Saturday 11 August 2012

Batman Fights His Final Battle

The Dark Knight Rises

Release: 
16 July, 2012

Directed by 
Christopher Nolan

Produced by:
Emma Thomas 
Christopher Nolan
Charles Roven

Written by: 
Christopher Nolan
Jonathan Nolan

Starring: 
Christian Bale
Michael Caine
Gary Oldman
Anne Hathaway
Tom Hardy
Marion Cotillard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Morgan Freeman

Summary: Gotham is being over-run by a group calling themselves the ‘League of Shadows’, headed by criminal Bane. Bruce Wayne goes against the advice of those around him and decides he must return as Batman to once again protect his city. With the help of Catwoman, he fights the terrorist group. However, his task is a far more difficult one this time. 

My Favourite Scene: I found one scene hilarious because it was just so ridiculous. Bane orders a scientist to turn an object which ensures sustainable-energy into a nuclear bomb. The guy walks up to it and after about two minutes of fiddling around with some equipment says something like ‘okay you now have a nuclear bomb’. I loved this scene but not because it was good, because it was so stupid. It highlights just how unrealistic this film was.

My Favourite Quotes: 
Selina Kyle:
“There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.” 

Alfred (to Batman/ Bruce Wayne): “I always knew there was nothing here for you, expect pain and tragedy. And I wanted something more for you than that. I still do.”

My Thoughts: Something I didn’t like about this film was Catwoman’s character. It’s probably to be expected with a film like Batman that the female character, Selina Kyle (Catwoman) is going to be over-sexualised. It seems we haven’t come that far in terms of feminism in these sorts of films... It reminded me of a 1960s James Bond film. In some ways it’s good to have a strong, powerful female, in the same league as Batman, but I don’t understand why it’s necessary for Anne Hathaway to be walking and posing seductively in almost every scene she’s in. It may sound over-the-top but I feel like it sends out the message that in order to have any chance of success, women have to be overly-sexual.

Another issue with the film was Bane. His just seemed a ridiculous, almost stupid character. The mask made his voice sound hilarious. Unfortunately when following a brilliant character like Heath Ledger’s Joker, requires being really impressive and Bane just didn’t hit the mark.

Another problem for The Dark Knight Rises was their attempt to incorporate political issues. The ideas of corruption and revolution were apparent throughout, which did help to make the film interesting to an extent. However, when a city is threatened with a nuclear attack it’s surprising that no other countries attempt to intervene and prevent it. If a film is trying to say something about revolution, the rest of the world would need to be involved in the film - rather than a simple video from the US President (which seemed like a bit of a cop-out)!

Overall, while The Dark Knight Rises was interesting and exciting in parts, I found it rather tedious to watch. It was over-long, over-complicated and actually quite ridiculous. When a film becomes completely separate from anything that could happen in reality, it just seems silly. This film just couldn’t compete with its predecessor, The Dark Knight, and for me, failed to stand up to its expectations. 

C-