Hey guys, I'm back. I have to say, it's been a hectic week but after tonight/today, I'd think things have gotten rather exciting and interesting. I would love to start off with a review of the
entire Batman trilogy done by Christopher Nolan. Truly, anyone planning to see the final movie must 1. see it and 2. be in the theater
early.
For those who have forgotten,
Batman Begins borrows heavily from
Batman: Year One. You see a young boy become a broken youth due to his parents' death go off to the Far East in search for a means to train and find a means to be able to avenge his parents. In turn, things changed as he learned to confront his inner fears and turn them against criminals responsible for things very much in the nature of what was done to him. In the process, Ra's Al Ghul, The League of Shadows and Scarecrow are all in cahoots to destroy Gotham City alongside Carmine "The Roman" Falcone. Nolan, in his ways of creativity, used
Year One as his template for the origin story but took a few liberties in terms of his antagonists. Without question, you would not see the last of either Scarecrow
or the League of Shadows, even with the giveaway for the setup for Joker.
Upon seeing the former movie and
The Dark Knight, I noticed a tad bit of a discrepancy in terms of handling the mob of Gotham City. Our loyal comic geeks know that Falcone is the head honcho of the mob family -- a family that extends to Metropolis. To see Moroni as the head honcho and successor is a bit of a problem and makes Falcone's elimination from the equation questionable although Nolan sets Moroni up well as a backup for the Falcone family and just a backup/fall guy. As far as content, Joker's style borrows from
Arkham Asylum: A Serious Hell on Serious Earth and
The Killing Joke. As for the elements of corruption of organized crime and the developing relationship between Batman, Dent/Two-Face and Gordon, you see shades of
The Long Halloween. Remember when one of the Falcones said Moroni was the fall guy and that he was the brains? He was right. Any geek knows that as prominent as Moroni portrays himself, he is but a Falcone puppet for a grander scheme. Two-Face's appearance is yet another nod towards
TLH. Scarecrow makes a re-appearance, as small as it was but humorous at best. As for Rachel, upon seeing BB and TDK, you'll never look at her with much respect.
Finally,
The Dark Knight Rises. Let me start with this -- the movie had
major hype until The Avengers delivered in its surprising awesomeness. From there, there was concern over quality due to how mysterious everyone was for it. Trailers
scarcely gave away clues and gave away
too little to be excited and gave away more to worry. Ladies and gentlemen, Nolan delivered! Without question, there are two things to be said. First off, elements from
Dark Victory and
Knightfall are implemented. The looming suspicion of eliminating Gordon as Chief emerges. Gordon's grief over Harvey is eating him alive, especially with hiding the many dirty secrets. Wayne is in grief to the point that he had disappeared for eight years. Alas, a great calm before the mighty storm. The League of Shadows would come full circle. Enter Bane -- the Man who Broke the Bat. The promos did Bane little justice compared to how he looks in the movie. Posters made Hardy look hardly 200 pds but in this movie, with the well-shot angles, he looks a good 220-240 pounds. His movements and character are powerful. His fights with Batman are nothing short of awesome. Batman is matched mentally and at one point dominated physically. Bane is made out as an ex-League of Shadows member due to Ra's dislike of him despite protecting his daughter, Talia. You also have Detective John Blake, who was an orphan that witnessed Batman when he first emerged (the little kid in Batman Begins? That's him!), is taken under Gordon's wing. Scarecrow re-emerges as a tad of a flunkie for Bane in this film. I refuse to spoil further or give anything away. I will say a few last things in regards to this -- this movie practically had the
entire cast of Inception save DiCaprio. As far as Catwoman as I'm concerned? Hathaway does very well to play the part but it's sad that she didn't play as crucial a role as did Alfred, Gordon and Bane. As for it being over? Indeed there is conclusion however the door is left too obviously open for Nolan and only Nolan to ever touch the Batman legacy. Christopher Nolan has set the bar in terms of making quality Batman films. Furthermore, should Batman's story continue, it can only continue with Nolan. When you see the movie, you will understand why.
The reason I brought up the word recluse as the key word in this blog is because it's where I'm at in my life right now. It is also a big theme about Batman's dynamic in TDKR. With work, working out, my age and all, it feels as though I want to avoid people. I love people. I love interacting with them but as of late, I've been needing to avoid social life as a means of personal repose and regathering of myself. I just hope I don't stay too cooped up in being alone because I would fear I'd end up with no life to live or enjoy. My passion is fitness, music and writing. Those three things have begun to take center stage in respect to what I'm all about. I also find myself unable to be around negative-minded people and also like to avoid the self-righteous as well.
