This was supposed to be the epic conclusion to the Christopher Nolan Batman movie trilogy. And in a lot of ways it is just that. It is full of action and has about an hour long climax that makes the fans happy. The characters are done very well and it is a satisfying ending to the trilogy.
There are many reasons for why I didn't like it but first let me get to some of the positives. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman was really good. Most of her hit movies are Rom/Com movies so I was a little worried about her ability to do a character like Catwoman justice. I'd say her addition to the movie was a pleasant surprise.
I was also impressed with the ways this movie tried to tie in to both The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. Many things from the previous movies were eluded to and were major plot points for The Dark Knight Rises.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt did an incredible job as John Blake. There's some spoilers involved with this character so I won't say too much, so I'll leave it by saying this character plays some very pivotal roles in the overall story and if he is included in the next Batman movie (if there even is one) he'd also be a very important character.
Here's my problem with the movie.
Bane! I couldn't understand him. I'm not talking about just his voice which is mumbled and garbled almost beyond human recognition, but his motivations. His plan doesn't make any sense. I'm trying to avoid spoilers because even though I didn't like this movie as much as I hoped, it's still a good movie and it won't be spoiled by me. I feel that the first half of the movie was needless padding with a sub-plot that didn't need to happen the way it did.
Why is this eight years after The Dark Knight? And that opens up a whole bunch of mini plot-holes. I'll take just one example: Bruce's legs. He's been a Howard Hughes type recluse ever since the death of Harvey Dent. So now he walks with a cane because his knees are bad and the rest of him is beaten to the point his body is close to being hamburger. But this isn't the Batman we saw running from cops. What did he do in that house he never left for eight years that destroyed his body? Extreme sleeping?
The plot twists in this movie are telegraphed beyond words. Here are the big red flags I feel are okay to share without giving too much of the movie away: the fusion generator, Alfred's fantasy, and Bane's employer. I won't say anything else about it, but man. Anyone could see those plot devices coming a mile away.
Lastly, just like in The Dark Knight, the characters just won't ever shut up! Exposition is everywhere! The Exposition Fairy is what I call it when a character tries to jam in needed information to move the story along. This I'm going to start calling Alfred's disease. Where a character tries to make a moral argument through long winded speeches.
Here's what the movie was trying to talk about. Wealth distribution. First we had Catwoman playing the role of the noble rogue. She's Robin Hood. She steals from the rich but never too much. And she has another motivation for her actions but that's spoiler territory but yes she does have a selfish reason for wanting to steal from Bruce Wayne. Then you have Bane who is the champion of anarchy. He wants the criminals who were put in prison under the "Dent Act" set free so they can loot, pillage, and send Gotham City back into 16th century France. Right down to the kangaroo courts with Scarecrow as the judge. This movie really wanted to have some kind of say on the wealth/power disparity between the richest people and the poorest. Think of Bane as Tyler Durden from Fight Club.
The message is quickly lost in this movie. There is just too much action and a lot of unnecessary scenes. The movie feels both rushed and padded at the same time. The story isn't as coherent as I would've liked and the plot twists are really obvious. There are plenty out there right now trying call this "the best movie ever". In my opinion it isn't even as good as The Dark Knight.
With that we come to the end of the Batman Retrospective. There are a lot of great Batman movies I didn't get a chance to talk about. The animated movies are really great and they are worth checking out as well. I will leave you with my personal rankings of the live action Batman movies.
1. Batman (1989)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
3. Batman Begins (2005)
4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
5. Batman: The Movie (1966)
6. Batman Returns (1992)
7. Batman Forever (1995)
8. Batman and Robin (1997)
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