The Dark Knight Rises: Some Thoughts

As most of you know, I love Batman. He's my favorite fictional character ever (suck it, Jesus). I love Christopher's Nolan's first two Batman films, although I have some qualms and quibbles about how he handles the character-- the fact that he grounded him so heavily in reality seems like a hindrance at times, but I understand why he did what he did to tell the Batman stories he wanted to tell.

Like some of you, like Nolan himself, I was left with a lot of questions and concerns about where a third film would take us after Heath Ledger's death. Should there be another movie? Would it stack up to the first two films? What about Harvey Dent?

I'm happy to say that The Dark Knight Rises is a fantastic movie, and a perfect ending to Nolan's trilogy. Not only that, but it makes Batman Begins a better movie in hindsight, tying everything together in a nice little package of Batman Awesomeness.

The Dark Knight left Batman as the fall guy for several murders, the most important being Harvey Dent's. For eight years, Bruce has secluded himself in Wayne Manor, not even leaving the house, leaning heavily on a cane. Dent's and Rachel Dawes' death have left Bruce broken, thinking he can sink no further.

Enter Bane. Tom Hardy's presence in this film is powerful, as powerful as Ledger's Joker but for different reasons. Like the Joker in The Dark Knight, Bane has a point to make. Unlike the Joker, who wanted to show that anyone is capable of madness and destruction given just the right push, Bane wants to rob Gotham of hope. He wants to show Bruce Wayne/Batman that he doesn't understand what being broken truly is. He wants to show the world that even their symbols can be broken.

Anne Hathaway plays Selina Kyle with relish. I had concerns about her in the role (and yes, the Julie Newmar-esque costume still looks really fucking stupid), but her performance sells it. The first time she meets Bruce, wearing his mother's pearls and kicking his cane out from under him to jump out the window, I was sold. She has a few good moments in the movie, and isn't wasted or an afterthought or given a stupid origin like Batman Returns, which was a huge relief.

Nolan wastes no time getting into the action or establishing any character's backgrounds; the recurring characters are known to the audience and the new ones are pretty easily figured out. No character is wasted, no scene runs too long, and it's all wonderfully realized in the end.

I'll save the detailed plot summary and just get into the things that really made this movie shine. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Gary Oldman as Gordon, showing that the lies told about Dent truly weigh upon him. Michael Caine, as always, the best Alfred ever. Liam Neeson's and Cillian Murphy's respective cameos. The last-minute plot twist.

Bane's fight with Batman mid-movie is brutal, and I'm surprised Nolan actually broke the Bat. Bane being kicked out of the League of Shadows was a nice touch, and having them square off--the star pupil who 'graduated' and rejected his mentor's mission, who surpassed his mentor and even brought about his death versus a man who came to finish what Ra's started-- was really cool to see. "Theatricality! Misdirection! Powerful tools to the uninitiated! But we are initiated..." Bane's handling in the movie was one of its many triumphs. The Joker gave Batman a psychological run for his money; Bane levels the playing field.

Honestly, the mid-movie reveal that Bane might be Ra's al Ghul's son almost lost me. For a moment there, I thought Nolan was doing something really fucking dumb and going all Spider-man 3 on us, but Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate's last-minute heel turn saved it. If I had any harsh criticism to level at the film, it would be her character. I suppose the twist with her wouldn't have worked nearly as well if the general audience saw it coming, but I did. I'd heard the rumors that she was supposed to be Talia al Ghul and thought several times throughout the movie that it was only a rumor. Good on Nolan for keeping us guessing.

There are so many callbacks to Batman Begins that it's almost impossible to go into this one without having seen it recently. I'd recommend brushing up on at least Begins before heading to the multiplex for sure.

Nolan has crafted an excellent movie (he's never made a bad one, in my opinion) and set the bar very high for comic movies in the future, and that may not be a good thing. Although the tone is perfect for Batman, I fear too many movie studios will think every superhero has to be dark and gritty and grounded in realism. But I digress. What Nolan has done is take some of the best ideas from the Batman mythos and made them relevant to our times, and for many generations to come.

This is Nolan's answer to The Dark Knight Returns. A retired Batman has to come back, but not to fulfill his own selfish, facist asshole tendencies like Returns. Batman comes back because Gotham needs him to come back. Because Batman is necessary, as a symbol, to Gotham and to us, to prove that one person can make a difference and instill hope even when the world is literally crumbling around us.

Gotham always needs Batman. And John (Robin?) Blake may not immediately inherit the cape and cowl, as the last shot teases, but the nods to Grant Morrison's Batman, Incorporated are there and made this Batman fan smile. I keep thinking of Batman's words toward the end of The Dark Knight:

"Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded."

As a fan of both Batman and Christopher Nolan, I definitely feel like The Dark Knight Rises was a rewarding experience.

It goes without saying that I'm going to see it again. Cheers to Nolan and company for a great three films.

