I spent the last three days in conflict. Not quite satisfied with what I saw and also unable to convincingly point out things which made me feel that way. I had to rewatch Rises because I owed that much to myself. This series means a lot me. The previous entry released at a time when I was beginning to watch movies with more interest that most people usually do. So after waiting for years and then being left dissatisfied, I had no option but to watch it again.
After being shy of public light for 8 years, Bruce Wayne, the playboy billionaire, has himself become a stuff of legend. People share stories about how his face is completely scarred and what not. As he dances with Selina at a charity ball, I could not help but think of Beauty and the Beast; especially when a person comments,"You scared her away." as she leaves the room. Like Bruce, the years have done the same to Batman. Even though he took a fall for someone else's wrongs, people are still amazed by his heroics. The cops have always been on the sidelines, throughout his time as Batman. On his return, a cop tells his much younger deputy,"Oh boy, you are in for a show tonight son!" This is the new Gotham- free of organized crime and living in peace, thanks to the Dent act. But Bruce has become a self-destructive monster, blaming himself for Rachel's death and waiting for things to go bad. Alfred fears for Bruce and does what he could to save him.
The years haven't been good to Gordon either. Unable to forgive himself for being in on a lie, he lives alone after his wife leaves him. After an incident puts him out of action, Foley, played by Matthew Modine, takes charge. He is the typical, every-day GPD cop filled with apathy, eyeing only Gordon's job. John Blake is too good to be a cop. Bound by the shackles of structure, there is only as much he can do. There's bureaucracy and corruption all around him. It takes one to put on a mask to protect his loved ones. It takes one to become a symbol to hope to be truly incorruptible. Blake's story arc was very interesting to watch on the second viewing and I felt his was the most well written character in this film. This film is his Batman Begins and Gordon-Levitt, who plays him with utmost sincerity, gets a lot to chew on.
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.
I was puzzled by Bane's motivations. We are told he gets excommunicated from the League of Shadows by Ra's al Ghul himself. Then what is it that is driving him with such ferocity and rage to realize his one time master's wishes? Bane tells Batman that he IS the league of shadows. He adopted the path offered to him by Ra's and stuck to it even after being let go. He is someone who has suffered a lot. His past is, literally, filled with so much darkness that he sees the inequality in the world in a different light.
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. Many people, myself included, expressed disappointment at the use of a 'time bomb' to heighten the tension. But as Bruce says,"One man's tool is another man's weapon." What started off as a clean energy nuclear fusion project turned into an atom bomb in the wrong hands. A lot like the Tesseract, I know. Even without it, plots like entire police force getting stuck underground work incredibly.
Bruce, Bane learns, does not fear death and feels his punishment must be severe. He makes Bruce watch him slowly destroy his city on a television after putting him in a pit where he spent most of his life, looking up at the light with hope, only worsening his despair. He does the same to Gotham by announcing the detonator to the ticking bomb is in the hands of an unsung citizen. He gives them a false sense of hope, while knowing all the while that it ends when Gotham is ashes.
The movie's Occupy Wall Street sentiments didn't appear quite subtle on second viewing. Bane is sickened by people with resources trying to have an upper hand, buying their way out of troubles. When a broker at the stock-exchange tells him there's no money in here, he asks then why they are here. When Daggett tells Bane he paid him a small fortune, he asks "Does that give you power over me?" Even Selina says, "Don't condescend me, Mr.Wayne", when he questions her about her ways. After bringing down the system to its knees, he asks the people to live as they please and take what they feel is theirs. We see people with mink coats get dragged to streets and thrown out of their own houses. All this chaos underlines the anger of people who felt they were oppressed. But these notions don't get glorified as we witness the horrific consequence which change the minds of people who were initially supporting it.
There are a couple plot-holes and moments where you have to suspend your disbelief. This is mostly due to unnecessary announcement of the time left before the bomb went off. One may wonder how batman arrives at the right place at the right time. The scale is too large with a lot happening in different places. If Nolan had managed the passage of time properly, this film would have been much better.
I was really taken by Souradeep's comment on Krishna's post. He said this film did what many TV shows try to do with their finale- offer a sense of closure. And TDKR manages to do just that. After all, we have known Bruce for a long time now and we want good things to happen to him, because he deserves it. Why so many elements of the movie did not work for me on the first viewing, I may never be able to tell. The final scene which cuts between Blake and Alfred in Florence is so perfect. It would have been awesome had Nolan, like Pramodh suggested, cut to black after showing Alfred with a smile on his face, but this version works great.
I sat two rows away from the screen because I didn't want anyone else on my row. My neck hurts like fuck but it was worth it. The reason why it did not work well the first time may have been because I was carrying too much baggage from the first two films and was not having an open mind to accept a different kind of a Nolan movie. Watch it again for the nuances, watch it again for the bigger picture. Watch it because you want all your questions answered. You may still have a few problems, I do too, but you must watch it if you too felt disappointed after the first time.
*Spoilers*
I still did not get moved by the relationship between Talia and Bane. He is her saviour, who ultimately fell in love with her. But she calls him a friend. I noticed tears in his eyes as she bid him farewell. And it was then I started wondering if this had always been a suicide mission.
If you look back at the conversations Blake has 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. I was initially disappointed in Nolan and felt Nolan 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 'Robin'. And what is he but just another cop without the toys, which Wayne writes to his name in his will, at his disposal.
