Howdy ladies and gentlemen, today I return with another review of a film I have been very curious to check out for a while in the form of Tenet via my podcast Film Focus.
A couple days I took my first trip back to the cinema for the first time since March to finally check out Tenet; the latest film by Christopher Nolan. Now I’d been looking forward to this film since the teaser trailer came out and was immediately intrigued and engaged by the crazy imagery and cast members involved. So is this another great film for Nolan’s filmography? Well, check out this spoiler-free review to find out.
So have you seen Tenet and if so what did you think of it? Did you love it or dislike it? And did it meet or exceed your expectations? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya in the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents time for a new film review and today I’ll be talking about The Last Witch Hunter. While the trailers haven’t blown me away, I’ve been looking forward to this film just to see what’s up and whether it would be worth my time. So is it good or not? Well read on and find out!
The story for the film can be described as the following:
“An immortal witch-hunter is tasked with the job of coming between the covens of New York City and their goal to destroy humanity by way of a horrific plague. In order to accomplish this, he must partner up with a beautiful female witch, something he thought he would never do.”
“My fear for this film is that it is just going to be another generic action film with a lazy/boring story that only serves to justify the action like the recent Clash of the Titans.”
So it was interesting to see how this statement ended up being half right. The main strength in this story lies in its history and mythology, there is a lot of interesting things to learn about the witcher-hunters, how magic works, how witches exist coexist with humans and rules that have been kept in place to stop evil from happening. It is quite intriguing and engaging. The journey of the main character Kaulder and his unlikely partner Chloe is a familiar one, but there are enough unique elements to keep their adventure from feeling too generic… That being said there are certain clichés and standard plot points you can see coming, and for all of the interesting history and knowledge of this world I feel like it could have been so much more. If this had been in the hands of a more established or confident director and had a more polished script with better dialogue, this film would have been more enjoyable.
The cast do what they can with the material given to them, but it is Vin Diesel who steals the show as Kaulder. Diesel is very similar to his persona in other films, except here he’s a little more talkative, aggressive and emotional (yeah you read that last part right). As usual Diesel is very charismatic, has a magnetic screen presence and is pretty cool to watch when he’s being a badass, I think I liked this film a little more because it gave Diesel a chance to be someone other than Dominic Toretto and while his dramatic scenes won’t sway harsh critics, I just liked seeing some varied emotions from him. Rose Leslie as Chloe was decent, her character fluctuated between being nice and interesting, to being annoying and troublesome. Leslie was awesome in Game of Thrones, but here she’s not nearly as cool, fierce or enticing as she was on TV. Elijah Wood was alright as the 37th Dolan, but he was severely underutilized and even though his character gets a bit more interesting towards the end of the film, it’s not enough to save his character. Michael Caine as Father Dolan was fine, Caine’s role in this was as interchangeable as he is any other film in the action, sci-fi or fantasy genre where he’s a main or secondary character. Julie Engelbrecht was suitably strange and over-the-top as Witch Queen (it’s just a shame that Engelbrecht’s face was covered under all that make-up because she’s quite pretty underneath it all). Oh and it was fun to see Bex Taylor-Klaus from Arrow as Bronwyn as well, everyone else was okay to forgettable to be honest.
As for the presentation it was nice. Visually the film has some good CGI, art design, interesting monsters and pretty sweet flame sword, I also liked some of the fight sequences (even though the camera was a little too close in certain shots) and the soundtrack by Steve Jablonsky was fine, but didn’t have that trademark energy I know he can bring to films especially ones in the action genre.
In conclusion The Last Witch Hunter was a decent if somewhat flawed film. There’s a lot of interesting ideas with the mythology, Vin Diesel is good in the central role and some of the action scenes were pretty cool. Unfortunately the film’s a little by-the-numbers when it comes to action, story and characters, it is still fun but I’m sure it won’t be looked upon kindly by anyone outside Diesel’s fan base.
Rating: 5.5/10
So have you seen the The Last Witch Hunter and if so what do you think of it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them in the comment section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents and welcome to another trailer review. It feels like I barely do any of these types of blog posts regularly any more and yet besides my film and TV reviews I always seem to find time to talk about trailers when I’m in the right mood. Anyways, today I get to talk about the teaser that dropped online recently for the upcoming Vin Diesel film, The Last Witch Hunter. I’ve been looking forward to finding out more about this film ever since it was announced way back when and I’m glad that we finally have some footage to work with. So is it good or not? Well read on and find out!
Check out the trailer below:
So my first thoughts after seeing the trailer? Looks interesting enough, I have to see more.
