The Dark Knight Rises is a long, self-important film-noir to tell an oft told tale about a man with a bomb who is gonna blow up nyc. Heard it before, right? God knows I have. Tom Handy plays the man with the bomb, Christian Bale. the man out to stop him. And then a cast of dozens muddle along to its self-evident from the first reel conclusion.
I've never bought into "The Batman" story much, as Wagnerian dramas go, it is an oedipuzt rex out for mama's love and not getting it. It seems a little silly to at this point… ah, what the hell, Wayne's very wealthy parents are shot to death by robbers (in front of him) when Wayne is only a little bats, and Wayne spends lots of money becoming a masked avenger. The boy with the most cake.
Chris Nolan retells the story as a stupefied psychological drama plus cheap thrills and Eastern mysticism and father figures (plenty of em) over two long movies and now, here is the final installment. Lithe first one had the pleasure of originality and the second was saved by Heath Ledger's Oscar winning turn as the Joker.
At the final episode opens, it has been seven years since Batman's fiance was killed by two face and Batman took the fall for Two Faces death (why? Some nonsense about the city needing to believe the former DA was a hero). Batman has disappeared, Wayne has morphed into either
1. Howard Hughes
2. Al Pacino in Godfather 3.
At a party at Wayne Manor, Catwoman, Anne Hathaway, who starts off great but gets boring half way through, which is more than can be said for this movie, gets caught by Wayne trying to steal his late Mom's necklace and also his fingerprints. All of which leads, over an hour or so, To the Batman rising.
And if you think that was boring to read (or write for that matter) check out the movie. A nearly three hour movie that boggles the imagination for stupidity and takes forever to boggle it. A three hour movie with one great visual image (you saw it in the coming attractions, where they blow up the football field,) and not one memorable line of dialog. Also, Michael Cainer is lousy, Bale is lousy, that bloke from "500 Days Of Summer" is lousy. The politics are not believable. nyc is not believable. The entire movie is a tremendous downer with the most ridiculous ending I have ever seen. Do they really think we believe that if you detonate a nuclear bomb 50 miles out to sea, nothing perishes.
Finally, after 9-11 we have a pretty good idea how New Yorkers would react to a terrorists bomb and it is NOTHING LIKE the characters here, who become lawless thugs overnight.
As for the music:, there is only Han Zimmer's bombastic and boring Soundtrack which thunders along like a road being drilled at 6am on a Saturday morning.
Movie: B-
Music: D