So I went to the premiere last night, I dunno if this was done nationally, but at the theater I attended, they screened all three of the films in sequence, with The Dark Knight Rises debuting at midnight. In sequence, it provided a whole new context and appreciation for Nolan, and what he has done with the Batman franchise. I was blown away by the Dark Knight Rises. Visually, it matches up with the other two films, the chase sequences and shots of Chicago are very epic looking to me. From a plot stand point, to see Bale act in the way he did, it was pleasing as well. While not the best actor, the man did a good job of conveying the sense of sadness and loss he has throughout the whole film.
The film picks up at the same pace of mixing philosophical conundrums as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, examining the relative morality of hero, villain, and citizen. The key component being principle, without principle, the relative moralities turn to shit. Nolan explores this more in an almost messianic way with regard to the introduction of Bain. The promised one arrives to right the fallen city of Gotham from its fall from grace. Total destruction akin to what we see God pull out in the old testament to make the earth righteous again. A black and white etched series of principles that further define how the grey area is the actual evil, those in between the outer realms of Bain and Batman are the real corruptible individuals bringing Gotham to its timely and long overdue demise.
Hathaway delivers as a sexy catwoman (would.hit), who also walks the moral line, and in the end, in typical hero fashion, her morality for the greater good out weighs her self interest (suck on that Rand). As Hathaway dives into her own psyche to explore her moral philosophies, we see Commissioner Gordon also have the same moral plight. For 8 years he's covered up the atrocious acts of Harvey Dent to keep the heroic image of the deceased District Attorney as a symbol for good and what is right, as the means to put Gothem into a plan of action where crime did reduce itself, all the while, the lie eats at him, and inevitably destroys his marriage and breaks Gordon internally. The second component of the lie being the intentions of Rachel with regard to Bruce Wayne. Wayne ways heavily on how his central theme for fighting crime was the one day he could have a normal life, and have the girl of his dreams by his side. Too distraught to reveal the truth, Alfred kept this secret from Wayne, but as the film unfolds, in a desperate attempt to keep Wayne from killing himself, Alfred comes clean with the truth: thus introducing the central moral quandary of the film - if the intent is benign, but the action isn't moral, is it justified in being carried out?
Nolan explores this postulation to the fullest of possibilities. And in Nolan esque fashion he leaves the answer up to the viewer, while at the same time layering this thought into interwoven metaphors that mimic and match the trying and difficult decisions our real life politicians make and break everyday. In the Dark Knight, Nolan seamlessly ripped apart the Bush administration for their use of the Patriot Act and the deceptive innocence that is embedded in it with regard to violation of individual privacy for the greater good of the nation. In brilliant fashion, he makes indirect mention of how regardless of political affiliations, when in power, complicated decisions like this are made and the decider stands by them. I liked how he managed to mirror the idealism of many of our politicians, like Obama, and produced a similar and eerie reproduction of when idealism and principle are set aside to protect the greater good. Is that justified? Again, Nolan leaves that up to the viewer.
Overall, the Dark Knight Rises gives me a slight glimmer of hope in an endless sea of shitty movies. I think that just maybe Hollywood has something of worth left in them, then I remember what I saw in the previews, and well, I keep trying to find that travel agent that has the weekend getaway package for Arizona Bay. Maybe one day....
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