-Swift

REVIEW: Square Enix Play Arts Kai: God of War III Kratos

Hey kids! Been awhile since I put anything up, although the itch is there along with some ideas. Among them being a review of the first (or first few) episodes of the Black Dynamite cartoon as well as a review of The Dark Knight Rises after I see it at midnight tomorrow. But for now, let me talk about my latest acquisition: God of War III's Kratos from their Play Arts Kai line.

I LOVE me some God of War. One of the principle reasons for that is the uber-badass protagonist, Kratos, the limb-ripping, head decapitating, eye-gouging, deicidal maniac. If you've never heard of or seen the games, then I don't know how to sell the property to you. God of War is pretty much what the Clash of the Titans remake really, really wished it could be, with much cooler takes of Greek Mythology. But anyways-on to the figure.

If you read my Batman and Joker review, you know that I heaped a fair amount of praise on Square Enix for their efforts on the two. I'm happy to say that while Kratos doesn't evoke the sheer amount of "cool factor" as Batman and the Joker on looks alone, he's got the same attention to paint, sculpt, articulation and quality control as Bats and Mistah J. The character is very on-model to his game counterpart, and I have very few gripes from an aesthetic standpoint. Check out some more of my pics and we'll discuss after:

Here's how he stacks up to other releases, scale-wise:

The Good: Again, Kratos looks fucking rad on the shelf. He's very imposing and is spot-on for his game counterpart. His "tattoos", scars, armor (the Golden Fleece, bitches!) and weaponry are all fantastic-looking and painted very nicely. The Blades of Exile are especially nice, and subtle paint applications like air-brushing and dry-brushing really make them pop and look more realistic and less toy-like. A very nice touch that I felt they didn't have to include are two fine lengths of chain that plug into his wrists (where you'll also notice sculpted chains) and the Blades of Exile or the Claws of Hades. Both sets of weapons fit very nicely into his grip hands, and it's also not too huge of a pain to have them hang from his open hands like he's about to flail them at someone.

The articulation is exactly what I expected and why I ordered him in the first place. The joints are tight, some ratcheting, and hold just about any pose you put him in. He's also very easy to stand, even in what seem like precarious poses.

One point of contention I've read among fans is his face: some say it's too passive an expression and the dark grey air-brushing looks bad. I disagree. While the airbrushing is a little distracting, it is present on other areas of the figure's skin. It could be a little more consistent and not as prominent, but if you played the games, do you ever remember a point where Kratos stopped to wash his dirty ass? Me either.

As for the expression, I don't think "passive" describes it at all. Kratos is a character who, while driven by his rage and desire for revenge, seems very resigned to his lot. Yes, he's a pissed-off character, but it doesn't have to show all the time. Neutral would be a better word for his expression, and I prefer neutral sculpts as opposed to the full-on "rage dump" face that permeates far too many comics and action figures these days. I'd rather have Kratos look likes he's quietly sizing up his opponent and merely seeing them as an obstacle in the way of his ultimate goal to kill his father, Zeus.

Kratos comes with two sets of hands: gripping and open, slightly gesturing ones. Along with the chains for the aforementioned Blades or Claws, there's an ash-white peg that fits through both sets of weapons and plugs into the center of his back for storage, another detail that didn't have to be included.

He set me back about $60 plus shipping, same as Bats and Joker. I feel like he's a better deal than the Joker, who was light on accessories, but both Joker and Batman are smaller than Kratos, as you can see above, so I'd say he's about on par for Batman value-wise.

The Bad: Like the Dante figure from Devil May Cry 4, Kratos suffers pretty easily in places from paint rub. On his right gauntlet, which you might notice in a few of the pics before fixed with a sharpie, there's a spot where paint just rubbed off, exposing the ash-white plastic underneath. Yes, it was easy to fix it with the sharpie and it's now barely noticeable, but I shouldn't have to fix stuff like that. You hear me, Square? find better paint that adheres to your plastic, goddammit.

The chains are, again, very fine, and I already had to fix a link with some needle-nose pliers while fiddling with him to take pictures, so be mindful of that when handling.

I suppose I should mention the face sculpt, since I appear to be in the minority. If you want him looking angrier or like he's taking a shit, this is not the Kratos for you. But if you're like me, and hate overexaggerated constipation-shit faces, then it probably won't bother you as much if at all.

Kratos is a great addition to the Play Arts Kai line, and a great toy to boot. I'm looking forward to more from Square Enix, specifically the Armored Batman and Harley Quinn from Arkham Asylum (and yet another Batman, Robin and Catwoman from Arkham City) and Vergil from Devil May Cry 3, my favorite entry (and character) from that series. Here's hoping that their quality control improves (paint rub), although they haven't got far before they're damn near perfect.

That's all for now, kids. I should be back (hopefully Friday) with my The Dark Knight Rises review. Till then- smoke 'em if you've got 'em. The rest of my vacation calls. Meanwhile, the Dark Knight may have met his match on the shelf...

-Swift