The Dark Knight Rises review

Woohoo!! I got to watch this on Wednesday night at GSC Signatures

The epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy is finally here, after the awesome Batman Begins and the even more awesome The Dark Knight.

Is it a worthy conclusion? Read on to find out (Spoilers-free).

The new Bat signal was rather collateral-damage heavy on Gotham.

First of all, let's get it clear, this movie clocked in at 2 hours 45 minutes, before you go in, empty your bladders and get drinks. It's a long ride, not that most people will feel it.

So, anyways, without spoiling too much, the story goes like this:

8 years after the events of The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne has not donned the mantle of Batman and has become a recluse, while Miranda Tate (Marion Cottilard) has been trying to get through to Bruce regarding a free-energy project.

Meanwhile, Bane is making his way to Gotham City.

And that's all you're getting from me, revealing anymore would be detrimental to your first-time viewing.

Overall, though, I have to say that the story is not that great, especially when compared to the previous two movies. 

There were plenty of plot holes in The Dark Knight Rises, though most of it occurs in the first half of the movie, and some of the plot points took some massive leaps of logic. Also, DKR introduces a few new characters, and time is divided to introduce them to the audience.

By the halfway point, everything kicks into high gear. I only remembered the plot holes AFTER the movie.

Bane: You need to see a doctor for throat cancer.
Batman: You need a hair transplant.

But, make no mistakes, it is still an epic conclusion, and quite satisfactory. 

It is the darkest entry to date, with plenty of downer moments and deaths.

The cast is, once again, excellent at what they do.

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, has done a great job here as the older Bruce Wayne,  still feeling guilty over the incidents of The Dark Knight, particularly Harvey Dent's death. He has since become a recluse and has not moved on at all. DKR puts the emphasis back on Bruce Wayne/Batman, showing the effects being the legend has on on him and the people around him.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also excellent as John Blake, a cop who gets promoted by Commissioner Gordon to detective. His character is somewhat a symbol of idealism, not unlike the traits shared by Bruce and Gordon during their early crime fighting years. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is starting to become one of my favorite actors.

Anne Hathaway makes a very compelling Selina Kyle/Catwoman. At first, I was a bit wary when news of Christopher Nolan cast her as Catwoman, but, I had faith in his choice. After all, so far his choice of actors and actresses has not failed at all. Why should this one?

DIBS.

Anne Hathaway once again proves that she's an extremely capable actress, hopefully all the fandumb will stop crying that franchise is ruined foreverrrrrrr.

>_>

Anyways, the other big bad of the movie is Bane, played by Tom Hardy. Many people have made jokes about how ridiculous his mask looks, but personally, I thought it looked unique. And, bloody hell, certainly looks better than the last one he had.

Amigo?

I felt that Tom Hardy played a very menacing Bane, especially with that British accent and very morbid sense of humor. He is also an excellent fighter, more than a match for Batman, which is saying something, considering that Batman has that tough ass body armor to protect him.

The only problem was that Bane had not much of a personality, the movie portrays him more like a force of nature. A very terrifying and effective force of nature though. If the CIA is scared shitless of this guy, then you know he's bad news.

Then there's Miranda Tate, played by Marion Cotillard, a eco-friendly minded member on the board of directors of Wayne Enterprises. Lucius Fox and Alfred both try to make Bruce go for her so that Bruce can finally have a LIFE and be happy and move on with it.

Dibs again.

Finally, we have Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), who return as the awesome old men. Unfortunately, they have smaller roles this time around to make more screen time for Bane, Miranda and John Blake.

Which is too bad, I especially enjoyed their performances despite their short appearances.

Also! Our favorite doctor, Doctor Johnathan Crane (aka Scarecrow) has a cameo. Definitely be on the lookout for him.

Special mention also goes towards Bruce Wayne's first outing as Batman, coming out from a long retirement.

IT. IS. FUCKING. AWESOME.

It's best described by one of the senior policeman on scene, who is genre savvy enough to recognise the significance of the sudden turn of events: "You're in for a hell of a show tonight, rookie!" (paraphrased, can't remember the exact quote)

The Dark Knight Rises has a lot of action scenes, all lovingly choreographed by Christopher Nolan.

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So is it any good? Yes, yes it is. Although, out of the three movies in the trilogy, I think that The Dark Knight Rises is the worst. But, to make it clear, I love the movie, but it's really a hard act to follow after The Dark Knight and the plot for this movie is not as good as Batman Begins, and the plotholes certainly didn't help.

Make no mistake though, it's still an awesome movie.

But, here's an even bigger question: Which is better? The Avengers, or The Dark Knight Rises? Some people may say that it's not a fair comparison, but let's face it, it will come up.

