The Dark Knight Rises
Jul. 29th, 2012 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkWARNING: Extremely UNpopular opinion below. You have been warned!
*puts up giant flame shield*
The Dark Knight Rises
I didn't make it a secret that I've been waiting for this movie for a while. I've loved Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception, so I was thrilled to see the final installment in the Dark Knight trilogy.
...but I just couldn't say that I liked the movie.
1. I just didn't feel an emotional core in this movie. No one really changed; Bruce Wayne's "rise" to the top of the pit wasn't as emotional as it should have been, nor did he have any sort of emotional epiphany. John Blake could have been the protagonist (if we take the definition of protagonist as "a character who changes"), if he went from a non-believer in Batman to a believer, but he didn't. I don't know what changed Bruce Wayne's mind so that he chose to live the rest of his life in France (?) with Catwoman; I don't know how he found peace with himself.
2. Unexpectedly, for a director/writer who's known for incredibly tight plotting, the story of TDKR just felt all over the place and really stretched my suspension of disbelief past the breaking point. Whereas I thought that the plot of Batman Begins and TDK were realistic, TDKR's plot felt overblown. An entire city held hostage, all the bridges to the city blown up, a nuclear bomb that can blow Gotham sky-high...yeah, it just didn't gel with me. I also hated how Batman had to "sacrifice" himself to carry the bomb out over the water. I thought it was incredibly clichéd. I just don't buy the whole "you have to kill off your protagonist in order to have a 'serious' story" idea. (I was going to feel incredibly cheated if Batman actually died.)
I like the execution of the ending, but I'm not a fan of the way they chose to end the story. And I still don't get Bane's motivation, and I don't get why Talia al-Ghul wanted so badly to finish what her father started. Was she really that close to him? (Also, was that rapid seduction scene in the beginning really necessary?)
I didn't like the way Alfred disappeared halfway through the film, and I also thought that there would have been more reaction from the people of Gotham after the truth about Harvey Dent was revealed, because that's huge. (I also thought it was pretty damn depressing that Gordon isn't living with his family anymore...what happened to Gordon's daughter becoming Batgirl/Oracle?)
3. Where were the symbolism and the deep insights into human nature that I've come to expect from Christopher Nolan? After the ending of TDK, I fully expected TDKR to have a scene where the people of Gotham come to Batman's aid, showing the reason why superheroes are necessary in the first place. In the end, I really don't know what TDKR was trying to say. I like the idea that the Batman legacy will always continue, regardless of who the Batman is, but that's pretty much the only thing I liked.
4. I thought the first half of the movie was incredibly slow. (Maybe it's because it felt like the plot was meandering and not very focused.)
On the plus side, I did enjoy Selina Kyle's character. But my initial reaction at the end of the movie was mixed feelings, with disappointment foremost.
*puts up giant flame shield*
The Dark Knight Rises
I didn't make it a secret that I've been waiting for this movie for a while. I've loved Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception, so I was thrilled to see the final installment in the Dark Knight trilogy.
...but I just couldn't say that I liked the movie.
1. I just didn't feel an emotional core in this movie. No one really changed; Bruce Wayne's "rise" to the top of the pit wasn't as emotional as it should have been, nor did he have any sort of emotional epiphany. John Blake could have been the protagonist (if we take the definition of protagonist as "a character who changes"), if he went from a non-believer in Batman to a believer, but he didn't. I don't know what changed Bruce Wayne's mind so that he chose to live the rest of his life in France (?) with Catwoman; I don't know how he found peace with himself.
2. Unexpectedly, for a director/writer who's known for incredibly tight plotting, the story of TDKR just felt all over the place and really stretched my suspension of disbelief past the breaking point. Whereas I thought that the plot of Batman Begins and TDK were realistic, TDKR's plot felt overblown. An entire city held hostage, all the bridges to the city blown up, a nuclear bomb that can blow Gotham sky-high...yeah, it just didn't gel with me. I also hated how Batman had to "sacrifice" himself to carry the bomb out over the water. I thought it was incredibly clichéd. I just don't buy the whole "you have to kill off your protagonist in order to have a 'serious' story" idea. (I was going to feel incredibly cheated if Batman actually died.)
I like the execution of the ending, but I'm not a fan of the way they chose to end the story. And I still don't get Bane's motivation, and I don't get why Talia al-Ghul wanted so badly to finish what her father started. Was she really that close to him? (Also, was that rapid seduction scene in the beginning really necessary?)
I didn't like the way Alfred disappeared halfway through the film, and I also thought that there would have been more reaction from the people of Gotham after the truth about Harvey Dent was revealed, because that's huge. (I also thought it was pretty damn depressing that Gordon isn't living with his family anymore...what happened to Gordon's daughter becoming Batgirl/Oracle?)
3. Where were the symbolism and the deep insights into human nature that I've come to expect from Christopher Nolan? After the ending of TDK, I fully expected TDKR to have a scene where the people of Gotham come to Batman's aid, showing the reason why superheroes are necessary in the first place. In the end, I really don't know what TDKR was trying to say. I like the idea that the Batman legacy will always continue, regardless of who the Batman is, but that's pretty much the only thing I liked.
4. I thought the first half of the movie was incredibly slow. (Maybe it's because it felt like the plot was meandering and not very focused.)
On the plus side, I did enjoy Selina Kyle's character. But my initial reaction at the end of the movie was mixed feelings, with disappointment foremost.
