The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Warner Brothers

I’ve been trying to keep an open mind now when I watch a movie for the first time, since trailers can be very misleading or possibly word-of-mouth hypes a movie so great that it can’t match its own publicity. I honestly tried so hard to like this movie but it’s opening sequence got it off on the wrong foot. While the character of Bane is not The Joker, his introduction in the movie and plans for a bomb are very much like The Joker from the previous movie. Even the character’s voice didn’t sit well with me. He’s a big, beefy guy who resembles a professional wrestler, yet the voice coming out of his mask sounds more like an eloquent British politician. Perhaps that’s the point and its irony was lost on me; I was too serious.

On the other hand, the plot of the movie, or Bane’s endgame, which is revealed nearly an hour into the film almost made me laugh. Bane and his goon squad have stolen a nuclear reactor which they’ve turned into a weapon and hold the city of Gotham hostage. They’ll detonate the bomb if anyone interferes, so the President has no choice but to seal off the entire city, leaving it into the hands of its criminals. Sound familiar yet? The city becoming a haven for criminals reminded me too much of the 1980’s classic movie called Escape From New York. The only thing missing was a chandelier dangling on the hood of Bane’s tank.

However this is a Batman movie, so I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the caped crusader. He’s been retired for 8 years, as has his alter ego named Bruce Wayne. I’m glad other characters picked up on the fact that both public figures appeared to have disappeared at the same time. One character even admits he’s not supposed to believe in coincidences; which explained more than just Batman’s disappearance. When Batman does finally appear, he’s locked away in a hole in a faraway land that’s used as a prison. How does a place like that get a television set? The prison hole made me think of the hole from Batman Begins, which was a cool symbolic moment. Then for the 5 people who may not have picked up on the symbolism, they had to spell it out for everyone.

The movie wasn’t a total disappointment because I think JGL was the movie’s MVP. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has grown into a fantastic actor and I really enjoyed his journey throughout the movie. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine were nice to see again, though they didn’t seem to be used as well as they should have been. Tom Hardy as Bane deserves a gold star for making the character intimidating through his facial expression and mannerisms as he overcame the goofy voiceover that weighed him down like an anchor. The Scarecrow, who had a very brief cameo in the last movie, makes another cameo, which might be the best cameo I've ever seen in a movie (that's counting Stan Lee and Alfred Hitchcock!) I honestly didn’t hate The Dark Knight Returns, though I didn’t love it; it just felt unlike watching a movie and more like performing a chore.