"The Dark Knight Rises" Is it worth the watch?

We’re going back to Gotham this week. It’s time to review “The Dark Knight Rises”. Should we do a little review of “The Dark Knight”? Just swing on back to my review of it here. Before we jump into the review, let’s talk about the movie itself. It’s the third and final film in Nolan’s adaptation of The Caped Crusader. It occurs eight years after Bruce Wayne/Batman’s disappearance and Harvey Dent’s death. Honestly, this movie was a lot. By that I mean, it is so beyond full of content. I mean it should be. It is almost three hours. Let’s start with the sets. 

FABULOUS. I mean the attention to detail is beyond thorough from start to finish. Let’s start with the opening scene. It’s Harvey Dent Day, and everyone is celebrating at Bruce Manor. Alas, Mr. Wayne is nowhere to be seen except in the shadows on his roof. He really is very emo. They did a great job with his house though. They used the Wollaton Hall in England. If you’re interested, you can actually go to the manor. I digress. My favorite scene/set was the Gotham football stadium. The amount of extras, the explosions, the costumes, all of it was amazing. Let’s talk a little bit more about the costumes. 

Wonderful. It is more than apparent that the costume department genuinely cared about each costume. It made the film feel so authentic and grounded. Well, except for Anne Hathaway’s costume. Did they hate her? I know she’s Catwoman, but they did not need to put her in some kind of cat ears in just about every scene. I also disliked the Catwoman costume. No wonder she had been caught like a million times by the police. She had her hair down, and her main weapon was stilettos that doubled as a knife. Not a fan. Wait. I also didn’t like Bane’s costume. If you’re going to make a superhero movie, commit to making a superhero movie. Bane didn’t just need a mask to help with pain, he used it to pump drugs into his system. It would have been cooler if Bane looked closer to the original material. 

Let’s talk more about Bane. I think Tom Hardy did the best job he could with what he was given. I liked how he portrayed the villain’s complicated belief system. Bane is an anarchist who believes he can set people free from the chains society has crafted. It would have been easy to make him mean or fall into an almost cartoonish reflection, but I think Hardy really made it his own. I DID NOT like what they did with Talia Al Ghul. One of the most morally grey and complicated characters in the Batman universe and somehow they made her boring. I liked how she wormed her way into Wayne Enterprises, but her reasoning for everything was to fulfill her dad’s wishes. Boring. Talia Al Ghul is influenced by her father, but she stands on her own two feet when it comes to her beliefs. This movie made her look like a revenge-seeking daughter instead of a vicious and brilliant antithesis to Batman. Uncool. 

I didn’t like what they did with Robin/John Blake either. I can understand that the writers wanted to put their own spin on Robin, but making John Blake’s first name Robin. Please. I expected more. I think that sentiment describes my feelings about this movie. I expected more from the characters. I expected a Batman movie to feel and seem like a Batman movie. This movie seemed like a Christopher Nolan movie about Batman. Dare I say a little bit like a money grab? The cast was stacked, the costumes were sick, and the sets were amazing. The movie lacked authenticity to the source material. Bane was not Bane. Talia Al Ghul was boring. Catwoman was ridiculous. I mean at one point Bruce Wayne met up with Commissioner Gordon in a ski mask. A ski mask?! Weird. 

I have complicated feelings about this movie. I think Christian Bale did a fantastic job just like he did in “The Dark Knight”. Calling the sets and costumes eye-catching is an understatement. It is a visually stunning movie. The actual content however is underwhelming. The Catwoman/Batman return plot line felt completely separate from the Bane/Talia Al Ghul plot line. In short, the movie felt disjointed. It was too much information for one movie. In a potentially shocking turn of events, I do not think this movie is worth the watch. I get it if you watch the other movie first, you might feel the need to watch it. I did. I had high hopes! Maybe a little too high. I should recognize that I am a big Batman fan. It is without a doubt entertaining. If you’re a Batman fan, maybe it’s not worth your time. If you’re not a massive fan, you could love it. I guess it’s a split vote.

Photo from IMDb