I guess with the first images that were released for this film, I hoping for a more fantasy style of film with action and adventure thrown in, this seems like an action film with some fantasy elements, and while it is too early to tell what the story is going to be like, it does look fairly large in scope. From Michael Caine’s monologue it seems like Vin Diesel’s character has been up to a lot, he’s done many things and it has been documented, he’s a good soldier and that’s his story isn’t over yet. Seems like Diesel is some sort of chosen one to do battle with the forces of evil armed with different weapons including a gun and flame sword. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of combat this film gives Diesel to work with. Oh and going back to Caine again, from his attire it looks like he’s a priest right? So I assume that this film will have something to do with religion and have close connections to church and god and stuff? Possibly? I don’t know I’m just taking stabs in the dark here.
It seems like there will be a lot of different locations some taking place in fancy interior locations to the snowy mountains and even in the USA as well. While it is not specifically mentioned, from the way Caine’s character talks about Diesel, it seems like Diesel’s character is pretty old, maybe this character’s been living for years slaying witches and now has to do it again in modern times? Who knows? But that’s the vibe I’m getting from this film. There looks like there will be a lot of travelling as there are many locations on display and that again adds to the scope of this film. Oh and in the trailer you can see Game of Thrones‘ Rosie Leslie looking nice and Elijah Wood too, man where the hell’s he been all this time? Hope they have decent parts in the film.
My fear for this film is that it is just going to be another generic action film with a lazy/boring story that only serves to justify the action like the recent Clash of the Titans. I like Vin Diesel, I think he’s a fun and charismatic person and deserves to take on new films that aren’t part of long running series’ like Fast & Furious or Riddick.
In conclusion The Last Witch Hunter looks interesting. It could either be pretty good or really pants, it is hard to judge until I see more footage and get an understanding of what the story is going to be. I hope that it is good though.
So have you seen the teaser for The Last Witch Hunter and if so what do you think of it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them in the comment section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents, time for another film review and today I’ll be talking about the latest Mathew Vaughn film, Kingsman: The Secret Service. This film I’ve been interested in watching for a while, but the trailers didn’t blow me away, so I came into the film with mild expectations… So is it good or not? Well the short answer is a massive HELL YES!
The story can be described as the following:
“Kingsman: The Secret Service tells the story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.“
The story in this film was great, this film definitely has a superhero element about it, however it is more so a spy adventure with a few unique traits that make it feel fresh from other films of the same genre. I like all of the references to other spy films whether it be James Bond of the Bourne series and the fact that the film is self-aware and knows what it is makes it so much better. This story swift, didn’t drag, had so much violence, but had a lot of good character moments and humour mixed in so that there was something for everyone. One thing to not before going into this film that is VERY violent and if that kind of thing turns of off, then this is not for you. I have to give props to Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman for the direction and writing, it seems like these two have really found their groove and work so well together to produce really great scenes with awesome dialogue and a nice sense of style.
As for the cast they are awesome. Colin Firth as Harry Hart is great. This is certainly my favourite film from Firth as he brings the same level of acting talent as he has with other films, however here he just has a screen presence that makes him come across as such a cool badass. Taron Egerton as Gary “Eggsy” Unwin is just wonderful. From the trailers I thought I wouldn’t like his character because of his accent and behaviour, however those are the aspects that make him so likeable. Eggsy is a boy who has skills, but only needs a little direction and when he has a task he knows how execute it and think outside of the box. Egerton was very charming and charismatic and hope to see more from him in the future. And Samuel L. Jackson as Richmond Valentine, just wow. I had seen Jackson in so may films, however this has to be one of his most odd and memorable roles in recent times. Valentine is a very smart and ambitious individual with a plan to take over the world and he’s such a cool guy. However he’s also unconventional and funny because of his lisp and disliking of violence and his character works so well just because it is Jackson in the role who just steals every scene he’s in.
Sofia Boutella as Gazelle was cool, this woman was Valentine’s right hand woman and dispatched people in such a violent and stylish way with those sword legs of hers. I was afraid she would just be a silent bodyguard for Valentine that had no substance, but luckily she had a fair amount to do and say and I really liked Boutella’s performance. Mark Strong was awesome as Merlin. I usually like Strong, but I think this is my favourite role he’s been in for a while. Merlin is firm, tactical and at times quite humourous and I loved his interactions with Eggsy especially. Michael Caine as Arthur was good as usual, Jack Davenport was very good as Lancelot and I really liked Sophie Cookson as Roxy (she is also incredibly pretty). Samantha Womack was good as Michelle and as a long-term casual watcher of Eastenders I was happy to see her do well in such a big film. Oh and seeing Mark Hamill as Professor James Arnold was so delightful, he wasn’t in the film that much, but for the screen time he got he was lovely.
