Okay, another The Dark Knight Rises post. Check this piece I put together for Stylelist about the evolution of Catwoman’s costume choices on television and movies. How awesome was Julie Newmar?
Can you think of a better way to spend your birthday then seeing the final chapter of the Christopher Nolan Batman series of films? I couldn’t think of one either and spent this morning going out to see The Dark Knight Rises. Be warned; there are plenty of spoilers ahead.
The movie starts roughly eight years after The Dark Knight. Batman is still a wanted fugitive after accepting responsibility for Harvey Dent’s death, and Bruce Wayne hasn’t been seen since. The debut of a new terrorist/mercenary force lead by a new villain named Bane causes Bruce to take up the mantle of Batman for one last ride.
The result was a story that combined elements of the Knightfall, Cataclysm and No Man’s Land storylines, with Batman having to recover from a crippling defeat at the hands of Bane only to save Gotham City from certain doom after it has been cut off from the rest of civilization.
That said, I think I enjoyed this film the most. I liked how intertwined all of the characters were and pretty much everyone knew that Bruce Wayne and Batman were one and the same. At the key of this film was the complex relationships all of the characters had with each other and issues of trust. Sometimes Bruce’s trust was violated (in the case of Bruce and Miranda Tate, who turned out to be none other than Ra’s Al Ghul’s daughter Tate and was seeking to avenger her father’s death from back in Batman Begins); other times it was earned (as was the case with Batman and Catwoman).
The other theme in The Dark Knight Rises is moving on. Alfred urged to Bruce that someday he would have to give up being Batman and have a chance to have a normal life. Bruce somehow manages to do that at the end of the film; saving the city and seemingly dying in an explosion. It’s a fitting end for the Batman persona, as he not only saves the city he so dearly cares about but finally sees the impact that he had on its citizens, as they openly mourned the loss of their dark protector. This allows him to resurface in Europe with Catwoman, who was also searching for a chance to start over, and start a normal life.
Although this is the end of the film series, they leave an opening for a new Batman to guard the city. Detective Blake (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) knew that Batman and Bruce Wayne were one in the same, and did everything in his power to help the vigilante come back to save the city from Bane. At the end of the film, he gets given access to Batman’s arsenal of crime fighting equipment.
There’s a whole bunch more I can talk about on this film but I need some time to digest. So what did you think about this?
Electronics company Nokia of all places posted this new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film looks epic. I really like how it doesn’t look like a typical super hero or comic book movie. But there is one thing that doesn’t make me happy.
Bane’s mask looks ridiculous. I have a bad feeling that when I see the movie that my hatred for it is going to distract me the whole time. They better explain why it is so cheasy looking.
Anyway, the movie comes out on July 20. You can all celebrate my birthday by going out and seeing it.
So with the San Diego Comic Con happening this weekend and a trailer for the Avengers movie making the internet circles, DC/Warner Brothers have put out a teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises which comes out on July 20, 2012 (I guess you all know what I’m doing for next year’s birthday party).
I guess this movie has a “How Batman Got His Groove Back” feeling to it, being how he was uncermoniously villified at the end of the last film and how in this clip it shows a hospital bedded Commissioner Gordon trying to get him to come back.
Looks interesting and I can’t wait to see more.
Ridiculously Awesome 