It’s common for Hollywood movies to be dark, to leave you thinking, and to have depressed endings. That was very true for The Dark Knight (2008) when Batman had to take his first life, Harvey Dent aka Two Face. The typical Hollywood ending did not apply, though, to The Dark Knight Rises.
It’s a rare thing for me to leave a movie happy, filled with joy, and hope. That’s exactly what Christopher Nolan’s final Batman installment did.
With the story of Bruce Wayne (Batman), his life is full of anger, vengeance, justice, and morning. His life never seemed to end happily, always continuing on the dark road. Nolan, with his talent in movies, gave Bruce Wayne the happy ending that he never had.
The movie, is far more than the ending. It’s comparable to our current state in this world with ecominc woes and uncertainty. Bane’s plan for Gotham was to fill hope and dreams to the people of Gotham and then crush them when they least expect it. Tom Hardy may have worn a mask but the expressions of the eyes of the villain were incredible. His voice was unique but clear. His performance was no Heath Ledger, it was all Tom Hardy.
Catwoman played an amazing manipulative role in both the fall and the saving of Gotham. I will admit, I had much concern about Anne Hathaway playing Selina Kyle, just as much as I thought Heath Ledger wouldn’t deliver the role of the joker well. Both instances, I was wrong. Hathaway delivered in away that no woman had ever played the cat before. Watch her as her demeanor changes in a blink of an eye. From save me from this hell to I’m going to beat hell into you, Hathaway is the best catwoman up to this date.
Now what about Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Watch his character, John Blake. His role is bigger than you think. Levitt, played a “hot head” cop, quick to observe and figure out truth quickly. No secret can be hidden with him around and his story runs similar to that of Wayne. I was taken by surprised what his role really was but it made sense to the story and Nolan’s world. Levitt maybe young but truly delivered a tough cop role.
The movie is long but the continuing flow of the film makes time fly by. The story is written well, and where I thought I had the comic book history down, Nolan threw in twists that made me think he was taking things one direction but before you know it, it turned to how the comics had been written, speaking of the role of the villains (yes, it’s plural).
This movie will leave you feeling good. The writing and performance is fantastic. The story is unexpected and yet, expected. It’s the movie of the year. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.
