Okay, this will have to be brief as it is 3:30am, and I’m exhausted. But the new Batman movie is a strange phenomenon with people in line when I left the theater at 3am. People were in line to see this movie at the crack of dawn. It was amazing.
I will do away with what was bad. Bane was a ridiculous villain, mostly because of that damn mask, and well, he just would not seem like the penultimate anti-hero. Sure he was there for iconic scenes from the comic book, but as a main villain he was subpar at best. He was supposed to be a hulking brute, not a criminal mastermind (CORRECTION: Thanks to Roy for pointing out that Bane was a criminal mastermind. Damn “Batman Robin” movie ruining everything that is good and just in the world.). Then there was Catwoman, and the bad thing about her was that there was NOT enough of her. I wanted more Anne Hathaway, doing what she does best. Finally, the overall feel of the movie. This is a long ass movie, and I think it needed all that time in there, but it just could have been paced better. I was interested throughout, but yeah, the reintroduction of Batman just seemed lackluster, and some plot points seemed to fall short.
Now onto the good stuff. Fan service everywhere with nods to the comic books throughout. Throw away comments here and there smiled at those in the know and it was definitely nice to see those little geeky easter eggs. Commissioner Gordon was all over the place, and I liked it. Gary Oldman got to flex his chops as one of the best Gotham PD has to offer, and it showed. The Batman, Alfred dynamic was great, Christian Bale used less raspy voice for a much more fun Batman. Then there’s the guy that came out of left field with Joseph Gordon Levitt who I cheered for from the beginning. Such a good guy.
via – WhoGotTheRole.com
The way that all three movies are interwoven, as I did see the special trilogy screening in theaters, and I have to admit, it was golden. Sure if you were following the Dark Knight Rises news and spoilers you kind of knew what was going on and what was going to happen, but did not make any scene less impressive. All around it was a great movie with a great cast, everyone getting time in the sunlight and showing off their strength as actors and actresses.
My final positive thing about the movie, which was a huge complaint in the past, were the blurry fight scenes. In this film, you can see the Batman fight the baddies with a stationary camera watching all the action. The only problem is, you can see how slow Christian Bale is with his martial arts, so it is not as convincing as the blurry cam from Batman Begins.
A fascinating, if not long story, crazy fans, plenty of easter eggs, and…oh wait, I didn’t get to the absolute best part. The ending! The final minutes of the film were worth the journey alone. It was a fantastic way to finish a trilogy, especially one as complex and fun as Batman. Things happen for a reason, and if I didn’t know this was going to be the last film, I would have thought more would be made.
Go watch it now. I’m going to watch it again. I’m giving it 8 batarangs out 10.
UPDATE: Unfortunately, also tragedy struck for this premiere as people lost their lives trying to watch this movie. An event no one could see coming, and our prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones this morning.
