In a time where trilogies is the law for anything and everything that hits a screen in the form of a comic or large scale book, TDKR is able to stand individually from its predecessors, quite much as TDK did too. This is a very unusual achievement, considering how coined together trilogies are. Let's take for instance the X-Men trilogy: sooner or later, at any point of each of the films, you'll be able to expect some fights between mutants and humans, mutants vs humans, with no drama or character development; just as much you would expect to see epic battles when viewing the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
It is safe to say that the main plot of Batman Begins was the birth and growth of Bruce Wayne's emotions and how he became what he was destined to be. In The Dark Knight, we get to appreciate a more mature Batman, who is symbol of justice in a city that is plagued by crime and threatned by the Joker. So without giving too much away about the plot, in TDKR we see a more human face of all the characters we are used to see solving and fighting crime. It is in essence, a more emotional and drama-driven film.
The main antagonist Bane, is intimidating and convincing. Although he doesn't "steal the show" as much as Ledger's Joker did, he can definitely hold his own as every time he shows up on screen, he does become the focus of attention. However, something to be noticed is that in my percepcion, Bane is not the real villian in the movie; instead, it is the environment, the settlement, the adversities that Batman and Bruce must face, in form of his friends and enemies. All of these emotions are piled up and THAT is the real main antagonist of the film. We see a struggling Batman who tries over and over to overcome them.
The cast is exceptional and I would like to discuss a little bit about them.
Batman/Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale): Spectacular and extremely convincing in both roles. There is no doubt like in the past two films, whether if Bale was a better Batman or Wayne. In TDKR, both characters have grown up to full maturity, and Bale portrays them as humans, even fragile... seeking that normal life they have always wanted to live.
Bane (Tom Hardy): The person I went to see the movie made a statement everyone is aware of. It's almost impossible to surpass Ledger's Joker, therefore, it is unfair to compare Bane with the Joker. Bane is solid in the movie and he is a forced to be reckoned every time he appears. My only complaint would be that he didn't seem as "genius" as the comics portray him. He did seem really smart and intelligent, but I think it would have been better to show him not only as clever and strong, but also as brilliant as he is.
Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway): I love Anne, I'm in love with her, I would like to date her, go to the beach... everything; but, I have to say she is the weak link of the movie. She's not bad per se, but between her Catwoman and Michelle Pfeiffer's, I take Michelle's any day of the week. Anne just looks "too nice" to be Catwoman. Don't get me wrong, she looks mean, but not mean enough. She doesn't look INSANE like Michelle did, like that memorable scene when she is in bed with the penguin and she licks herself because she "feels dirty"... I mean that WAS MEMORABLE. Anne also doesn't look as physically fit as Michelle did. Her fighting scenes are a bit forced. Moreover, the scenes showing her relation with Bruce/Batman also seem very forced. Like I said, she does a very good job, but it could have been way better.
Alfred (Michael Caine): You just can't go wrong with Michael Caine. Alfred is solid and he is seen as a rock to Bruce. He looks very very human and emotional, even "tired" of seeing the suffering of his master, and wishing the best for him.
Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman): Same as above. Great job as Batman's only friend and Gotham's only defender.
Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman): Another easy apple. Fox is that great leader Bruce trusts his company with. It would have been a bit cooler to develop the subplot of the company's losses, but I guess there was too much going on, so it's ok.
Miranda Tate (Marion Cotilliard): An excellent character, well thought and achieved, who connects really well with the audience. Marion once again proves how great actress she is and never dissappoints. Her final scenes are both shocking and breathtaking.
James Blake (Joseph Gordon Hewitt): The unexpected pleasant surprise of the film. Great performance as he never feels intimidated by anyone else. He hold his own with any of the main characters and shows that he has a promising future.
The Judge/Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane (Cylian Murphy): My favorite character of the film. It's hillarious when he shows up and a real pity he didn't get more screen time. He portrays, sadism, cinism, sociopathy, madness, dehumanization at the same time, yet the audience is able to like him.
Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn): Does a good job.
...and finally, we also have to review the director...
Christopher Nolan: Great job overall with the script and direction. Like I mentioned earlier, my only complaint is the fight scenes with Catwoman. Whereas Pfeiffer was a threatning presence when she was onscreen, Anne is not. It's obvious that if you overanalyze the plot of the movie in great detail, you'll be able to find countless flaws, but you have to keep in mind that this is a three hour film and more importantly and at the end of the day... it is a comic film.
...now about the plot of the movie
Spoilers coming
For a comic movie, the plot is convincing and very good. Like I said, keep an open mind and stick to the Gotham City universe and you'll be fine. The movie doesn't have or need to reflect any sense of the real world or portray real life incidents.
I know it's hard to please everybody and it is likely that if the movie have had a different ending, it would have generated a group of people complaining about it... so to each its own....
I particularly would have preferred:
1) Batman/Bruce dying or...
having his fate left up to the viewer, like an ambiguous ending (like the one in The Thing). Maybe have the Florence scene just with Alfred looking up and smiling, without showing him, unless you believe that was a dream... but I may be complicating things.
2) I don't think it was necessary to mention Robin. It was enough to show Blake arriving at the Batcave, as it was easy to understand he was taking over the Batman legacy.
3) Sorry but I have to say it again. I prefer Pfeiffer's dark, exotic, mysterious, "I feel dirty and clean myself licking myself" Catwoman. Anne was just too nice.
4) Jim should have kept Batman's identity to himself
That being said, overall great movie that earns a solid 8.0/10 in my book.
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