Brings An Amazing Close to a Cinema Powerhouse.
By: Brandon Porter
"You Don't Owe These People Anymore!...You've given them Everything!!!"
"Not Everything...Not Yet.." - Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Bruce Wayne/Batman
The Story
Eight Years Ago, the City of Gotham experienced a
great terror. The notorious crime lord known as The Joker wreaked havoc across
the city streets. Though he was eventually captured, another criminal was
bringing suffering to the people of Gotham, celebrated police chief Harvey
Dent. Heartbroken by loss and corrupted by tragedy, Dent killed innocent people
in an attempt to quince his ever growing rage. Before taking the life of Commissioner
Gordon (Gary Oldman) and his son, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) as the Batman
stopped Dent and saved them both. Not wanting ruin Dent's reputation and brand
him as a criminal, Batman took the blame for Dent's murder and disappeared
while the Gotham Police searched for him to bring him to justice. Eight Years
later, Gotham is experiencing a substantial amount of peace. Commissioner
Gordon has been emotionally conflicted being part of a monumental lie and
neither Bruce Wayne nor Batman has been seen since Dent's death. But what seems
calm and peaceful is only an inferno waiting to happen. In the depths of
Gotham, a vicious mercenary named Bane (Tom Hardy) along with his militia are
preparing to turn Gotham into a city of rubble. Convinced the city needs the
caped crusader back in action, Bruce Wayne returns as Batman to stand for the
city that branded him a criminal. With the aid of Gordon, a brave young officer
named John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and the mysterious Catwoman (Anne
Hathaway), Batman will rise up against Bane and all the criminals of Gotham in
a battle that will change the history of Gotham City forever. Hope Will Be
Lost, Faith Will Be Broken, but a fire will RISE!!!! The Legend Of The Dark
Knight will be concluded...
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| Bruce Wayne and Alfred inside Wayne Manor. |
Analysis
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| Bane stands before Gotham with a picture of Harvey Dent with his malitia ready and in waiting. |
After the rousing success of The Dark Knight, Fans and Critics waited patiently for an announcement of the next chapter of the acclaimed franchise. On July 15th 2011, they got their first glimpse of the third installment. After a six minute prologue prior to the IMAX showing of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and three theatrical trailers, the world was ready for the conclusion of the dark knight legend. So far, The Dark Knight Rises has in no way disappointed. The film has garnered a strong 87% Certified Fresh rating on rotten tomatoes. (The second highest score in the franchise surpassing Batman Begins’ score of 85%). Critics have been particularly praise worthy of the overall aspect of the film. The Telegraph granted the film a maximum score of five stars, stating that it is "a superhero film without a superhero," and compared it with The Godfather Part II. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon stated that "If The Dark Knight Rises is a fascist film, it's a great fascist film, and arguably the biggest, darkest, most thrilling and disturbing and utterly balls-out spectacle ever created for the screen". Roger Ebert gave the film a solid three out of four stars and said that "The film begins slowly with a murky plot and too many new characters, but builds to a sensational climax." However, though it may be hard to believe, there are some critics who have a negative outlook on Christopher Nolan's latest Batman epic. Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail complained that the film was bloated and overly long. He also criticized the film's tone and lack of humor, while still praising the film's visually impressive set pieces. As far as performances, Anne Hathaway garnered significant praise for her role as Catwoman as well as Tom Hardy and his performance as Bane. IGN.com stated that Hardy's performance as Bane was a little less interesting to watch in comparison with Heath Ledger's Joker, but was praise for his body language driven performance and menacing voice. With so much hype on the film, it seems The Dark Knight Rises has taken the praise and criticism in great strides and delivered the year’s biggest blockbuster. With Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy finally complete, the world can only wonder what the world of cinema will be like without the Dark Knight.
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| Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle stare each other down while engaging in an intimate dance at a charity ball. |
The Battle For Gotham BEGINS!!!!!
Review
Like most movie fans, I was totally hyped to experience possibly the best film of the year in The Dark Knight Rises. After watching Marvel dish out The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, I was very interested to see what DC comics had in store for their summer feature after the colossal flop of Green Lantern last year. I was lucky enough to catch a special advanced screening on Wednesday in IMAX. The result: An epic masterpiece to behold. This was definitely a movie that was worth waiting three years for. Even though this was the first Batman movie I have ever seen in theaters and the first one I've ever seen in IMAX, there is no drought I was treated to an all out spectacle. Christopher Nolan's finger prints are all over this film. The acting, the tone, and especially the action were all done in the great Nolan style we've come to no in love. There are an endless amount of positives that this film has that are going to be touched on in this review. One positive was the film's story telling. The story is given in such a jarring rate that there were moments were I literally was catching my breath. The amount of twist and turns in the film's plot had my head spinning. Christopher Nolan really takes your brain on one hell of a trip. He seriously is great at what he does psychologically to his viewers. He makes his viewers believe they know what's going on, and then out of nowhere, sends a curveball that catches you totally off guard and will have you scrambling to put the pieces together for this new story twist. This was a brilliant technique and Nolan used it to perfection in this film. But of course, the biggest positive was the action. This was definitely the best action movies I've seen all year. Intense, fast paced, and at sometimes jarring. The fights between Bane and Batman were both epic and brutal. While watching the first fight in Bane's lair was all out brutality!!! The sound of every punch, kick, and knee to the back had me constantly twitching, wincing, and verbally reacting in my seat. It was like Bane was beating ME up!!! It was also nice seeing the batwing in action and dishing out punishment on screen. The biggest thrill however was the film's epic climax. Watching Gotham's Police forces, Bane's army, Batman's rematch of against Bane, Catwoman's batpod assault, and among other things was truly an awe to behold. There were millions of things happening at once, my mind was in overdrive trying to keep up with it all. The end action sequences were absolutely spectacular in every senses of the word. As for the performances, they were all solid. Anne Hathaway, who I believe came in with the biggest amount of pressure, delivered a praise worthy performance as Selina Kyle. She had that sneaky, sultry, sexy, and sinister persona that really brought the character to life in Nolan's universe. Hathaway took the initial skepticism in stride and delivered a great performance as Batman unlikely ally. Tom Hardy was amazing in the film as well playing Bane. From his sinister voice to the terrifying body language, Hardy gave a performance that truly didn't need words. I can also tell that his physical status in the film was ever present. He literally looked the part of one scary but badass villain who could snap you like a twig in seconds. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was awesome as John Blake. He created an extremely likeable character despite him being only in this film. Marion Cotillard also delivered a great performance as Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul. She had me thinking she was just another character and then revealed her true identity in the film's biggest plot twist. To be honest, I was utterly speechless when the film ended. The score, the action, the roller coaster ride plot, and the IMAX format was total summer movie bliss. But with the Legend of Batman finally coming to a close, One can only hope that DC comics' other crown jewel Clark Kent can fill the void in next summer's film Man of Steel.
Rating and Final
Thoughs
99% A+
The third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Saga was nothing short of epic. Nolan, the actors, and the entire film crew put their heart and soul to make the finale as memorable as ever. This is by far the best movie of the year.
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| The Dark Knight Trilogy is now complete and is the end of Christopher Nolan's take on the legendary Caped Crusader. But one question still remains, Is this truly the end of Batman or is a new chapter set to unfold? |
This Movie
Review of The Dark Knight Rises Is Dedicated to the Families of the Victims of
The Aroura, Colorado Shooting. May God Bless You and Keep You Lifted Up in
Prayer during this Difficult time.