When it comes to the presentation it is great. Visually the film is crafted so well, the cinematography and filming techniques used throughout is spectacular, and the action scenes are done SO well with the best camera shots used for shooting action for a while. There are some incredible tracking shots, wide shots and zooming in and out in these fast and furious action sequences. The action overall is just insane with some very great choreography and acrobatics and it is some of the best stuff I have seen since The Raid 2. Oh and there is one sequence in this film (you’ll know when you see it) that is one of the coolest, craziest and filthiest thing I have ever seen, SO good.
In conclusion Kingsman: The Secret Service is a pretty kick ass film. As a fan of action and spy films this film ticked all the right boxes for me. The story was very nicely done, the cast were awesome and the action was on the most insane level. I would definitely recommend this to any fan of action films or people who know of Matthew Vaughn’s previous work, it is a really good time in the cinema.
Rating: 8.5/10
So have you seen Kingsman: The Secret Service and if so what do you think of it? Please be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Until the next time, laters! 😀
So the day has come for me to finally review Interstellar, the much-talked about sci-fi film from Christopher Nolan. I feel like the wait for this film has been one of the longest in recent memory, considering how long it was since the reveal of the first poster and teaser trailer. Plus there hasn’t been that much information shared about the nature of the film’s plot leaving more people curious as to what it is about. As a fan of Nolan, I will watch anything he directs and I had no doubt in my mind, regards of the way this film turned out, I would have to see it for myself to pass judgement. So how was it? Well read on and find out.
The film’s story in summary is about a team of space travelers who travel through a wormhole in search of a new habitable planet and for most part the story’s very interesting and captivating to watch. I have to admit, for the first thirty or so I wasn’t totally engaged was wondering when the film would actually pick up and get interesting, it wasn’t until Cooper and his crew head out into space when things start to get engaging. There was a point where this film went from being interesting to super interesting to incredibly engaging and this was all during the space exploring on the planets, it was like went from strength to strength creating these unbelievable situations that left you shocked, surprised and curious to know more. This film peaked at one point and I was loving it, however, things didn’t stay that way unfortunately and I do have some nitpicks though like:
Science mumbo-jumbo: I don’t know if it’s just because I’m a little dumb, but there are points where characters were talking some technical science jargon and I had no idea what they were going on about, there wasn’t even an attempt to simplify it for those who aren’t well-versed in that subject matter.
Pacing: There were moments when the film’s pacing felt a little slow
The film’s runtime: The film is a bit on the long side and because of that factor, this is not a film I would instantly watch again, as this is a film where you have to be in the right mindset to watch and take it all of its content.
The final act of the film: I’m not sure of how many people felt this way about the film, but I’ve heard a lot of chatter about the third act of the film. For at least two-thirds of the film, it is pretty much perfect, everything you want from a great sci-fi film with Chris Nolan at the helm, however, once the final part of this film happens it feels like it changes the perspective of the rest of the film and it kind of ruins the level of realism (theoretical of course) injected into the story. While it wasn’t the worst thing ever, I would have preferred something different.
Other than the points listed above, the films story is pretty good with a great level of realism applied to these theoretical space exploring scenarios and a lot of heart poured into the character relationships too. If you plan to see this film try to see it as fresh as possible without outsider opinions or spoilers as it will directly affect how much you enjoy this film.
When it comes to the cast I believe that everyone gave such great performances, to the point where it is hard to count each person who showed up, that being said I will highlight everyone who I believe was relevant. Oh and on a side note, some actors/actresses have not been listed as to who they are playing in the film again to try and keep secrecy going on this film as much as possible.
First there’s Matthew McConaughey who fabulous as Cooper, here we have a character who is smart, tenacious and always looking to help out where possible, however he clearly longs for a time where his skill would be useful unlike his current position on Earth. McConaughey’s performance is wonderfully done with a great amount of depth and variety in his emotional moments throughout the film. Anne Hathaway too is very good as Amelia Brand, this is a character is also very smart, but also closed off and confident and as the film goes on we see that there is more to her than what we initially get on the surface. I believe that this is one of Hathaway’s best roles in the sense that I couldn’t see her as an actress for the most part, but her as character instead and that I think it worth mentioning. Michael Caine is great as Professor Brand, as always Caine brings a nice atmosphere to the films he features in and eve though he only has to play himself these days and it’ll be fine, I still appreciated his performance in this film as it was one of my favourite performances.
Jessica Chastain is awesome in this film and continues to be one of my favourite actresses ever, this woman has such a great emotional range and I really liked her character in this film as she was aggressive, clever and persistent, but also fragile at the same time. David Gyasi was really good as Romilly and I really felt for his character. Bill Irwin and Josh Stewart as the voices of TARS and CASE were awesome and had some really good lines of dialogue throughout the film. A special mention should go out to Mackenzie Foy and Timothée Chalamet as Cooper’s children Murph and Tom, as they weren’t annoying and were pleasant young actors, but I lot of the praise should go to Foy as she has great chemistry with McConaughey and deals with her emotional material very convincingly. Ellen Burstyn was good in the film also while I really liked Casey Affleck’s contribution to the film as well. John Lithgow was pretty funny and engaging as Donald and I liked David Oyelowo’s appearance as Murph’s elementary school principal. It was funny to see both Lithgow and Oyelowo together again, it was like a mini Rise of the Planet of the Apes reunion haha. As for Topher Grace as Getty, he was alright but his character could honestly have been played by anyone.
