The Dark Knight Rises is the third installment in the Chris Nolan Batman Trilogy. I was a good ending to a saga that began 7 years ago, in my life. I have always enjoyed super heros movies; Superman, Spiderman, Ironman, Hulk and all the other Avenger greats. I even enjoyed the Keaton, Kilmer and, dare I say, Clooney Batman Movies. But, they had the comic book feel, which made the movies fun and enjoyable. They were colorful, whimsical, and funny. They were a good escape. But, Chris Nolan’s Batman was different. It was real. It was dark, sexy, cruel, clever, complex and tragic at times. This last movie did its job. It tide up the loose ends and concluded the trilogy brilliantly.
But, I had a few issues with the movie on its own. One issue I had was it just didn’t have the typical Batman'”swagger’ of the other two movies. The first, Batman Begins, told you how it all started and the second, The Dark Knight was all about the Joker and the greatness that was Heath Ledger (r.i.p.). In both films, Bruce Wayne’s persona was so radically different from The Batman. It made sense and it was familiar.
This movie, Bruce Wayne was a little sad. He was in pain for most of the movie, he didn’t dominate the fights, he didn’t have the coolest toys. He was angry, but he didn’t know how to use it to his advantage.
The second issue I had was it didn’t have enough gadgets. Lucious only showed us a couple of cool new things. One was a new aircraft called the Bat. It looked more like a small version of the alien ship in The Battleship Movie; not slick and ominous like the batmobile. There was one scene where Bruce Wayne was walking the red carpet at a charity event and he used an electromagnetic pulse to shut off the paparazzi’s cameras. That was pretty cool. Nice dig at the paparazzi. Good one Mr. Nolan.
Nevertheless, I am a stickler for patterns and they didn’t show up in this one. But, I enjoyed it for what is was. The end of a story and an end of an era. Now for the quotes:
Bane: We are introduced to the evil Bane from the beginning scenes. Is it just me or does he sound like Sean Connery? Read the quotes with that voice in mind.
“Gotham, take control . . take control of your city. Behold, the instrument of your liberatation! Identify yourself to the world!”
“No one cared who I was, until I put on the mask.” The mask was a character itself.
“Calm down, Doctor! Now’s not the time for fear. That comes later.”
“When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die.”
Captain Jones: “I’ll die before I talk.”
Bane: “I’m on your schedule, captain.” Bane was actually pretty clever.
Roland Daggett: “You’re pure evil!”
Bane: ” I’m necessary evil.” Bane was one evil bad ass.
Seline Kyle (Catwomen): Anne Hathaway was a good catwomen. She was helped by the outfit and the stunt coordinator, but she had the right attitude and her voice when she delivering the lines was really cool.
“There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
Jim Gordon: He was always one of my favorite characters because he loved his city of Gotham and no one said “The Batman” better then him.
“We were in this together, and then you were gone. Now this evil . . rises. The Batman has to come back.”
Bruce Wayne (Batman): Like I said, he was a little sad at times in this film. He switched between, being a hero, to focusing on the greater good, to cocky savior. It was a little confusing.
“This city needs me.”
“I need you to get me back in the game.”
“Tell me where the trigger is. Then . . . you have my permission to die!”
Lucious Fox: Another one of my all time favorites. Lucious had the morals and the toys.
“I call him The Bat, and yes Mr. Wayne it does come in black.”
What did you think of the The Dark Knight Rises? Did it meet your expectations? What was your favorite quote?
Sydney Aaliyah Michelle 
I haven’t seen it (or the other two), but I’m super curious about them all now. I suppose I need to start with the first one to really get a sense of character and story, or can I just jump into this one? I was hoping Anne Hathaway did a good job, I love her so much and there were rumblings in the beginning when she was cast. Great review!
Hey Tameri. You don’t have to see them all to get this one. In fact, if I didn’t have the feel of the others to compare and the high expectations, then I would probably think different. But, as a movie fan, you have got to see the second one. Heath Ledger as The Joker is just a legendary performance. Anne did a good job. She was smart, sassy and tough. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Hi Aaliyah, loved the post. I have to be honest here. I wasn’t a big fan of the movie, though I have seen it twice. Too many plot holes. Here are few: (DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE AS THERE ARE SPOILERS)
We discover early on he has no cartilage in his knees, shoulders or elbows, but later we catch a quick scene where he’s wearing a single leg brace (not on the other leg, elbows, or shoulders, mind you) and able to smash a brick wall with a kick… Hmmm, suspect. More suspect after he’s had his late night nikki nakki noo with Ms. Tate, stands up, and walks away fine and dandy – without the leg brace. And, wow, if he could smash a brick wall, I’m sure a kick to Bane’s knee would have snapped it in half? It’s like the plot point (injury/illness/weakness) existed so he had a reason to get into Gordon’s hospital room… or as a method for the viewer to feel sorry for him.
And then, later on, in “the pit”, after escaping Bruce found himself in a foreign country, with no money to his name. But, he still manages to get home?
How about the end? 3 minutes on the clock to go; Gotham City is about to be turned to ash; millions of people dead. Very exciting chase, to stop the truck carry the thermonuclear device. But, once they’ve stopped the truck, rather than grabbing that device and flying off (with time to spare, I may add) Batman feels it necessary to stand and listen to Ms. Tate spit her last breath and give her last little lecture (BTW worst death scene in the history of movies right there!)… tick tock, tick tock. Oh, but wait, then Selina Kyle wants her little goodbye… tick tock, tick tock… oh, but then he has to have a quick chat with Gordon… tick tock, tick tock… Where did the urgency go? LOL.
The first one was terrific; the second, in my opinion, perfect… the third… so, so.
Anyway, I could go on forever with this movie; I’ve seen it twice, and couldn’t help picking out all the inconsistencies. Anne Hathaway was seriously hot, though; loved the heels. 😉
Hi Darren. I wish you had gone to see the movie with my friends and I. We had the exact same discussion after the movie. I never thought of that point about his escape from the Pit, but you are right. And, the kiss goodbye infuriated me. So annoying.
I am right there with you, second movie was perfect and was a hard act to follow.
I will see it again though. These movies, you just have to.
Thanks for your comments and the spoiler warning. Great stuff.