I’m warning you ahead of time…if you haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises then stop reading…if only because you won’t understand what in hell I’m talking about.
What I dug:
1. Tom Hardy’s Bane. Wasn’t the Joker and didn’t have to be. Also, loved the fact that Selina Kyle actually killed him.
2. Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle. Didn’t think I was going to like her in the role. Ate my words. Top notch performance of a great character. Was really hoping that Bruce Wayne would rethink his budding relationship with Miranda Tate and get with the Catwoman…which actually happened.
3. The set pieces/ action scenes. Well done. Fight with Bane, awesome. Bane’s opening escape from the plane, incredible. The climactic chase through Gotham was the best of the series, I think.
4. Bane & Miranda Tate’s backstory. Loved how that came together. Totally had me fooled.
5. Bruce Wayne’s happy ending. When I thought they killed him off, I was excited that they had the balls to do it. Then, when they revealed him living out his days abroad, I was actually quite satisfied.
6. John Blake’s real name being Robin. Nice touch.
What I didn’t:
1. Using New York City as Gotham. I didn’t mind the stuff they shot in Pittsburgh, but I think that they should have kept Chicago as Gotham. I realize that there were probably some plot points that necessitated using the Big Apple, but it just looks so undeniably New York-ish that I couldn’t buy into it.
2. Bruce Wayne’s rising to redemption…again! The prison was a cool idea, but I could’ve gotten the backstory another way. Having Bruce have to re-train and climb out of that pit just got tedious.
3. The first big chase sequence that goes from day to night abnormally fast. Yeah, not exactly sure what happened there.
So, there you go. More likes than dislikes. I personally think that The Dark Knight is the overall best film of this trilogy, even though there are elements in each film that surpass things in the others. But whatever. Well done, Mr. Nolan and company.
hwicfilm 