Let me preface this review with the fact that I will not give any major story plots out in this review.
So the film recently dubbed "the best" Superhero movie of all-time finally arrived in my mailbox. I went into it with an open mind, because Batman Begins was great in my opinion, but a little trepidation because I felt The Dark Knight was lacking. I know every professional critic loved it, because there was a love affair with Heath Ledger before the movie even came out. When word of his drug overdose spread, it was an instant hit before it was viewed. Unlike movie critics, I am also a critic of life. Or should I say cynic. When I read the side effects found in people addicted to the exact pills that Ledger was on, I learned that his side effects were his portrayal. There was no wonderful method acting or some place he dug deep to reach. His slurred speech and odd behavior were nothing more than the standard look of such a man who was hooked, sans the crazy makeup. This had a drastic effect on me the second time I watched it, but didn't change my initial perception. It just wasn't a very good movie.
Batman Begins, the first installment, is probably my third favorite Superhero/Comic adaptation. The best ever, was Kick-Ass and the second, The Watchmen, with Sin City and V for Vendetta following as the only superhero movies I've ever given four stars to on Netflix. Kick-Ass received five. I gave The Dark Knight two stars. I felt there was just too much unexplained garbled story lines that didn't really leave me wanting more. A feeling I felt greatly after the first installment. So with no real expectations other than the never ending Facebook banter about the villain Bane, I had no real interest other than to complete the saga.
As the movie starts, we see some of the familiar faces and one new one. The absolutely stunning, Anne Hathaway, who turns out to be an expert cat burglar...thus the creation of Catwoman, although she is never referred to as such. She robs Bruce Wayne, who is now a decrepit shell of the man we saw in the first two installments. This will quickly change, although as you will notice in the movie, time plays such an irrelevant part in this and it becomes an issue which convolutes the story at times. Bruce Wayne, in his reclusive state is about to lose all his money, when he entrusts someone to take over his company. We are given a very understated and almost improbable reasoning for this move and she is entrusted completely in a move that is supposed to make sense once she and Wayne sleep together.
Then there is Bane. In a world filled with homophobes, due to societal or religious beliefs, I'm always amazed how characters like Bane, Thor, the entire cast of 300 and Gladiator have taken on such a following among heterosexual males. The praise I heard for this character and of it's actor, Tom Hardy were astounding It was if he embodied everything many guys my age an a little younger wanted to be. I was absolutely dumbfounded by what I found. Bane, is a villain like no other. He doesn't have any real powers other than intelligence and brute force, which is explained as being enhanced by his anger. He wears a mask that is supposed to relieve him of his persistent pain (which is never truly explained in the movie). He speaks in a muffled voice, much like the Dark Knight himself. The one thing that is completely unexplained is his powers of persuasion over people we're assuming are nothing more than hired mercenaries. So here is the main flaw in the movie.
Bane takes up more screen time than Batman and this is a fatal flaw, because of three reasons. Hardy's character is limited in what he does and what he says. He spews rhetoric of freeing Gotham, but we know that isn't the case. Secondly, his power, wealth and connections are so poorly explained, it doesn't make sense as to how easy it is for him to achieve everything he does. Finally, while Mr. Hardy was good in Layer Cake, Inception and Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, he pales in comparison to Bale and the rest of the cast in acting chops. He's brooding character is impressive at first, but as the viewer will see it's nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Then there is the plot itself. The wonderful thing about comics and their stories is the fantasy level in which they capture our attention. In the Dark Knight Rises, the viewer is treated to terror that is way to familiar in our daily lives. Terrorist attacks on our native land and thousands destroyed, while our government and security forces are held hostage? It's an all too real feeling that takes the comic book aspect far away from what we're used to. Aside from some machines that are a little more futuristic than we can relate to, the violence and even worse, the reality of the violence is disturbing. In the end, the viewer comes away with this awkward feeling and reminder that these aren't superheroes in the real sense and all the crime and murder is quite real and possible.
While the movie does achieve a greater status in my book than the The Dark Knight, on Netflix I have them both two stars. There are not two and half stars, but in reality, it doesn't deserve such, because it has, in my opinion, very little replay value. I can't imagine anyone who enjoys the newness of film or learning something new on a second viewing, ever being enticed into this nearly three hours love of terror fest. Aside from the side story of Anne Hathaway's character and the few scenes with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, the film feels like it spends so much time setting up another film, with no real direction other than to make money. Due to this fact, we never really become surprised by what occurs in the film and the lack of surprise is what kills it in comparison to films like The Watchmen and Kick-Ass.
I know others will believe I went into it with my mind made up, but I can't stress just how good I thought Batman Begins was and my appreciation for Bale and Hardy as actors. I just felt the elongated story, absolutely awful editing in regards to time frame in the movie. For example, there is one scene that is supposed to take one minute which lasts nearly eight and then, within fifteen seconds, we're to believe 5 minutes has elapsed and then another in which one minute seems to last forever. All within one major story point. I also found troubling the almost ceremonious and championed slaughtering of the police, who have been shown to be nothing but corrupt and incompetent throughout the trilogy and the ineffectiveness in our government and military to stop any possible threat and their actions when confronted. Maybe it's the timing of my viewing, but I found so many more things that detracted from it than promoted it and in the end, I feel it failed.
