Movie Review: "The Dark Knight Rises"

- by Ninja Ross & The Rajun Cajun, 23 July 2012

The Trash Mutants all have many different interests and things we are into. But when two Trash Mutants both see one kickass movie, then you better believe you're gonna get a special team-up movie review! And this ain't no ordinary movie, either. Ninja Ross and The Rajun Cajun talk about the latest and last installment of Christopher Nolan's acclaimed epic Batman trilogy - "The Dark Knight Rises"! We can hardly contain the excitement! Did they like the movie? Did it live up to the expectations? Check it out!

Rajun Cajun: I thought the opening was fun. I dug the shaky-cam. Hans Zimmer's Bane music was fantastic. And Bane looked cool, but I had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to his voice, though.

Ninja Ross: His voice was my only problem with Bane. He sounded like Patrick Stewart doing a bad impression of Sean Connery. But Tom Hardy's acting skills, Nolan's directing and Zimmer's soundtrack help to make up for that, giving Bane the menacing presence you'd expect from him.

RC: It wasn't the dialect that was bad, to me. It was that the volume of his voice sounded... off? I don't know, it sounded like his voice was on a different track than the rest of the other characters if that makes sense.

NR: It does make sense, actually. Sort of like he was sitting in the theatre speaking, rather than in the film.

RC: I was afraid of Bane more so than any other Batman villain produced in these films so far, and that was all because of Hardy's take on the character. He played it off so organically and realistically to the point where you can actually see a terrorist do the stuff he did in the real world.

NR: I agree, Bane is way scarier than Joker, Ra's and Scarecrow. He was surprisingly realistic. I watched Bronson the night before so I was ready for Tom Hardy to play a scary tough guy but he really hit it out of the park.

RC: Exactly. It's like the editors put his voice on after the fact, and it didn't feel very organic. I've never actually  seen  Bronson,  but his  performance  in Warrior actually  reminded me  of his take  on Bane,  and I thought it was very well done. I'll admit that I was a little concerned that they didn't go with the luchdor mask he wore in the books, but I think the mask he wore in the movie worked better because you saw his eyes. Hardy's performace was all in the eyes, in my opinion.

NR: So much malice in those eyes! He managed to make his portrayal of Bane true to the book without even wearing the right costume! But, in my opinion, it was Bane that made this movie. As great as Bale is, he was the least interesting actor in this one.

Tom Hardy as Bane, here pictured looking creepy and sitting with his back turned to the viewer.

RC: It's always the villains that make the movie when it comes to Batman, and this one's no exception. I wouldn't say he was the least interesting per se, but he wasn't as attention grabbing as Alfred, Catwoman, Bane, or Officer Blake.

NR: He wasn't even in it as much as they were, thinking about it.

RC: Yeah, the movie didn't really focus on him as much as Begins or TDK did. This one was all Bane and the people of Gotham. I think we can both agree that when Batman was doing his thing, he made a bigger impact than the other characters.

NR: Heck yeah, he did. In my opinion it fitted with the story; when Gotham needed him the most, he was there for them.

RC: In a big bad way. What struck me as a bit odd was the time frame in this movie. It took place 8 years after  the  last one. You  mean  to tell  me that  during those  8  years, Gotham  was  absolutely  crime-free? I mean, even with the way they explained it, it felt a little too convenient for my taste.

NR: I agree. What was the Dent Act? They didn't even explain it! It was just "Yeah, the Dent Act is better than Batman."

RC: That was really the only plot point I had a problem with, to be honest. Other than that, the story was fantastic. A very biblical ending to a very strong franchise. What did you think of Catwoman?

NR: The fact that I wasn't distracted by Catwoman's outfit means that the story and the acting was incredible! But seriously, she was great. I love how it wasn't over done. She didn't spend every second of her screen time telling people she was a cat. That was always my problem with the character, to be honest; her obsessive need to make cat references.

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, sitting with her back turned to the viewer. We promise this isn't one of the movie's themes.

RC: Absolutely.
Even better, Nolan’s got a firm grip on the people of Gotham. Some of the best characters in this movie weren't wearing costumes, they were wearing police badges. Of course I'm referring to both Commissioner Gordon and the newcomer, Officer Blake.

NR: Yes, those two were pretty great. Fleshed out and easy to relate to. But even the police extras were great. It really felt like Gotham had an army of loyal police officers willing to lay down their lives.

RC: Especially during the climax. When the whole thing builds up, you actually feel like everything's truly at stake, in a realistic manner.

