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We saw "Dark Knight Rises" and it was good
Aug. 6th, 2012 01:11 pm8/10 overall. Some 'dear god why do you not pick up the phone when it's Admiral Ackbar calling' moments but a solid ending. There's also a big social/plot thing that is sort of spoilery, so that's cut-tagged below.
In relation to the criticisms I've read:
- yes, the movie runs long. There are places where it was obviously cut. I think they probably could have taken out another 10-15 minutes without weakening it.
- yes, Tom Hardy's Bane does not dominate the movie the way Heath Ledger's Joker did. But that was a unique performance and it's unfair to slam Hardy for it. Given what he has to go on, Hardy does very well.
- yes, the movie pontificates a bit. But so what - Batman (good Batman, that is) has always had elements of a morality play in it. I'm old enough to have read Batman before he was the Dark Knight and I remember how important it was for DC to have a morally ambiguous major hero. Bale's Dark Knight isn't so much about moral ambiguity as it is a deep dive into the character's psyche and motivations. Given that, I think the Nolan's script is appropriate and I particularly give them marks for avoiding obvious "emo" or self-tortured moments. Michael Caine's Alfred particularly shines as a moral foil for Bruce Wayne, though I wish he'd avoided the weepier bits.
( herewith spoilery discussion )
In relation to the criticisms I've read:
- yes, the movie runs long. There are places where it was obviously cut. I think they probably could have taken out another 10-15 minutes without weakening it.
- yes, Tom Hardy's Bane does not dominate the movie the way Heath Ledger's Joker did. But that was a unique performance and it's unfair to slam Hardy for it. Given what he has to go on, Hardy does very well.
- yes, the movie pontificates a bit. But so what - Batman (good Batman, that is) has always had elements of a morality play in it. I'm old enough to have read Batman before he was the Dark Knight and I remember how important it was for DC to have a morally ambiguous major hero. Bale's Dark Knight isn't so much about moral ambiguity as it is a deep dive into the character's psyche and motivations. Given that, I think the Nolan's script is appropriate and I particularly give them marks for avoiding obvious "emo" or self-tortured moments. Michael Caine's Alfred particularly shines as a moral foil for Bruce Wayne, though I wish he'd avoided the weepier bits.
( herewith spoilery discussion )