So the film recently dubbed "the best" Superhero movie of all-time finally arrived in my mailbox. I went into it with an open mind, because Batman Begins was great in my opinion, but a little trepidation because I felt The Dark Knight was lacking. I know every professional critic loved it, because there was a love affair with Heath Ledger before the movie even came out. When word of his drug overdose spread, it was an instant hit before it was viewed. Unlike movie critics, I am also a critic of life. Or should I say cynic. When I read the side effects found in people addicted to the exact pills that Ledger was on, I learned that his side effects were his portrayal. There was no wonderful method acting or some place he dug deep to reach. His slurred speech and odd behavior were nothing more than the standard look of such a man who was hooked, sans the crazy makeup. This had a drastic effect on me the second time I watched it, but didn't change my initial perception. It just wasn't a very good movie.
Batman Begins, the first installment, is probably my third favorite Superhero/Comic adaptation. The best ever, was Kick-Ass and the second, The Watchmen, with Sin City and V for Vendetta following as the only superhero movies I've ever given four stars to on Netflix. Kick-Ass received five. I gave The Dark Knight two stars. I felt there was just too much unexplained garbled story lines that didn't really leave me wanting more. A feeling I felt greatly after the first installment. So with no real expectations other than the never ending Facebook banter about the villain Bane, I had no real interest other than to complete the saga.
As the movie starts, we see some of the familiar faces and one new one. The absolutely stunning, Anne Hathaway, who turns out to be an expert cat burglar...thus the creation of Catwoman, although she is never referred to as such. She robs Bruce Wayne, who is now a decrepit shell of the man we saw in the first two installments. This will quickly change, although as you will notice in the movie, time plays such an irrelevant part in this and it becomes an issue which convolutes the story at times. Bruce Wayne, in his reclusive state is about to lose all his money, when he entrusts someone to take over his company. We are given a very understated and almost improbable reasoning for this move and she is entrusted completely in a move that is supposed to make sense once she and Wayne sleep together.
Then there is Bane. In a world filled with homophobes, due to societal or religious beliefs, I'm always amazed how characters like Bane, Thor, the entire cast of 300 and Gladiator have taken on such a following among heterosexual males. The praise I heard for this character and of it's actor, Tom Hardy were astounding It was if he embodied everything many guys my age an a little younger wanted to be. I was absolutely dumbfounded by what I found. Bane, is a villain like no other. He doesn't have any real powers other than intelligence and brute force, which is explained as being enhanced by his anger. He wears a mask that is supposed to relieve him of his persistent pain (which is never truly explained in the movie). He speaks in a muffled voice, much like the Dark Knight himself. The one thing that is completely unexplained is his powers of persuasion over people we're assuming are nothing more than hired mercenaries. So here is the main flaw in the movie.
Bane takes up more screen time than Batman and this is a fatal flaw, because of three reasons. Hardy's character is limited in what he does and what he says. He spews rhetoric of freeing Gotham, but we know that isn't the case. Secondly, his power, wealth and connections are so poorly explained, it doesn't make sense as to how easy it is for him to achieve everything he does. Finally, while Mr. Hardy was good in Layer Cake, Inception and Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, he pales in comparison to Bale and the rest of the cast in acting chops. He's brooding character is impressive at first, but as the viewer will see it's nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Then there is the plot itself. The wonderful thing about comics and their stories is the fantasy level in which they capture our attention. In the Dark Knight Rises, the viewer is treated to terror that is way to familiar in our daily lives. Terrorist attacks on our native land and thousands destroyed, while our government and security forces are held hostage? It's an all too real feeling that takes the comic book aspect far away from what we're used to. Aside from some machines that are a little more futuristic than we can relate to, the violence and even worse, the reality of the violence is disturbing. In the end, the viewer comes away with this awkward feeling and reminder that these aren't superheroes in the real sense and all the crime and murder is quite real and possible.
While the movie does achieve a greater status in my book than the The Dark Knight, on Netflix I have them both two stars. There are not two and half stars, but in reality, it doesn't deserve such, because it has, in my opinion, very little replay value. I can't imagine anyone who enjoys the newness of film or learning something new on a second viewing, ever being enticed into this nearly three hours love of terror fest. Aside from the side story of Anne Hathaway's character and the few scenes with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, the film feels like it spends so much time setting up another film, with no real direction other than to make money. Due to this fact, we never really become surprised by what occurs in the film and the lack of surprise is what kills it in comparison to films like The Watchmen and Kick-Ass.
I know others will believe I went into it with my mind made up, but I can't stress just how good I thought Batman Begins was and my appreciation for Bale and Hardy as actors. I just felt the elongated story, absolutely awful editing in regards to time frame in the movie. For example, there is one scene that is supposed to take one minute which lasts nearly eight and then, within fifteen seconds, we're to believe 5 minutes has elapsed and then another in which one minute seems to last forever. All within one major story point. I also found troubling the almost ceremonious and championed slaughtering of the police, who have been shown to be nothing but corrupt and incompetent throughout the trilogy and the ineffectiveness in our government and military to stop any possible threat and their actions when confronted. Maybe it's the timing of my viewing, but I found so many more things that detracted from it than promoted it and in the end, I feel it failed.
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