The Dark Knight Rises (2012) review

In 2005, director Christopher Nolan revitalized the Batman franchise with 'Batman Begins' by avoiding the comedic routes taken in the Batman films of Joel Schumacher and not only returned the Caped Crusader to his darker roots, but also grounded him in reality as well. Three years later in 2008, Nolan raised the bar for superhero films with his follow-up, 'The Dark Knight', which continued to portray Batman in a more realistic way, as he faced a villain who tested him both physically and mentally, officially pushing him to his limits. Now, in 2012, Nolan makes his final mark on the Batman franchise with 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Really, there's no other way to put it... this may just be the most anticipated film of not only this year, but all time. With two great films under his belt already, especially after a film like 'Dark Knight', the pressure is on for Nolan to deliver on this final chapter. Can he break the 'third film' curse that has plagued many franchises (particularly comic-book movies) with the epic finale to his 'Dark Knight' trilogy?

At the end of 'The Dark Knight', Batman (Christian Bale), AKA millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, took the blame for the murders committed by District Attorney Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent in order to preserve his good name so that Gotham would not lose hope in its darkest hour. Eight years have gone by, and Gotham City has recovered from the onslaught of the Joker. Because of this, Bruce has retired from crime-fighting knowing that the city no longer needs Batman. But Gotham is soon threatened again, this time by the terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), who plans to burn Gotham to the ground. As Bruce also tries to deal with the appearance of the mysterious cat-burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), he must take up the mantle of Batman once more to save the city that has now branded him an enemy against the toughest enemy he has ever faced; one that may just be his downfall.

Now, the real challenge begins in order to not spoil anything from what is simply one of the greatest superhero films of all time, if not the best Batman movie at this point. Nolan yet again delivers with a truly epic film, and some of the paths that he takes in terms of story and character development are going to leave you genuinely surprised but satisfied at the same time. More importantly, however, Nolan avoids the curse of the 'threequel' by effectively ending the story arc of Bruce Wayne. What started when a young Bruce fell down that well in 'Batman Begins' and then went on the run from the police in 'The Dark Knight' comes to a close in this final chapter. By this point, Bruce has been through so much that he is just no match for this new villain. He's a broken shell of his former self, and it is only throughout the course of the film that he regains his confidence to take on this threat and save Gotham.

Each of Nolan's Batman films have revolved around a certain theme, like fear in 'Begins' or chaos in 'The Dark Knight'. Here, it's all about pain. Of course, Bruce is dealing with all that he has been through over the years, but other people are dealing with pain as well. The main reason why Gotham became as peaceful as it did was because of a lie. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) is conflicted knowing that he is honoring a man who really shouldn't be honored after the crimes he has committed, resulting in him losing his faith in justice. Meanwhile, while Bruce is considering becoming Batman again, we see Alfred (Michael Caine) unable to deal with him going back into the field. He knows how much Bruce's past experiences have hurt him, and that he doesn't stand a chance against Bane. The only real problem with the film is that Alfred is given little to do in this story and Caine isn't in the film that much, but the emotions that he gets across in the few scenes that he is in are extremely powerful.

This is probably Christian Bale's best performance as Batman. He was already fantastic in the role in the previous two films, but this one puts him at the same level of Michael Keaton in the Tim Burton helmed Batman films in the way he gets across the emotions that Bruce is going through. The rest of the returning cast, including Caine, Oldman, and Morgan Freeman are fantastic as well once again. As for the new cast members, we have a great performance by Tom Hardy as Bane which could very much be up there with Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. Comparing these two is rather unfair because the Joker and Bane are different characters. Bane is more calm than the manic psychopath that was the Joker and is clearly someone you do not want to mess with. Also, in regards to the issue regarding Bane's voice after the prologue was released last December, I had no issue understanding what he said in this movie, although there are just a few minor instances where you won't get what he said. I'm betting Christopher Nolan didn't even change a thing after the prologue was released.

Then you have Anne Hathaway, who is phenomenal as Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman. This is very much what Catwoman should be; cunning, sexy, and witty at the same time. She has great chemistry with Bale in this film and this is quite frankly the best portrayal of Catwoman on film. Also closing out the cast is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as cop John Blake, one of the few people left who still believes in justice and the Batman, and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, a member of Wayne Enterprises who helps Bruce come back to reality and is also a love interest of his along with Selina. Even with two love interests, the film actually does balance this out very well. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Christopher Nolan is a extraordinary actor-director, and all of his films (this film in particular) is proof of that.