In my opinion? The Avengers is the better movie.

Point Marvel Comics.

This is not from a the fact that I'm a huge Avengers fan. But it's from this viewpoint: The Avengers set out to make what is basically a superhero crossover action movie, and it succeeded in that. It was fun, and it was freaking awesome. In that sense, The Avengers is a huge success and now Marvel is practically swimming in coins ala Scrooge McDuck style.

On the other hand, The Dark Knight Rises has issues with storyline and some scenes which were, unfortunately, a bit dumb for Nolan's standard.

You can argue that The Avengers also  has some silly/dumb movie moments, but it's not exactly rooted in realism like the way Nolan handles his movies.

Still, it's a very close call, and the comparison is basically between a one-man movie and a movie which brings together an entire team of superheroes. Seems a bit unfair, huh?

Regardless, The Dark Knight Rises is an extremely satisfying ending to a trilogy that basically helped to breath new life in the superhero genre movie. This is the last of Nolan's Batman movies, and the last in which Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne.

Will it be a continuation after this? Or another reboot? Will DC finally make a Justice League movie?

We'll find out in a few years time.

In the meantime, go watch this.

The Legend Ends.

The Amazing Spider-Man review

Boom. Another reboot. Which seems to be the keyword, or disease as some people would say, in Hollywood nowadays, along with "Darker and Edgier".

We've already seen a few movies bitten by that trend (hehe), now its the webhead's turn.

Is it any good?

Actually...it's pretty damn good.

By the way, spoilers ahead. Why? Coz the movie is fucking good, and fuck you, that's why.

Does whatever a spider can!! Like super strength, super senses and combat wittiness.

Once again, they're retelling Spider-man's origin story, though this time its a little different, tying it with Oscorp and Dr. Kurt Konnors with Peter's parents, who died under mysterious circumstances.

Personally, I was a bit tired of them telling the origin story. Again. Though I had to admit, it was different enough that it did justify the retelling for a new generation of moviegoers.

Once again, Uncle Ben dies because Peter chose to not do anything about a robber who robs a jerkass store owner.

As always...Uncle Ben serves as one of the greatest father figures in fiction.

Uncle Ben's death was short and brutally tragic, he was shot by that same robber as they wrestled over a gun. He was like what...close to 50? And he still chose to do the right thing and fought with the robber.

Is there any wonder why Peter Parker is always considered the moral compass in the Marvel Universe? No matter what happens, no matter how much he has to sacrifice, Peter Parker always strive to do the right thing.

Uncle Ben's death brought a tear to my eye. And many others too I think, judging from the sobbing I heard in the cinema.

The thing that makes this movie such a compelling watch is the chemistry between the characters. Everyone interacts very well with each other, and its believable.

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy was surprisingly good.

Dibs

And she looks good too. Especially in her knee high boots, thigh high socks and boots. She looks so fineeeeeeeeee.

Oh crap...down boy...dowwwwwnnnnn.

She is definitely a better lead actress than Mary-Jane Watson in Sam Raimi's Spider-man trilogy, but that is not because Kirsten Dunst is a horrible actress (She isn't), but Mary-Jane's characterization was pretty much damsel in distress and that's pretty much it.

Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy on the other hand, is bright, brave and downright beautiful. Even after Peter warned her that the Lizard was heading her way as she was making and waiting for the antidote for the Lizard's bioweapon.

Not only that, she also cleared the entire building to avoid casualties, then set off the fire system to fill the room with some form of gas (probably to try to mask her scent). THEN, she hides in a small room with the spreading device that the Lizard was looking for while holding onto a makeshift flamethrower.

The Lizard found her and the first thing she does is to blast fire into that ugly mothafucka's face. Luckily for her, the Lizard was not interested in harming her but focusing on the device.

Holy shit. She's a badass. And I'm in love.

Then there's Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker a.k.a. (SPOILERS ALERT) Spider-Man.

At first, I had my reservations as well. How will he do in the movie?

Pretty well actually.

You seriously think I'm a cop?

Thankfully, Andrew Garfield plays him superbly. He is witty, courageous, and a good person. This version of Peter Parker is more of a loner than a geek or nerd that the traditional depictions, but well, this is an era where being a geek is, you know, pretty normal, so that depiction would be quite out of place.

Rooted in a more contemporary setting, Andrew's performance as Peter Parker is excellent. Every scene of him is a winner: his despair and guilt over Uncle Ben's death, his cockiness and witty banter as Spider-Man while trolling a poor unsuspecting car thief, the adorably cute and awkward way he interacts with Gwen Stacy, his determination at doing the right thing, the scene where he saves the little boy from the car and even the way he was so revenge-driven at finding the robber who killed his uncle is a fascinating watch.

