Note: This isn't a review. I just wanted to record my thoughts before I watched the film again.
In the week leading up to the release of the most awaited sequel of the year, I caught up with the first two entries in the trilogy, like thousands of others. I wish I could have back the sensation I felt waiting for the movie again.
The scale has to be commended. For the first time ever in a superhero movie, an entire city has come under siege and you feel everything come to a standstill. Hardly anyone other than the Arkham inmates witnessed Ra's actions in Begins. In TDK, everybody panicked but only the thousand odd people on the ferry were under some kind of a direct threat. Even recently, in Marvel's Avengers, the action was concentrated to a particular area after the people were evacuated and the boundary cordoned off. Why? Because not everyone can create a picture that takes up the entire canvas. Here, the stakes are very high with momentous consequences. Time bomb or not, the immensity of the situation is incredible.
The scale has to be commended. For the first time ever in a superhero movie, an entire city has come under siege and you feel everything come to a standstill. Hardly anyone other than the Arkham inmates witnessed Ra's actions in Begins. In TDK, everybody panicked but only the thousand odd people on the ferry were under some kind of a direct threat. Even recently, in Marvel's Avengers, the action was concentrated to a particular area after the people were evacuated and the boundary cordoned off. Why? Because not everyone can create a picture that takes up the entire canvas. Here, the stakes are very high with momentous consequences. Time bomb or not, the immensity of the situation is incredible.
.jpg)
I can pick two scenes which were so good I lost my head- one where Batman returns to the streets of Gotham for the first time after his self-imposed 8 year long exile and the other involving Bruce and the pit. On the contrary, some scenes had so much emotional weight, I am surprised by how cold I felt. Alfred breaking down before Bruce, asking him not to put his life in danger, was one such moment where I caught myself trying to be moved, but to no avail.
Batman made the ultimate sacrifice- falling in the eyes of people he set out to protect. It was not just the people of Gotham who lived a lie for 8 years, Bruce did too. To see him turn into a reclusive hermit thinking Rachel wanted them to be together saddened me a lot. We haven't seen Bruce argue with Alfred since when he returned home from Princeton to attend the hearing. When Alfred finally breaks the truth to him, I was filled with dread.
Batman made the ultimate sacrifice- falling in the eyes of people he set out to protect. It was not just the people of Gotham who lived a lie for 8 years, Bruce did too. To see him turn into a reclusive hermit thinking Rachel wanted them to be together saddened me a lot. We haven't seen Bruce argue with Alfred since when he returned home from Princeton to attend the hearing. When Alfred finally breaks the truth to him, I was filled with dread.
You must have seen this poster on Facebook which got shared a lot- about how money is the greatest superpower of them all. With Selina Kyle, Nolan has given us an exceptionally gifted thief with, of course, no superpowers. She is clumsy and gives the impression she often deals with people she cannot always outrun. Selina is, in a way, like young Bruce, only without the right motivation. But while Bruce left his billionaire roots to seek a path, she chose one to feed herself. And, boy, is she trigger-happy. It has taken me a long time to convince myself the 'clean slate' thing isn't really a far-fetched stimulus for Selina. I mean, she is certainly good, but not good enough to outrun the law forever. (Batman said such a thing indeed exists and a powerful friend of his, if I recall correctly, is working to obtain it. I missed this part; do they reveal who this person is?) Also, do they ever refer to Selina as Catwoman? I don't think anyone did. Speaking of which, does Bruce wake up in the middle of night and wonder how stupid the name batman sounds?
If you look back at the conversations John Blake had with Bruce, it emphasizes how the movie always saw him as a torchbearer who would continue the good work done by Batman. Orphan, hot-headed, looking to set things right- his life has no shortage for gloom. When Batman told him to put on a mask to protect his loved ones, I questioningly said the word Robin out loud. And my fears came true. I was really disappointed in Nolan and felt he succumbed to the studio's arm-twisting. I thought about it some more and realized it was actually the right thing to do, as Bruce appears to have gone on a well-deserved permanent vacation, leaving the safety of his beloved Gotham in the capable hands of people like Blake. And what is he but just another cop without Wayne's toys at his disposal.
The less I knew about Bane, the more terrifying he appeared. I had come to expect a brutishly menacing villain from the promo stills, and I think we got just that. But once you get used to him, he's not that scary at all. Actually, the lad can even make the likes of Cotillard swoon. He talks a lot for a person with a gated mouth. Was that why he started looking tame with time? Man, I loved his accent and I still think he is really cool. He got kicked out of League of Shadows for his aggressive ways. Why should he bother himself with seeing Ra's Al Ghul's plans come to fruition? Unless he is doing it for someone else, for his love; and that suddenly takes away his gravitas. He becomes a mere tool in a bigger plan.
The less I knew about Bane, the more terrifying he appeared. I had come to expect a brutishly menacing villain from the promo stills, and I think we got just that. But once you get used to him, he's not that scary at all. Actually, the lad can even make the likes of Cotillard swoon. He talks a lot for a person with a gated mouth. Was that why he started looking tame with time? Man, I loved his accent and I still think he is really cool. He got kicked out of League of Shadows for his aggressive ways. Why should he bother himself with seeing Ra's Al Ghul's plans come to fruition? Unless he is doing it for someone else, for his love; and that suddenly takes away his gravitas. He becomes a mere tool in a bigger plan.
Few more problems: The Dark Knight appears to have taken place over a span of a few weeks at most. But Rises, counting only the part beginning with Bane's first public appearance crosses a good 6 months at least. Which brings me to my question, what was happening in Gotham when Bruce was recuperating in his pit? How does he reach Gotham when the island city has been cut-off completely? Did he really have so much time on his hand to make a fancy Bat-Signal? I understand he is letting people know about his arrival and trying to light a ray of hope, but his shenanigans led him to a crazy time-crunch later in the movie. When he can find Selina, why can't he find Lucius and Miranda? I am just rambling now.