There's no other way to say it... 'The Dark Knight Rises' fully lives up to its expectations as the final chapter in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. In fact, dare I say it even blows Dark Knight out of the water. Nolan avoids the dreaded 'third film' curse by completing the story arc of Batman, successfully getting across the emotions that the main characters go through, and doing some very risky moves that actually do work out in the end. The final shot of this movie in particular (which I am not going to spoil in any way) is just too tempting to leave unanswered. In fact, I feel that it's almost impossible for the next adaptation of Batman to beat what Christopher Nolan has done with his three films. Not only did he resurrect a once-dead franchise, but he also did what no one else has done in the superhero genre, and that was producing a trilogy where all three films are excellent. This film is one for the ages and does not disappoint whatsoever.

Rating: 5/5!

(On a more tragic note, I would like to dedicate this review to the poor souls who lost their lives in the shooting at that theater in Colorado at the midnight screening for this film and to anyone who was affected by this tragedy in anyway. Said Christopher Nolan himself, “The movie theater is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.” Could not agree more.)

Spider-Man 3 (2007) review

(Warning: There may be Spoilers)

I wish I could come out and say that Spider-Man 3 was another great film just like the two that came before it, effectively capping a great trilogy of films. Unfortunately, I cannot say that because Spider-Man 3 just isn't as good as its predecessors, falling victim to the dreaded 'third film' curse that has plagued many franchises from Star Wars to X-Men. The main issue with this film comes in its writing, as it juggles way too many plot lines, characters, and villains, making it very uneven compared to the first two films. Not only that, but some of these plot lines are either underdeveloped or just handled the wrong way. But is this truly that bad of a film? Quite frankly, it isn't because what does work in this film does work, from the cast to the action sequences. It's a shame they're let down by a mess of a script that hurts what should have been a great end to this great franchise.

A lot has changed for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) ever since he was bitten by that genetically-altered super-spider, becoming the webslinger superhero Spider-Man. He has become an icon in the city of New York and plans to propose to the love of his life, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). However, things start to go haywire for Peter when an alien symbiote crashes down into New York and fuses itself to Peter, turning his suit black and also changing his personality. It also doesn't help that Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), the man who Peter learns had actually killed his Uncle Ben, has broken out of prison having recently become the shape-shifting criminal 'Sandman' and his old friend Harry (James Franco), who now knows who Peter really is, has taken up his father's mantle as the 'New Goblin' to exact his revenge on Peter for supposedly murdering his father.

There certainly are many problems with this film, but the biggest has to be that the film has too many villains to fit into just a single movie. As if Sandman and New Goblin weren't enough, then the film adds in Eddie Brock (played by Topher Grace), who later becomes fused with the symbiote becoming Venom. Obviously, Venom is a major character in the Spider-Man universe... and yet he's only on screen as Venom for like ten minutes. The truth is, Sam Raimi didn't even wanted to use Venom but was pressured into doing so. If anything, we should at least be glad that we did see Venom especially now that this version of Spider-Man is done.

But if Raimi did have the chance to do a fourth film, he should have just had Venom be the villain in that film and just go with Sandman and New Goblin as the villains because both Church and Franco were actually given very good development overall. With Sandman, we're able to sympathize with him because he's not entirely a bad guy. It's the same situation as with Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2 because he's just a guy who “has just had back luck” as the movie puts it. With this film, Harry Osborn is given a proper character arc as a man who is burdened not only by his father's legacy but now has a vendetta against his best friend because he's the one that Harry believes murdered his father.

Venom isn't the only underdeveloped addition to the cast though. The film also doesn't do much with the Stacys, Police Captain George (James Cromwell) and his daughter Gwen (Bryce Dallas Howard). It would make sense to give them good material because in the comics, Gwen Stacy just so happens to be Peter's first girlfriend even before Mary Jane and while the film does play her as somewhat of a 'rival' to Mary Jane for Peter's affections, she isn't given much else to do once that plot line is over. As for her father, he's really just there to tell Peter the truth about who really killed his uncle. Gwen, her father, and Venom may be important characters in the comics but here, they're just side characters by the end of it all.

In terms of the many plot lines of this movie, a lot of them come from the previously mentioned 'side characters' but there is one that isn't handled very well and that just so happens to be the main conflict that Spider-Man faces in the movie as this symbiote starts to change more than just his suit. At first, it is handled very well as we see how Peter is becoming more separate from Mary Jane and also vengeful against Sandman for killing his uncle. But once Peter starts going emo, it all starts to go downhill. What should be a really serious conflict in Peter's life is instead played up for laughs and when he is being threatening to someone, it's not that believable and makes him look more like a jerk. Things do get serious again later on in the film, but it doesn't help after we had just seen Peter do a dance a la Jerry Lewis in 'The Nutty Professor' because the tone is incredibly inconsistent, conflicted between both goofy and serious moments.