This version of Peter Parker is even more tragic driven than the previous trilogy, and is very much in line with the comics version, taking the best of the 616-universe and the Ultimate Spider-Man version, making viewers just simply unable to take their eyes off him.

They just look so cute together

Another fantastic point about this movie is the way Peter and Gwen's relationship is handled. It's just simply beautiful, and natural. It feels less forced than Mary-Jane/Peter and very much a high school romance.

Then we have Gwen Stacy's father, George Stacy (Denis Leary), Ben and May Parker (Martin Sheen and Sally Field respectively) and Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Obviously, they get much less screentime than the two leads.

George Stacy is a very competent Captain of New York's finest, who hunts Spider-Man out of mistrust. Here, he is not hunting him for making the cops look bad, and brings up legitimate points on Spider-Man's vigilante acts: screwing up the police department's long term plans to bust a bigger operation, and extremely accurately deducts that Spider-Man was not actually helping the innocent but more concerned with hunting a specific target.

I know what goes on in your mind when you look at my daughter.
You damn perv.

This leads to Peter Parker changing his ways as he realizes how George Stacy was right about him. George Stacy even lets him go after Peter reveals his identity and begs him to let him go so that he can go stop The Lizard. Hell, he even comes to Peter's rescue (with a BOOMSTICK!!) after The Lizard was on the verge of crushing Peter's skull.

Unfortunately, George was impaled by The Lizard's claws and died and he made Peter promise that he will leave Gwen alone to keep her safe.

At first, Peter kept to that promise, and Gwen knew that he was doing it because of her father. But towards the end, Peter hinted that he could not keep that promise.

I'm a little torn up by that actually. On one hand, not keeping the promise felt like a slap in the face to the memory of George Stacy; on the other hand, I felt that with all the tragedies in his life, does Peter Parker not deserve some happiness in his life?

It's a dilemma for me.

So here's a cute little kitten to elevate the mood.

Anyways.....

Then, of course, you have Ben and May Parker, both excellently portrayed as well, showing how much they care for Peter after his parents had to leave him there for his own safety. Martin Sheen's portrayal as Ben Parker is especially noteworthy: he is shown to be extremely loving and a good person, and his death was just heart-wrenching. 

Obviously, we all know his death was coming. It was inevitable, but the way it was portrayed was short, brutal, unceremonious and tear-jerking. The scene worked extremely well within the context of the movie and never goes into narm territory.

Finally, we have the villain: Dr. Curt Connors. 

As Dr. Connors, Rhys Ifans was a compelling watch, he is actually more of a man driven to desperation to test the serum on himself because he wanted to spare others the fate of being unwilling test subjects. His interaction with Peter and his feelings of in-adequateness over the loss of his limb are stand out points.

However, as The Lizard...well...yea. Frankly, I felt that The Lizard was a let down.

It's not the CGI though. 

Green with envy

The CGI used to bring The Lizard to life on the silverscreen is well...Not that great, but frankly it could be a lot worse. And in the first place, he's a difficult character to animate in real life, so it's understandable.

The problem is that The Lizard's motivation was a bit well...unmotivated. 

So, Curt Connors pushed the serum into himself, gets turned into a giant reptile monster, then somehow suddenly decides to gas all of humanity to bring out their full potential?

Erm...yea. Not that convincing really. Granted, as Dr. Connors, he talked about how he wanted to help humanity so that everyone will be equal and not alone, so there is a bit of foreshadowing going on there, but still the insanity that followed was a bit too forced.

The action scenes are FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. 

They actually show Spider-Man using his athletics, super agility, his webshooting and his environment to his advantage, not just plain fisticuffs or kicking. 

I especially loved the scene where Spider-Man was held at gunpoint, and he just dodged all the bullets and managed to get away.

There's also this scene (pic above) where Peter makes a makeshift web in the sewers to try to hunt The Lizard. I found it a very oddly mesmerizing scene

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Honestly, I was a bit hesitant with the reboot of Spider-Man, but I love this movie a lot, its much closer to a character drama than Sam Raimi's trilogy and it makes it a lot more compelling to watch.

The only significant downfall is that The Lizard was not really a good villain, so I hope the sequel will do a better job at it.

The Amazing Spider-Man will make you cry tears of laughter and sadness, and it will also amaze you (hehe) with its action and mellow moments.

It's not going to be an epic like The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises, but I believe that this movie stands strong among the year of comic book epics.

A definite must watch for comic book fans. Especially in IMAX.