Seven years have come to an end — the final installment of the Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises,” was released Friday.
For many the release was bittersweet. It has been four years since the last movie “The Dark Knight,” so Bat-goers were ready for the new movie but didn’t want to see Gotham’s hero hang up his cape for good.
If you went to see the fourth “Mission Impossible” movie last year then you saw the first six minutes of the Batman movie.
The first six minutes gives the impression the entire movie will be non-stop action, but fortunately — or unfortunately, depending on your thirst for stunts and fights — a deeper story lies behind the action.
Long lulls during the middle of the movie provide necessary plot development.
THE MOVIE picks up eight years after “The Dark Knight” leaves off. Batman no longer exists and Bruce Wayne becomes a recluse. Harvey Dent is painted as a martyr and a hero — and in the eyes of the Gotham citizens, Batman is at fault for his death. But the threat of a terrorist, Bane, destroying Batman’s beloved city, forces him out of retirement.
A little insider’s tip to for seeing this movie — watch “Batman Begins”, the first movie. The movie can still be ejoyable without having seen the first movie, but for plot reasons it would be preferred.
Christian Bale, as always, pulls off Bruce Wayne aka Batman flawlessly. The audience watches as the legendary hero is broken, then they root for him as he tries to find the pieces he needs to pull himself back together.
Other veterans such as Gary Oldman as commissioner James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and notably the best Alfred since the beginning of the Batman saga in 1989 played by Michael Caine, all made their necessary appearances in the film.
Newcomers came to the movie as well. Anne Hathaway plays Selina Kyle, aka the jewel thief known as Catwoman. The role was originally played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1992 film “Batman Returns.” In “The Kark Knight Rises,” Catwoman takes on a hidden humane demeanor — not to mention the effect she will have on women around the world who will now start hitting the gym in hopes that maybe one day they, too, can can fit into that unforgiving cat-suit.
Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, all “Inception” veterans, played vital characters in the movie.
Hardy, who plays Bane, is considerably more buff — and scarier — in this movie.
Gordon-Levitt does a fantastic job growing into a foil-like character to Bruce Wayne throughout the movie, which leaves the audience begging the question of a possible spin-off with the actor.
All Bat-fans will always have their preferred Batman, whether it is Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney or the current Christian Bale. It must be noted though that out of six Batman movies, Bale was the only three-time returning character — leaving this current generation loyal to their hero.
