Oh Fuck Me, I *Really* Liked "The Dark Knight Rising" (No Spoilers Above The Cut!)
I can explain.
Let me explain.
I've never liked Nolan's Batman movies. Or maybe I should say that I never liked Nolan's vision for the Batman movies, because I do think they're good, but I never really liked them much. "Batman Begins" put me right to sleep, and "The Dark Knight" is occasionally brilliant, but it's hopelessly over-loaded with stuff, weirdly paced, very dry and not really fun. (Because believe it or not, I expect fun when I'm watching a Batman movie!) I did get that Nolan tried to make a sombre, very realistic, very SRS BSN version of Batman, which I respect - but as a result, his movies always lacked a certain something for me, a flourish, a sense of the crazy that should permeate Batman's world, which made both "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" very unexciting for me. (And I like subdued, slow-paced entertainment, dammit, I watch "The Wire"!)
Then, last night, I went to see "The Dark Knight Rises" with morweneledhwen (<3) and holy shit I really loved it. Because it's ... somehow a worse movie? Idk idk.
First of all, it seemed way more cornball and more comic-like to me, which was great. Even though the movie goes pretty dark at some points, there was a sense of crazy fun to it. It was still too long and completely over-stuffed, but had great momentum to it, perhaps because it was the last one in the series. Catwoman (who is amazingly perfect!!!) and Sexy Cop (who is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so you know you'll love him) really livened up the proceedings, and even though I don't think anyone could ever match Heath Ledger's The Joker in pure pants-pissing horror, Bane did a really great job at being utterly terrifying. And even Michael Caine as Alfred (who I've NEVER liked in that role!) reminded me that holy crap he's a great actor and gave an incredibly touching performance.
I also realized that the reason why Nolan front-loads his Batman movies with so much crap is probably because he actually really loves Batman. I could've figured that out sooner.
And yes, because I liked it so much, I'm finally willing to accept Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, not the Bruce Wayne, but a Bruce Wayne, twelve-pack-a-day Batman voice and all. So there you have it, welcome to my heart.
There's some more things I'd like to say, but can't without doing a spoiler cut, so here goes. For those who haven't seen the movie but still want to, I'll try to make it scrollable. ^^*
SPOILERS:
*I doesn't seem as if Nolan is super-interested in doing scenes with Batman. He's not at all in the first twenty minutes, and then spends two thirds of the movie trying to crawl out of a hole. XD But it makes the moments where he does show up so much more effective. He's the most important character in the movie, and he's not. It's pretty interesting.
*I think the reason I like it more was because it was cheesier. There were less boardroom meetings and more people backflipping out of windows or suffocating others with their hands. The sheer presence of a character like Catwoman (who was very organically integrated into Nolan's world) made things indefinitely better.
*Bale is always much more emotional and much less stoic than I imagine Batman to be, but it makes some sense and is fun to watch in a certain context.
*Yeah, the movie is one long terrorism analogy. And it does have kind of an uncomfortable right-wing bend, what with all those nasty poor people forming an angry mob, and all those poor rich people having to be protected by a noble billionaire. But Bane is essentially a fascist, so ... at least the movie is anti-fascist? XD
*I loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Loved. She was exactly right, a smart, competent character who is entirely self-serving, but ultimately not a bad person. And she's a woman with her own agenda instead of a love interest. After spending two movies with Snoremaster General as the female lead, this was such a breath of fresh air.
*Yes, John Blake/Sexy Cop is Robin! (Well. In a sense. XD) And it's SUPER AWESOME. He's a somewhat intense Batman fanboy like Tim, uses guns like Jason (though he's very heartbroken when he accidentally killds someone), affable like Dick, and traumatized and capable like all of them. I love it because it seems like Nolan, after seemingly being all "No, I don't want any of that silliness in my SRS BSN franchise!" finally acknowledges that yes, this character is important and integral to Batman's world. Thank you.
*The movie is also living proof that even a loner like Batman is more fun when he is palling around with his pals.
*Marion Cotillard wasn't at all like I imagine Talia to look or act, but she is great at playing sexy and mysterious, and was sufficiently crazy. And her backstory with Bane was great and unexpectedly touching.
*'twas nice to see Dr. Crane again.
*I really don't like how the Bat vehicles look in the Nolanverse, but it was fun to see Bane use all of them.
*And NOW I want a sequel with John Blake having vigilante-type shenanigans in Gotham and hanging out with orphan children, as he does.
