The Dark Knight Rises: Spoiler Review
By gbsomerville, 21st Jul 2012 | Follow this author
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A personal review of the 2012 film "The Dark Knight Rises"
The Dark Knight Rises: Spoiler Review
The long awaited Nolan conclusion to what has unarguably been the best take on the Batman character is finally out, and features Bane, the man who broke the bat, and Catwoman, the thief who stole his heart, as the main antagonists.
Going in to this film, I was extremely excited but with the exception of what was a brilliant ending I left feeling very disappointed. First of all, speaking as a comic book fan and huge Batman fan, the combination of No Man’s Land and Knightfall felt a bit hollow.
No Man’s Land and Knightfall are my two favourite moments of Batman comic books and I even said before seeing the film that I would love to witness No Man’s Land on the big screen. But not like this. Never like this. It’s too big to be combined with Knightfall, which on it’s own is a huge story, telling the tale of how Batman is broken and comes back to reclaim his mantle. That’s a film on its own. Instead, the film took bits of both and explored neither to their full potential. The moment I and any other comic book geek was waiting on, wasn’t built up, and was over in a Bart Allen Flash.
Now, while I’m aware movies often stray from the comics, and I allowed it with changing Two-Faces story in The Dark Knight, the breaking of the bat was underplayed so much that it bordered on noneventful and pointless.
After eight years away, Bruce Wayne comes back unable to walk without the aid of a stick and takes on Bane straight away. I would have like to have seen him being run down and exhausted by his thugs and goons, as Batman is out of practice, sticking to how Bane run Batman down in the comics before breaking him in a much more lengthy, epic fight than what was shown.
At that point Batman has to rehabilitate, and that’s where No Man’s Land could come in to play. A Gotham without Batman and fully explore what Bane has turned Gotham city in to in his absence.
Then Batman returns and the rest of the movie tells itself really.
There’s time for this if you take out Selina Kyle as Catwoman who adds little in the way of story and is just there for the ending. Even if you just minimise her role, there’s more time to explore Gotham as No Man’s Land.
Despite these complaints however, there were nice scenes in the film, and Bane was well cast despite his accent making it difficult for me to accept him as threatening.
Overall, as a movie, Dark Knight Rises is well made and entertaining, but as a Batman movie, it tries to do much and provides very little by combining two of the biggest events in the Batman universe and delivering on neither.
Comments
22nd Jul 2012 (#)
Be it a comic book or a novel, it just kills me when they (film makers) cut out (important) parts of the original telling of the story. The movies always leave me wanting more. Nice review. Thank you for sharing.:)
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22nd Jul 2012 (#)
Yes, indeed this is my pet hate!
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2nd Aug 2012 (#)
You seriously didn't get the references for The Dark Knight Returns? What a shame.
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8th Aug 2012 (#)
Maybe if I was to watch it again, I will.. but not sure when that will be!
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