There is also one other character I haven’t mentioned who shows up in this film. I haven’t mentioned him and I really want to talk about said person, however, I really want to leave it a secret for those who haven’t checked the film out yet, needless to say, this famous face definitely makes this film so much more exciting.
As for the presentation it was fabulous. Visually the film is pretty damn impressive, that is usually the way with most Nolan films and this is no exception to the rule with it boasting some lovely CGI and cinematography. And then there’s the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, now for those who aren’t in the know, Zimmer is one of my favourite film composers ever and I love hearing any new soundtrack he’s worked on especially when he collaborates with Chris Nolan and the end result is one of beauty, heaven-like sounds and epicness, that being said I do believe that he was done better work in the past and this still doesn’t reach the majesty that is the Inception soundtrack.
In conclusion Interstellar is a great film with great performances, incredible special effects and it is very intriguing, smart and captivating for the most part. I feel like the film’s length and final act do knock it down a few pegs, however it is still another successful film from Christopher Nolan. This will be a film that may divide opinions with some loving it and some hating it, and while I don’t love it, I will say that it was one of the better and more unique films I’ve seen this year.
Rating: 8/10
So have you seen Interstellar and if so what do you think of it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to comment below and I’ll see ya on the next film review, laters! 😀
Howdy people, time for me to review another film in the form of Now You See Me, a film that I’d been hearing a lot about for months now. I’d heard mixed things about the film, but the majority of thoughts on the film were good, but I was sceptical. So I saw the film last week and I thought it was a surprisingly awesome and I’m gonna tell you why in this review.
The story in the film involves small-time magicians Daniel Atlas, Merritt McKinney, Henley Reeves and Jack Wilder when they’re invited to attend a meeting in a weird apartment. One year later, they reappear as The Four Horseman in a show in Las Vegas sponsored by the millionaire Arthur Tressler and they heist a bank in Paris from the stage and distribute the money to the audience. The FBI agent Dylan Rhodes is assigned to the case and the Interpol sends the agent Alma Dray to be his partner. Dylan and Alma are completely lost in the investigation and the exposer of illusionists Thaddeus Bradley gives hints about illusion. When the Four Horseman steal the bank account of Arthur Tressler during a show in New Orleans, Dylan and Alma believe that these heists are only distraction for a huge scheme but they are never sure about of what is true or illusion.
I thought the story in this film was very good and had a good number of twists and turns. It really is intriguing to see how these four magicians go from being individuals to a big-time Las Vegas act with all their amazing tricks which stun the general audience and make them targets for the police. I love films with complex plots or stories that have layers that get more and more mysterious as they progress, the problem sometimes is that these types of films either get too complicated for their own good or are just too smart for me haha. Luckily the plot in this film is at that level where it is smart, complex and layered but not overdone and easy for the general audience to understand.
Now let’s talk about the cast who are all fantastic in their roles. Firstly there’s Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas, I thought Eisenberg was great as this cocky, wise-cracking dude who was really good at illusion and visual-based magic. While his character was a bit of a jerk, I couldn’t help but like him especially since Eisenberg’s performance was very similar to the one he gave in The Social Network. Then there’s Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney, he’s a street Magician with the powers of prediction and hypnosis. As I’m starting to discover, Woody Harrelson is great in anything, he’s funny, smart and always a scene stealer. Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves plays an impressive escape artist, I loved her in the role and she was the most level-headed in the group. And the last member in this group is Dave Franco as Jack Wilder who played a street magician, I think this is Dave Franco’s best role to date as it really showcased his acting talent and charisma on-screen in a way that made him feel relevant and look totally cool.
Mark Ruffalo plays Dylan Rhodes, a FBI agent to great effect. I can’t say I was a big Mark Ruffalo fan until after The Avengers came out, but now I’m starting to see why people talk about his acting talents so much, he was so awesome in this film. He was hell-bent on capturing the magicians and goes through so much trouble to get them. Mélanie Laurent as Alma Dray was great as an Interpol agent assigned to help the FBI, I hadn’t seen Laurent since Inglorious Basterds so I was happy to see her again in a wonderful role where she was sophisticated, smart and didn’t take shit from anyone. And finally Michael Caine as Arthur Tressler and Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley were incredible as always, turning in performances that were convincing, cool and familiar if you’re fans of their work.