*I'm done.
/SPOILERS
Let me explain.
I've never liked Nolan's Batman movies. Or maybe I should say that I never liked Nolan's vision for the Batman movies, because I do think they're good, but I never really liked them much. "Batman Begins" put me right to sleep, and "The Dark Knight" is occasionally brilliant, but it's hopelessly over-loaded with stuff, weirdly paced, very dry and not really fun. (Because believe it or not, I expect fun when I'm watching a Batman movie!) I did get that Nolan tried to make a sombre, very realistic, very SRS BSN version of Batman, which I respect - but as a result, his movies always lacked a certain something for me, a flourish, a sense of the crazy that should permeate Batman's world, which made both "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" very unexciting for me. (And I like subdued, slow-paced entertainment, dammit, I watch "The Wire"!)
Then, last night, I went to see "The Dark Knight Rises" with morweneledhwen (<3) and holy shit I really loved it. Because it's ... somehow a worse movie? Idk idk.
First of all, it seemed way more cornball and more comic-like to me, which was great. Even though the movie goes pretty dark at some points, there was a sense of crazy fun to it. It was still too long and completely over-stuffed, but had great momentum to it, perhaps because it was the last one in the series. Catwoman (who is amazingly perfect!!!) and Sexy Cop (who is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so you know you'll love him) really livened up the proceedings, and even though I don't think anyone could ever match Heath Ledger's The Joker in pure pants-pissing horror, Bane did a really great job at being utterly terrifying. And even Michael Caine as Alfred (who I've NEVER liked in that role!) reminded me that holy crap he's a great actor and gave an incredibly touching performance.
I also realized that the reason why Nolan front-loads his Batman movies with so much crap is probably because he actually really loves Batman. I could've figured that out sooner.
And yes, because I liked it so much, I'm finally willing to accept Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, not the Bruce Wayne, but a Bruce Wayne, twelve-pack-a-day Batman voice and all. So there you have it, welcome to my heart.
There's some more things I'd like to say, but can't without doing a spoiler cut, so here goes. For those who haven't seen the movie but still want to, I'll try to make it scrollable. ^^*
SPOILERS:
*I doesn't seem as if Nolan is super-interested in doing scenes with Batman. He's not at all in the first twenty minutes, and then spends two thirds of the movie trying to crawl out of a hole. XD But it makes the moments where he does show up so much more effective. He's the most important character in the movie, and he's not. It's pretty interesting.
*I think the reason I like it more was because it was cheesier. There were less boardroom meetings and more people backflipping out of windows or suffocating others with their hands. The sheer presence of a character like Catwoman (who was very organically integrated into Nolan's world) made things indefinitely better.
*Bale is always much more emotional and much less stoic than I imagine Batman to be, but it makes some sense and is fun to watch in a certain context.
*Yeah, the movie is one long terrorism analogy. And it does have kind of an uncomfortable right-wing bend, what with all those nasty poor people forming an angry mob, and all those poor rich people having to be protected by a noble billionaire. But Bane is essentially a fascist, so ... at least the movie is anti-fascist? XD
*I loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Loved. She was exactly right, a smart, competent character who is entirely self-serving, but ultimately not a bad person. And she's a woman with her own agenda instead of a love interest. After spending two movies with Snoremaster General as the female lead, this was such a breath of fresh air.
*Yes, John Blake/Sexy Cop is Robin! (Well. In a sense. XD) And it's SUPER AWESOME. He's a somewhat intense Batman fanboy like Tim, uses guns like Jason (though he's very heartbroken when he accidentally killds someone), affable like Dick, and traumatized and capable like all of them. I love it because it seems like Nolan, after seemingly being all "No, I don't want any of that silliness in my SRS BSN franchise!" finally acknowledges that yes, this character is important and integral to Batman's world. Thank you.
*The movie is also living proof that even a loner like Batman is more fun when he is palling around with his pals.
*Marion Cotillard wasn't at all like I imagine Talia to look or act, but she is great at playing sexy and mysterious, and was sufficiently crazy. And her backstory with Bane was great and unexpectedly touching.
*'twas nice to see Dr. Crane again.
*I really don't like how the Bat vehicles look in the Nolanverse, but it was fun to see Bane use all of them.
*And NOW I want a sequel with John Blake having vigilante-type shenanigans in Gotham and hanging out with orphan children, as he does.
*I'm done.
/SPOILERS