The Dark Knight Rises

Photo: The Dark Knight Rises poster, from its Wikipedia page.

One of the few movies I've ever considered going to the midnight screening for.  I didn't end up doing that, but I did see it at noon of the next day.  I've been waiting for this since the 500th time I saw The Dark Knight--and I listened to the CD soundtrack of The Dark Knight every day for almost two years.  I'm not kidding.  Still possibly the best musical score for a movie soundtrack ever made, and a true travesty that it wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award.  Anyway, the pacing, the music, the style, the flow, the panache of that film all made it great, so that you could easily look past the fact that when Batman saved Rachel Dawes from the Joker, the Joker was still with Dent and all his company--in Bruce Wayne's penthouse!

So it was with great anticipation that I awaited The Dark Knight Rises.  I went into the screening knowing that it couldn't possibly be as perfect as its predecessor--that kind of film comes along once in a director's career, and it did not happen again here.  TDKR started off slowly in of itself, but especially compared to the explosive beginning of TDK.  And where TDK didn't seem like a long film, because of the constant attack on the senses of the film, but it was long-ish, at two and a half hours.  TDKR was two hours and forty-five minutes, just fifteen minutes longer, but it seemed much longer than TDK.  And the MUCH slower pace doesn't help that overlong feeling.  It honestly drags in a couple of spots, mostly in the beginning.  (The second half's pace is much faster.)

Having said that, I don't want to sound like I didn't like TDKR.  I did, and a lot, especially the ending, which I believe made the whole film.  Whereas TDK was mostly about the Joker and the people of Gotham (the filmmakers said that Batman was the focus, but they were full of it; the Joker, and not just Ledger's performance, was the focus, as was the populace of Gotham itself), TDKR was fully about Batman.  Bane is given slight shrift; Catwoman is given even slighter notice, to the extent that you never really know anything about her character at all.  As it's Anne Hathaway looking eye-poppingly snazzy in the Catwoman outfit, and even more natural (and frankly awesome) on the Batcycle than Batman was, that's okay.  The slight background we're given makes the Catwoman outfit more understandable, if you know what I'm saying.

Nope, here it's all about Bruce Wayne (more him than Batman) and Alfred, too.  Speaking of Alfred, look for Michael Caine to get some consideration for Best Supporting Actor here.  His scenes are by far the most effective in the film, and his part of the ending makes everything just right.  In truth, the ending makes a good film into an almost-great film.  I won't give too much away, but the ending provides an obvious open-door for a sequel (Nolan couldn't close the door all the way, even if he is leaving the room for good) as the Bat signal gets fixed (i.e., Call me if you need me).  But the viewer also understands that any message sent to Batman may be long unanswered, if the call is returned at all.  The signal might go up, but Batman, not being Superman, might not see it from where he is at the end.  But, if so, that's okay; there's someone still in Gotham who'll pick up the phone.

More concerned about character and ending than about action, TDKR doesn't try to super-impress you with one awesome action scene after another as TDK did--though your eyes will pop when the Batcycle has to turn around; and there really aren't any surprises here, either, even with the "surprise" at the near-end that even a half-astute viewer would've seen coming from several miles away.  It's as if Christopher Nolan purposely tried to do something different; having impressed everyone with the mind-boggling pace and action in the second one, how could he better himself here?  He couldn't, and knew it, and probably wouldn't have wanted to, anyway.  If the first film was about how it all began, the last is about how it all should end.

It's very fitting, and very good.  What else were you hoping for?  As the last film of the trilogy, you wonder where someone else besides Nolan could go with it.  Nowhere, is my guess, despite the open door.  Maybe another re-boot, but I hope not.  If Nolan and Bale don't make a fourth one together (and both said they won't), I don't want another one made for a long while.

After all, what else is there to say?  This one concludes possibly the best film trilogy ever.  Only The Lord of the Rings comes close.

Mission Impossible--Ghost Protocol

Photo: Movie poster, from the movie's Wikipedia page.

Not a bad movie, with plenty of unbelievable stunts and pacing just good enough for a nearly 2 1/2 hour film.  The worst part of the movie, in fact, were the idiots I sat near.  Every unbelievable scene got a verbal and loud reaction from these clowns.  They talked only at these moments, which in a way is worse than those who talk during the whole thing.  At least, after awhile, you can drown them out.

Like all action films, some parts defied credibility--For example, is it really that easy to get beneath the Kremlin?  Or that building in India?  And why was there just one security guard (in the world's tallest building) on in some scenes, and why would just one guard in charge of watching fifty surveillance screens?  But with this kind of movie, one expects this kind of thing, and you just have to deal with it.  No one cared, for instance, when in The Dark Knight, the Joker dropped Batman's love interest out a window--while searching for Gotham's galloping D.A. and scaring the hell out of Bruce Wayne's guests--and then, seemingly, was left to lord over the penthouse after Batman and the (for the time being, saved) woman crashed atop a taxi.  Did the Joker just leave the penthouse without bothering anybody else?  The continuity is lost, but nobody cared--or even noticed.  Because you go see an action film for the action, and all else, including plot and characterization, be damned.

A few other notes:

Tom Cruise himself was lead producer on this movie, sans Paula Wagner, his partner of many years (and films), who seemed to drop him after his Oprah debacle, unnecessary rants about religion and anti-depressants, and slide in popularity.  He took many very good supporting roles (and a few very bad lead ones--but don't they all?) before he was able to muster the money and steam to make this one.  And, really, what was the big deal?  So he got a little manic about...well, something...on Oprah's couch.  Aren't you supposed to act a little crazy about someone you love?  Of course, the Scientology didn't help, and even worse were his comments about anti-depressants and religion and God knows what else.  But who goes to a Tom Cruise movie because they care what he thinks about those things?  Nobody.  We go to see him run around and act self-confident.  That's what I paid my money for.

The other actors in the film, including Jeremy Renner--who's in everything these days--just fulfill their roles, mostly without aplomb.  I thought the most interesting supporting characters were, in fact, the two lead bad guys, and the pretty blonde hitwoman who never said a single thing.  (The real actress is a model and is represented by a firm named Silent Models, which is particularly apt here.)  Michelle Monaghan and Ving Rhames make very brief cameos here--so brief, you wonder why.

The camerawork and choreography were outstanding, as were the locations and directing; those things, plus the style of action--especially the dropping car near the end--were more Jason Bourne than Ethan Hunt, but that was okay with me.  If you have any interest in seeing this, do so in the theatre rather than at home.  This is one of those movies that's better on the really big screen.  It cost $145 million to make and has already made over $362 million, according to its Wikipedia page.