I thought that the presentation in this film also worked in both departments. Visually the film is shot well and there is a good use of visual effects too that really help reinforce the illusion-based performances. As for the soundtrack, I really liked it. Bryan Tyler seems to be scoring a lot more films and his music is sounding a lot more impressive these day than ever before. What I like about this soundtrack is that it has that trademark Tyler bombastic sound, its load, stylish and full of flavour!
In conclusion Now You See Me was a mighty impressive film. I knew that the film would be good, but I didn’t expect it to be SO good. It was just such a smart film with good twists and turns, a solid story and cast and lovely presentation. This is a film I highly recommend film, it is some kick ass stuff.
Rating: 8.5/10 (I wonderfully great piece of film that get better as the film progresses)
So what did you think of Now You See Me? Whatever your thoughts are drop in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next film review yo!
Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Day #26 of my Month of Superhero Film Reviews! During this month I’ll be reviewing of some of the best and worst comic book adapted films. Okay so today we conclude our review of Batman films with one of the most overrated films in recent history, The Dark Knight.
Now I’m gonna talk about a film I don’t like to discuss with most people. Why? Because everyone bums the hell out of this film like it is the best thing since sliced bread and in my opinion it really isn’t. Fans and critics went made in 2008 when this film released and it has been hailed for changing the comic book superhero genre since. I saw the film when it released and I thought it was good, but not nearly as godly as people made it out to be. Ever since then I’ve watched the film a few times but my views still haven’t changed. So now in 2013 I’m revisiting the film again, has my opinion changed? Read on and find out.
Taking place after the events in Batman Begins, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker.
The story was pretty interesting for the most part but not perfect though. I like the way this film continues on from the last with its visual and verbal references, but I also like how the story progresses and gets more complex and higher in stakes. the introduction of the Joker makes for some very dramatic, suspenseful and unpredictable situations that have intriguing results. There’s a lot of interesting themes about corruption, morality, justice and injustice and nature vs. nature, and there’s all beautifully explained in the film. I think one of the reasons I’m not keen on the film is because there’s just a lot of aspects that I don’t care about, when the film isn’t focused on Batman or the Joker, then my interest fades, plus sometimes the film feels long and tedious. I guess the only reason I don’t like this film is because it doesn’t really feel like a comic book film, it feels more like a long thriller film with just a few comic book elements thrown in. And while that may work for most film audiences, for me who is a nerd and a fan of the more comic book side of Batman, this film just feels lacking.
Now let’s talk about the cast who do a good job at bringing these characters to life for the most part. Christian Bale was still pretty good as Bruce Wayne, I feel like his character went through hell in this film as he had to fight the terrors of Gotham while trying to keep himself intact and eventually get out the crime fighting life and move on with Rachel. But as Batman, Bale was still dodgy. He is intimidating, but his voice is still terrible and over the course of the film gets worse. Michael Caine is still awesome as Alfred, Caine is just a great actor and he shows us his talents as Bruce’s trusted butler who helps Bruce and his alter ego, offering advice and being funny at times.
But let’s talk about the main reason this film works and that is Heath Ledger as the Joker. This version of the Joker is just a psychopath, he is a nutcase with a twisted sense of humour and morality and he does bad things just to see will happen. I remember seeing this film in the cinema and remembering that this is why I liked the film so much and that rule still applies today. Ledger is just magnetic in this role, every time he’s on-screen all attention is on him and his charisma and powerful persona makes him amazing to watch. He is crazy and I love it, and while I can’t say it’s my favourite interpretation of the character (That is still Mark Hamill), this in my opinion is way more interesting and captivating than Jack Nicholson’s version.
Also Gary Oldman as James Gordon is great. Oldman’s role is more expanded than before and we get to see his character pushed to the forefront of the story. Gordon has to deal with his alliance to Batman and Harvey Dent as well as the Joker’s crazy actions. I just love how much more screen time Gordon got and how he ascended to the role as police commissioner. As for Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face I thought he was pretty cool. As Dent Eckhart was nice as the district attorney who really wanted to clean up Gotham and do justice the right way. Eventually Dent gets corrupted and goes on the path of revenge as Two-Face and I liked his interpretation of the character as he was corrupt, on-edge and shell of his former self. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes was nice and I found her version of the character to be more engaging and likeable than Katie Holmes. You could see that even though Rachel had moved on with Harvey Dent, that she still feelings for Bruce and because of his life as Batman it made things a great more complicated. And lastly Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox is still badass, I just like how he keeps supplying Bruce with all his gadgets for his duties as Batman.