Even with all of these problems, the film itself isn't that bad of a film. Like before, the cast does still do a good job. However, this time Maguire comes off a bit more goofier than before and that whole emo turn doesn't help much either. Still, when he has to be serious, he still does a good job as Peter Parker. The same goes for the rest of the returning cast and the new members of the cast as well, even with the little material that some of them are given. The effects are still great and the action sequences in this film particularly are some of the best in any recent comic book movie. If this script wasn't as messy as it was, then this would've been one heck of a final film but that just isn't the case here. However, the film does end on somewhat of a high note.

Really when you get down to it, Spider-Man 3 isn't really as bad as most people have put it. However, there still are problems mainly with the script. Too many villains, some characters and plot lines that either go nowhere or aren't handled very well, etc. But this isn't a total mess of a film. The acting is still very good and it is still a very entertaining film from beginning to end. It's a shame that what started out with a great first film and was then followed by an even better sequel ends with a less than stellar 'threequel'. But now Marvel has moved on with a new reboot, even though it is only five years after this film. How will director Marc Webb and new leads Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone do in 'The Amazing Spider-Man'? Well, we're just going to have to stay tuned and find out when the film comes out on July 3^rd.

Rating: 3/5

Spider-Man 2 (2004) review

It is extremely rare when a sequel is not only as good as its predecessor, but actually better. When it comes to these kinds of movies, most people would probably say 'Terminator 2', 'Aliens', or 'The Godfather Part II', and in terms of comic book movies, the obvious answer would be Spider-Man 2. While its predecessor can be regarded as one of the landmark movies of the superhero genre, Spider-Man 2 sets the standard for how great a comic book movie can really be. Pretty much every problem that the first movie had is fixed here, and the story delves deeper into the conflicts that the main character faces both physically and emotionally. Add in a great cast and a even greater villain and you have one of the best superhero movies of all time.

Two years after the events of the first film, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has struggled to balance life as both himself and as the webslinger crime-fighter Spider-Man. Unable to handle both identities, he has distanced himself from everyone he cares about. The love of his life, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), is about to marry an astronaut, and his friend Harry (James Franco) holds a personal vendetta against Spider-Man who he believes murdered his father. As Peter's life starts to become more stressful, his powers start to become unreliable, and he considers a life away from being Spider-Man. Meanwhile, renowned scientist Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), after a failed experiment which results in the death of his wife, turns to a life of crime, endangering the whole world in the process.

Where Spider-Man succeeding in telling an origin story, Spider-Man 2 succeeds in diving even deeper into the character of Peter Parker and the many problems he has dealing with his two identities as he tries to balance everything in his life. He is losing the people he cares for because of his responsibilities to both them and to New York as Spider-Man and because he can't handle both lives at the same time, he even gives up being Spider-Man at one point to live his own life. The writers not only did an amazing job with Spider-Man but also with the film's villain, Doc Ock. Instead of making him a guy who just became evil for the fun of it, the writers made him a character we can sympathize with, having turned evil because of the terrible things that happened to him.

Any problem that the first film had (or in this case, now has) is non-existent here. The effects are very much improved on and the dialogue isn't as cheesy as it was before. This time, Raimi perfectly blends humor with drama compared to the first film where looking at it now, some of it is really hard to take seriously because of the dialogue. Maguire yet again does a fantastic job as Peter Parker and the returning cast of Dunst, Franco, and Rosemary Harris do great as well. Franco is also given a much more substantial role this time as Harry, now burdened by the legacy his father left for him and also angry at Spider-Man for taking his father away from him, even though he didn't. Alfred Molina is also brilliant as Octavius, giving much depth to the role like any great villain.

The first Spider-Man movie may still be a great movie, but Spider-Man 2 is nothing less than brilliant. Every problem that the first film had is fixed and the writers did an amazing job at delving into the many conflicts of Peter Parker. The character of Dr. Octavius is also one of the best villains ever in a comic book movie, which is also thanks in part to the writing. Like with any good sequel, the stakes are raised even higher than they were before and the film does not disappoint in any way. Very rarely has a comic book movie gone this far in developing its characters and Spider-Man 2 stands strong as one of the best comic book movies ever made. Heck, I'd go as far and say one of the best movies ever.

Rating: 5/5!

Next up: Spider-Man 3, which obviously is a different story compared to the first two films