After being taken off support, the reactor core would remain stable for 5 months. I wondered what went on in Gotham during that period. Crane's court sentencing should have wiped off most of the rich and powerful.
After being shy of public light for 8 years, Bruce Wayne, the playboy billionaire, has himself become a stuff of legend. People share stories about how his face is completely scarred and what not. As he dances with Selina at a charity ball, I could not help but think of Beauty and the Beast; especially when a person comments,"You scared her away." as she leaves the room. Like Bruce, the years have done the same to Batman. Even though he took a fall for someone else's wrongs, people are still amazed by his heroics. The cops have always been on the sidelines, throughout his time as Batman. On his return, a cop tells his much younger deputy,"Oh boy, you are in for a show tonight son!" This is the new Gotham- free of organized crime and living in peace, thanks to the Dent act. But Bruce has become a self-destructive monster, blaming himself for Rachel's death and waiting for things to go bad. Alfred fears for Bruce and does what he could to save him.The years haven't been good to Gordon either. Unable to forgive himself for being in on a lie, he lives alone after his wife leaves him. After an incident puts him out of action, Foley, played by Matthew Modine, takes charge. He is the typical, every-day GPD cop filled with apathy, eyeing only Gordon's job. John Blake is too good to be a cop. Bound by the shackles of structure, there is only as much he can do. There's bureaucracy and corruption all around him. It takes one to put on a mask to protect his loved ones. It takes one to become a symbol to hope to be truly incorruptible. Blake's story arc was very interesting to watch on the second viewing and I felt his was the most well written character in this film. This film is his Batman Begins and Gordon-Levitt, who plays him with utmost sincerity, gets a lot to chew on.
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.
I was puzzled by Bane's motivations. We are told he gets excommunicated from the League of Shadows by Ra's al Ghul himself. Then what is it that is driving him with such ferocity and rage to realize his one time master's wishes? Bane tells Batman that he IS the league of shadows. He adopted the path offered to him by Ra's and stuck to it even after being let go. He is someone who has suffered a lot. His past is, literally, filled with so much darkness that he sees the inequality in the world in a different light.
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. Many people, myself included, expressed disappointment at the use of a 'time bomb' to heighten the tension. But as Bruce says,"One man's tool is another man's weapon." What started off as a clean energy nuclear fusion project turned into an atom bomb in the wrong hands. A lot like the Tesseract, I know. Even without it, plots like entire police force getting stuck underground work incredibly.
Bruce, Bane learns, does not fear death and feels his punishment must be severe. He makes Bruce watch him slowly destroy his city on a television after putting him in a pit where he spent most of his life, looking up at the light with hope, only worsening his despair. He does the same to Gotham by announcing the detonator to the ticking bomb is in the hands of an unsung citizen. He gives them a false sense of hope, while knowing all the while that it ends when Gotham is ashes.
The movie's Occupy Wall Street sentiments didn't appear quite subtle on second viewing. Bane is sickened by people with resources trying to have an upper hand, buying their way out of troubles. When a broker at the stock-exchange tells him there's no money in here, he asks then why they are here. When Daggett tells Bane he paid him a small fortune, he asks "Does that give you power over me?" Even Selina says, "Don't condescend me, Mr.Wayne", when he questions her about her ways. After bringing down the system to its knees, he asks the people to live as they please and take what they feel is theirs. We see people with mink coats get dragged to streets and thrown out of their own houses. All this chaos underlines the anger of people who felt they were oppressed. But these notions don't get glorified as we witness the horrific consequence which change the minds of people who were initially supporting it.
There are a couple plot-holes and moments where you have to suspend your disbelief. This is mostly due to unnecessary announcement of the time left before the bomb went off. One may wonder how batman arrives at the right place at the right time. The scale is too large with a lot happening in different places. If Nolan had managed the passage of time properly, this film would have been much better.
I was really taken by Souradeep's comment on Krishna's post. He said this film did what many TV shows try to do with their finale- offer a sense of closure. And TDKR manages to do just that. After all, we have known Bruce for a long time now and we want good things to happen to him, because he deserves it. Why so many elements of the movie did not work for me on the first viewing, I may never be able to tell. The final scene which cuts between Blake and Alfred in Florence is so perfect. It would have been awesome had Nolan, like Pramodh suggested, cut to black after showing Alfred with a smile on his face, but this version works great.
I sat two rows away from the screen because I didn't want anyone else on my row. My neck hurts like fuck but it was worth it. The reason why it did not work well the first time may have been because I was carrying too much baggage from the first two films and was not having an open mind to accept a different kind of a Nolan movie. Watch it again for the nuances, watch it again for the bigger picture. Watch it because you want all your questions answered. You may still have a few problems, I do too, but you must watch it if you too felt disappointed after the first time.
*Spoilers*
I still did not get moved by the relationship between Talia and Bane. He is her saviour, who ultimately fell in love with her. But she calls him a friend. I noticed tears in his eyes as she bid him farewell. And it was then I started wondering if this had always been a suicide mission.
If you look back at the conversations Blake has 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. I was initially disappointed in Nolan and felt Nolan 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 'Robin'. And what is he but just another cop without the toys, which Wayne writes to his name in his will, at his disposal.
After being taken off support, the reactor core would remain stable for 5 months. I wondered what went on in Gotham during that period. Crane's court sentencing should have wiped off most of the rich and powerful.