Now let’s talk about the presentation, visually the film is pretty impressive, the cinematography is wonderful, the presentation of the action and Batman’s fight scenes is a hell of a lot better and the editing is much smoother than before. I also like the special effects applied to Aaron Eckhart after he becomes Two Face too. The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the fact that Gotham City lost its visual style from the first film and just adopted a very normal look in this film which I just didn’t agree with. As for the soundtrack by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer it is hella cool. The two basically take the themes from the first film and build upon them while introducing new themes too. The music is loud, dramatic, suspenseful and versatile and it really adds to the scenes where it is used.
And lastly how does it compare to the comics? When it comes to Batman I’ve only read a few comics, most of my knowledge comes from years of watching Batman cartoons and research online. Well since Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe is more realistic, several things were updated or modified to work in the real world. As such many things have a more grounded approach. For example the Joker no longer has bleached skin and instead has paint and scars on his face and Two-Face instead of having acid on his face and a split personality, his face is burnt away in a fire.
So to conclude The Dark Knight is still a great film and is a wonderful piece of material from director Christopher Nolan. It has a story that has a lot of interesting themes and thriller-esque elements and with a fabulous central performance from Heath Ledger it is a film worth watching. That being said, I still don’t think its the best comic book film ever made, it strays too far from the source material and almost doesn’t feel like a superhero/comic book film at all and there’s just a few small things that I don’t agree with. Now loads of people think I’m crazy because of my views on this film and I’ll continue to fight my corner until the end of time, but as it stands The Dark Knights is awesome, but not as extraordinary as a lot of fans and critics make it out to be.
Rating: 8/10 (A fine Batman film, but not as godly as many make it out to be)
So there’s my review people, only 4 more to go! So have you seen The Dark Knightand if so what are your thoughts on it? Drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts yo! Come back tomorrow and I’ll have a new film review online, until then peace out!
Howdy ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Day #25 of my Month of Superhero Film Reviews! During this month I’ll be reviewing of some of the best and worst comic book adapted films. Alrighty then, we’ve talked about both of the Tim Burton Batman films, we’ve also talked about the ONLY Joel Schumacher that matters, so we’re skipping ahead to 2005 with the awesome Batman Begins.
Okay now we’re talking. I remember not being initially interested in this film at all due to its whole dark and realistic approach and lack of traditional Batman comic source material. But then I gave the film a chance around 2 or 3 years later and I found out that I really liked it. The film was definitely different and there were a number of things I wasn’t keen on but otherwise it was a solid film which I appreciated. So its been a while since I’ve seen it last time and now that I’ve watched it again has my opinion changed? Read on to find out.
So the plot in this film tells the origin story of the Bruce Wayne from his fear of bats to the death of his parents to his training with the League of shadows to his eventual transformation into the hero known as Batman. In this film Batman has to deal with the villain Scarecrow and the much larger threat in the form of Ra’s al Ghul and his plot to destroy Gotham City.
The story was pretty cool. Even though I am a very adamant comic book fan, the more realistic, dark and gritty tone really worked thanks to the great script and good direction from Christopher Nolan. Everything works in a more practical and realistic fashion, though there are comic book elements implemented as well and I think they’re incorporated nicely. The reason I liked the story so much was due to Bruce’s origin story, I don’t think there’s been a Batman film to date that’s gone this deep into Batman’s life prior to donning the suit. We get to see his childhood, his training and the creation of his lair, suit, weaponry and so on. I also like the part of the plot involving Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows plan to destroy Gotham, I thought it was pretty cool and hardcore. I think my only issues with the film is the fact that it wasn’t as comic book-esque as I had hoped, Batman is character I’ve always enjoyed in the animated TV shows and to see all of the source material changed and modified to work in the real world just didn’t gel with me at times during this film.
Now let’s talk about the cast who do a good job at bringing these characters to life for the most part. So let’s start with Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. I do like Bale’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne, I think he gives us the most accurate version of the character from the comics and his journey through this film is pretty cool and much more detailed than any other Batman film before it. However I can’t say that Bale makes a good Batman though. Bale as Batman is just terrible due to one key factor… His voice. I understand that Batman is different from Bruce Wayne and needs a different voice, however Batman in this film sounds insanely stupid! He’s all gruff, gravelly and as a lot of people have been saying online, sounds like he has throat cancer. Though it does make for some unintentionally funny lines of dialogue.
Then we have Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth. I do love Sir Michael Caine and I think this is the first film where I really became accustomed to him as an actor. Caine’s version of Alfred feels like he has more of a backstory and feels like he has more of an active role in Bruce’s life after he becomes Batman. You can see that Alfred definitely care for Bruce and wants to help him out, but he also isn’t afraid to speak his mind and voice concern when dangerous situations look like they’ll occur. Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes was where I personally found the weak link in the film. Don’t get me wrong she’s not that bad in the film, but she’s not that great either. Dawes is a character made for film and has no relation to the comics and as a love interest for Bruce I just didn’t care because that is the one element in superhero films that I can deal without. Also Gary Oldman as James Gordon was cool, again like Michael Caine’s Alfred I feel like Oldman’s Gordon had a more active role than his predecessor and left a better lasting impression on me. Oldman is a fine actor and while his character isn’t as big as he is in the sequels he’s still pretty cool here.