NR: A medieval war in modern day.
I'd like to mention the amount of actors with barely any screen time. And these actors aren't really small time, either
You've got Reggie Lee as a cop who barely says anything, Brett Cullen as the Congressman, Aiden Gillan as the CIA operative, Burn Gorman as Stryver, Robert Wisdom as Army Captain and Desmond Harrington as uniform. All of these actors are well known faces (Gillan and Gorman are fairly big in Britain) and they played their small yet vital roles perfectly.

RC: I agree, the acting was top notch on all fronts!
The "Batplane" bothered me a bit. Nolan's universe here was so realistic, and that's why we never got villains like Ivy, Clayface, or Freeze, for example. Then out of nowhere we get a freaking hovercraft. That kind of distracted me; not because of the plane itself (it was totally awesome), but because it took the realism out of the movie for me. Either go all out fantasy, or go for realism. Ya can't do both Nolan!

NR: I didn’t really think about "The Bat" that way. Way to ruin it for me! But I see your point, it was a bit out of place.

RC: Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to ruin it for you... but we can both agree that it was awesome!

NR: Oh yeah, it was truly awesome.
So we can both agree that this film was a near perfect blend of Knightfall and No Man’s Land.

RC: Oh yes, what they took from Knightfall was brilliantly done. I've never read No Man's Land personally, but I'll take your word for it.

SPOILER-FILLED SECTION AHEAD!

RC: Alright. First thing's first. The Ghul's. What was your take on Ra's Al Ghul and Talia's role in the story?

NR: It was pretty awesome. I didn't do a whole lot of thinking during the movie so the reveal of Talia's character took me by surprise. I thought it was well done and the change from peace lover to evil villain was seamless.

RC: Not only did I love their part in the story, but the fact that the Nolan’s and Goyer went back to the roots in Batman Begins made it so much better. He really tied that loose end, and that alone scores a lot of points from my end.

NR: Yes, the connections were great. Added a lot of depth to the trilogy.
What did you think of Levitt's big reveal?

RC: I called it from the freaking getgo! First, when they announced a huge name like Joseph Gordon Levitt, my instinct told me "Ok, you don't cast someone like that and expect him to play a tiny part." Then, when he discussed his upbringings, I said "Hey, that sounds really similar to a certain Boy Wonder's origin. Then in one of those last scenes when they said Robin I lost it!

NR: It was freaking awesome, my cheeks hurt from grinning! And when he swings into the Batcave? I wanted a Robin movie...

RC: I say skip Robin, and go straight to Nightwing! Nolan always said he didn't want to do a straight-up Robin in his franchise, and the way he presented that character was fantastic. Of all the characters in the movie, he was my absolute favorite.

NR: Heck yeah, Nightwing! Nolan did a fantastic job with the trilogy and added the perfect end with this film.

RC: Oh yes. THAT ENDING.

NR: THAT FREAKING ENDING!

RC: I didn't want it to happen (as many people speculated), but it happened. And when it happened, it was done tastefully, and like I said before, absolutely biblical.

NR: It was pure Batman. He'd give anything for Gotham. And the reason the shot of him having a drink at the table across from Alfred is obviously a fantasy is that Wayne would never give up being Batman unless he truly had to.

RC: Batman died for their sins. He's the damned Messiah. I can see those debates now. Die-hard fanboys will insist that Bruce was alive at the cafe, but we both know that wasn't real. Something that I personally loved about the ending was Wayne's small funeral. something about seeing his tombstone beside his mother and father's was eerily comforting. It says "He did it. He did it, and they'd be so proud of him." And Alfred's look and tone during that scene was excellent.

NR: It was done right, pure and simple. It wasn't tacky and it wasn't over the top.

RC: Couldn't agree more. I'll even go as far as saying that this franchise as a whole is just as (or even more) awe-inspiring as Batman stories such as Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns," Loeb's "The Long Halloween," and even Moore's "The Killing Joke."

NR: Oh, definitely. This trilogy is going right up there as one of Batman's defining stories.

RC: So how does this movie rank on your scale?

NR: Hmmm... out of 10, I'll give it an 8. It had its problems and it's by no means a perfect movie, but I think it's about as close to perfect as a Batman movie will ever get. You?

RC: As much as I loved this movie, it certainly does have its flaws, as I've stated above. I can't give it the perfect score of A+, but I'll give it an A for being the great ending to an even better franchise.

GO WATCH THIS.

Disagree with our Trash Mutants on the ending of the film? Let them know in the comments!

Tagged: movies & tv, Reviews.

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