Early Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Catwoman: You don't owe these people any more! You've given them everything!
Batman: Not everything. Not yet.

That’s not a spoiler because it is from the trailer for the Dark Knight Rises and I think it perfectly sums up this amazing summer of movies, From Prometheus to Ted, to the Avengers, movie buffs have gotten a great taste for summer blockbusters. The quote also sums up what Christopher Nolan has given us in his amazing, dark, and gritty take on the Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight was an amazing accomplishment in filmmaking and yet Nolan has more to give us in this breathtaking finale to his trilogy.

I had the amazing opportunity to see the Dark Knight Rises last night along with my fellow Chrysler Interns (Chrysler has a small amount of product placement in the movie) and I thought I would share my spoiler free thoughts.

As you may have noticed from my glowing introduction above, I really loved this movie and it absolutely lived up to the hype for me. Bane is a great villain to follow the devious schemes of the Joker. Bane is a menacing man who’s motivations remain shrouded in mystery throughout the movie. Its this kind of menacing unpredictability that left me guessing what his next move would be constantly.

Of the three Batman movies, this movie has Batman in his suit the least. Instead, Nolan chooses to explore the mental state of Bruce Wayne the man. A man who has carried quite a physical and mental burden over the past two movies for the city of Gotham. This exploration of Batman’s inner psyche really did it for me and I found it one of the most compelling sequences of the series.

I did have a couple of disappointments. Namely that Bane’s plan was far more straightforward than the crazy meanderings of Joker’s, and there was a bit of overlap as Bane tried to present himself as a man handing the power back to the normal people (It would seem the Joker and Bane have very similar views on Government). But these minor problems were eclipsed by the bad assery of Catwoman (played by Anne Hathaway) and the brutality of the hand to hand combat between Bane and Batman.

I’m sure its no surprise for me to conclude that Nolan has delivered again. The Dark Knight Rises is easily the best movie of the summer and will once again contend for the best movie of the year. It is a must see movie that I anticipate will cause the Box Office to explode this weekend. Don’t hesitate.