Then we have our first villain in the form of Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard. Neeson is one of the most awesome actors out there and I loved his character in this film how he becomes Bruce’s mentor only to turn out to be the bad guy later on down the line. You can see that Ducard has much mystery surrounding his character and that as good as he may seem he has ulterior motives and I thought Neeson did great in the role and made the character magnetic on-screen. As for villain number two who was Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow we was different, his character was very clever, questionable and strange and as the Scarecrow he was even funkier using his toxins to make people freak out and hallucinate. But as good as he was I felt like he could have been better and when he is taken out it is done in the most anti climatic way.
Tom Wilkinson makes for a cool Mafia boss as Carmine Falcone, he’s an intimidating bastard who plays a small part in the larger picture of evil plans going down in the film and Wilkinson was good. And lastly Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox was just the coolest guy ever. He’s a guy that works at Wayne Enterprises but also supplies Bruce with all his gear necessary for his missions. I like the relationship that Bruce and Lucius start in this film and since the character is played by Morgan Freeman you can’t really complain can you?
Now let’s talk about the presentation. Visually the film is nice I like look of Gotham City because it is so dark, has great lighting and has a unique colour palette that really helps show off how ugly and distinguishing the city is. I also like a lot of the action sequences in this film, Batman’s attack sequences are nicely pulled off though it is badly shot and edited at times because you can’t really see what’s going on. As for the soundtrack by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer its pretty good, the score that they create while it doesn’t have that same level of epicness and gravitas that Danny Elfman’s scores did back in the Tim Burton’s films, it does have a main theme that sounds pretty beastly and overall the soundtrack amplifies the action in the film very well.
And lastly how does it compare to the comics? When it comes to Batman I’ve only read a few comics, most of my knowledge comes from years of watching Batman cartoons and research online. I think everything in this film is modified to work in the real world so characters, vehicles and weapons work in a more practical and realistic manner. There are a few comic book elements retained like the death of Bruce’s parents and his fear of bats and his martial arts skills too. I’m not too familiar with the villains of the films so I can’t talk about them. Other than that everything else is either new or changed for film purposes.
So to conclude Batman Begins is a pretty cool film. A lot of people these days say that this film is the weakest element in The Dark Knight Trilogy but I think that is unfair as it was the film that created the foundation for the sequels to build on. This film created a new, dark and realistic world for Batman and redefined the character with much stronger storytelling, themes, characters and wonderful presentation. The film does indeed have problems and I don’t love it as much as I did before, but out of all the three Batman origins we’ve had so far this is my favourite and I recommend the film highly.
Rating: 7.5/10 (It’s dark, gritty and different but it’s still hella good!)
So there’s my review people, and now we’ve reached the FINAL 5 FILMS! WOOOO! So have you seen Batman Beginsand if so what are your thoughts on it? Drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts yo! Come back tomorrow and I’ll have a new film review online, until then peace out!
Good day to you ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another film review. Today’s review will be on the film that we’ve all been waiting for, the epic conclusion to the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy of films; The Dark Knight Rises.
Now like I said in my Films I’m Looking Forward to in 2012 segment on The Dark Knight Rises is there really any need for me to talk about how big this film is? Do I really need to try and convince you to see this film? Chances are you’ve already seen it or are going to watch it. Everybody knows about The Dark Knight Rises and the hype for this film leading up to its release has been ridiculously high. So the real question is; after all this time has Christopher Nolan delivered a satisfying conclusion to his Batman trilogy? Well I can say without a doubt that the answer to that question is a big fat YES! The Dark Knight Rises is FRIGGING AWESOME! FACT.
Plot
So what’s the story in TDKR? Well the film takes place 8 years after the events of TDK and it seems like Gotham City has been in a state of peace for a while thanks to the Dent Act, that is until a new theat appears on the scene in the shape of Bane. Despite his tarnished reputation after the events of TDK, in which he took the rap for Dent’s crimes, Batman feels compelled to intervene to assist the city and its police force which is struggling to cope with Bane’s plans to destroy the city.
