The Dark Knight Rises 2012
Key:
TDK: The Dark Knight
TDKR: The Dark Knight Rises
Just Seen.... The Dark Knight Rises***

Well
we always knew The Dark Knight would be a hard act to follow, I mean
how could it not? The most successful superhero film of it's time
grossing over a billion and also a Academy Award wining superhero film,
how often does that happen? It pushed the boundaries of what can be
achieved with the genre and left the audience wanting more.... then we
got it.
SPOILER ALERT:
ANYONE NOT SEEN THE FILM STOP READING NOW
As a stand alone film The Dark Knight Rises is great, its faults rise (No pun intended) because it’s part of trilogy. When I say faults I referring mainly to contradictions from the other two films, which is gob smacking when this is still Nolan’s baby. How could it go wrong?
Let’s start small (Well city size actually) after two films set in Chicago as the back drop of Gotham now we’ve moved to New York? Mainly because it fits his story better, common sense no but “his” story yes. The New York setting works better for a siege movie (An example being err… The Siege 1998) which is basically the second half of the film. That’s one bonus but the downside i.e. continuity is out the window then. This tactic of connivance continues throughout the film where writing decisions were made that don’t honor the film’s past narrative in order to fit this new story.

Let’s move on to theme, the previous film concluded when that the heroes had won the battle but lost the war. They stopped the Joker and killed Two Face but before he died Two Face’s actions would mean all the criminals Harvey Dent has persecuted would be back on the streets. In order to prevail they leave the moral ground behind to make a victory out a lie and Batman takes the blame for the Two Face murders so the criminals stay behind bars. Here the lie which has secured Gotham’s safety kept hundreds of villains behind bars, finished off organized crime and left the hell hole which used to be Gotham now crime free for eight years! This is great surely? Apparently not, it’s become a lie which is tormenting Bruce and Gordon for years now, the results are taking their toll.
"Batman has become a
bearded, crippled recluse…
now that’s the superhero
I’ve been waiting four years to see"


Well that’s what I thought so I was surprised when another contradiction comes to the surface. At the end of the film Batman sacrifices himself and saves the whole city! A hero! Blake tells Gordon that the millions of people who Batman saved deserve to know that it was in fact Bruce Wayne who sacrificed himself and had been the one serving and protecting them all these years! Gordon decides it better to lie about it and not tell the truth…. Ok…. Right well lesson learnt then Commissioner.

"She’s never actually
called or referred to
(That I recall) as Catwoman?"
Then
there’s Catwoman.... ahhh yes Catwoman, but hold on she’s never
actually called or referred to (That I recall) as Catwoman? But anyway
forget that. As far as anti heroes or femme fatales go surely this has
to be one of the most evil? Bruce Wayne doesn’t agree in fact when he
confronts her upon his return from prison his almost charming with her.
This may be down to the old sayings like; forgive and forget, life’s too
short… yeah maybe… perhaps I’m just being too harsh. I mean all she did
was steal his deceased mother’s necklace (That she was coincidentally
murdered for), bankrupt his Multi-Million Dollar Global business, force
him into a trap with Bane which results in him having his back broken
then abducted, dumped in horrific prison for six months whilst he
beloved Gotham is blown up and it’s people murdered on a daily basis.
But even then good old Bruce tells her he sees “good in her”… really?
Where the hell is he looking? Surely not into the eyes of the hundreds
of thousands of innocent people that have been wiped out through Bane’s
insane genocide because of her actions……? But hey she looks nice in her
skin tight outfit so cares hey Bruce?
Look
I could go on and on, the point being third films are always tricky. I
suppose the tactic should be to make a rubbish sequel then your third
film seems great? But they didn’t. The Dark Knight hit all the right
notes possibly beyond their own expectations and The Dark Knight Rises
had to follow. And how do you beat the predecessor? Well Jonathan Nolan
said at the European Premiere at Leicester Square
you got to make it “bigger and better”. That doesn’t guarantee that a
film’s going to be successful. The story should, every time it
should, because everything else is subsequently built upon it.
Here they really worked on story and went over board for spectacle. The substance got a little lost and the factors that really worked in other films were absent in this. The prime example is Batman! I think he only makes three appearances in his suit, whilst the first half we have the bearded crippled recluse. However it’s with great irony the franchise got buried with the arrival of Batman and Robin and this one finishes with the introduction of the latter....
Here they really worked on story and went over board for spectacle. The substance got a little lost and the factors that really worked in other films were absent in this. The prime example is Batman! I think he only makes three appearances in his suit, whilst the first half we have the bearded crippled recluse. However it’s with great irony the franchise got buried with the arrival of Batman and Robin and this one finishes with the introduction of the latter....
Outcome

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