The plot of TDKR is deep, dark, elaborate and has many layers to it. I found the story in this film to be very deep and involving from start to finish. I loved how the film handled the events from The Dark Knight and still made them relevant in this film, and it was also impressive how the film sets up all of these new characters along with some of the more established people from the previous two films and make them all come together and have a purpose. The plot as a whole I prefered to the TDK, while the TDK did have a lot to like in terms of corruption, chaos and moral and ethical decisions that had to be made I think I liked TDKR more because it was on a larger scale, with greater stakes and we had a villain that was ready to sink Gotham city into the ground. Everything about TDKR just screams better to me. Granted that the plot does take a little while to get going in the first act because of the new characters and plot points to establish, but once the film gets into the swing of things it is awesome.
Characters
Now let’s take about the characters of TDKR and while there are many, I feel like I will only talk about the 3 main characters; Batman, Bane and Catwoman and then mention any other relevant people afterwards. But just to let you know now the standout performances come from Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine and Anne Hathaway as their performances really did resonate with me and stayed with me after the film ended.
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman was actually really good in this film and I think it is his finest performance in The Dark Knight Trilogy. Before this film I thought he had made a decent Bruce Wayne, but I was never overly fussed, nor had I ever been attached to his character, but his performance really won me over in TDKR due to the circumstances that take place in the film, the journey Bruce/Batman has to go on and what that does to him physically and mentally. While in the previous two films we’ve seen Bruce go through a lot, I don’t think any amount of training could prepare him for what happens in TDKR. I mean he’s been out of the game as Batman for 8 years and has become a recluse, but when Bane is on scene he has to become Batman once again to save Gotham. And I found it really interesting the way Bruce had to get back into swing of things as Batman, how he had to get into the right mindset and physical groove for his encounters with Bane. Bale brought his A-game in this film and for the first time in this trilogy I really liked his version of both Bruce and Batman. There are some really deep and emotional moments with this character and you go through it all with him over the course of the film as he falls from grace and has to build himself back up again.
Let’s talk about Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I am just going to say it right now, Anne Hathaway kicked ass as Catwoman. The interesting think about her character was her history and her motives for doing what she does, sure she is a thief living on the wrong side of the law but she has a reason for doing it and I love how Catwoman was relevant to the main plot too. Ms. Hathaway brings the smart, cunning and sexy nature of Catwoman from the comics to the big screen, it is easy to get attached to her to her character because Hathaway portrays her in such a great way and another thing Hathaway got right was the fighting elements too. She kicks so much ass in this film and I was really impressed by Hathaway, I think this is her best role in any film ever. And yes she looks sexy as hell in that cat suit yo! 😀 Now let’s move onto Tom Hardy as Bane. Simply put, he killed it as Bane. Bane was a very captivating character and a great villain to watch in this film. He is an intelligent, calculated and menacing terrorist leader who just from looking at his face you know is just badass. Tom Hardy brings a great deal of tenacity, intensity and realism to his role and he creates this presence on-screen so when you see him you know that something’s gonna go down. Whether it’s the intense look in his eyes that’ll make you quake in fear or the way in which he delivers dialogue that’ll shit your pants, Bane is just a beast of a guy. What I love about Bane is that he is a villain with a mission, who has loads of followers willing to do his bidding, but he also isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and get in on the action himself.
Outside of Batman, Bane and Catwoman there are few other notable characters that made this film work, like Alfred. Michael Caine in The Dark Knight Trilogy has always been one of the key aspects of what makes Nolan’s films work, and while he doesn’t have as much screen time as I would have liked when he is on-screen it matters. He is still the reliable butler supporting Bruce throughout all of his endeavours, but in this film when Bruce is clearly up against a force far beyond his physical and mental capabilities he voice concern for Bruce’s safety and when he delivers his lines in this film it is so heartfelt and emotional that you can’t help but well up and maybe shed a tear for the old man. Caine is still incredible as Alfred and his character in this film has never spoken truer words. Another notable character whose relevance in this trilogy of films is massive is Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon. It was great to see his character dealing with the events of TDK and feeling guilty for covering up the death of Harvey Dent, but what is also more interesting is when the city falls into chaos and how he deals with it as he spring into action. I was glad to see the return of Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, I was interested to see where his character would go after TDK and I was glad to see how his character had changed since the last film and how he was relevant in this film too. And lastly Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake was fantastic, Blake was an intelligent and self-aware police officer who plays a big part in the film and he had some great scenes with Cruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon, he was agreat addition to an already stellar cast and I believe Joseph Gordon-Levitt was almost as great as he was in Inception with the way he handled his character in this film.
There is a great deal of interesting interaction between different characters too whether it be the character dynamic will work between Batman and Catwoman or the confrontation between Batman and Bane or the more intimate moments between Bruce and Alfred or the scenes with Commissioner Gordon and John Blake. Most of the cast members all interact with each other at one point or another and it is just lovely to see how they bounce off of each other. The key thing that has my interest in the fight between Batman and Bane, finally we’re going to get a big one-on-one fight with Batman and another enemy which is totally necessary in my opinion.
Presentation
Visually the film is great, everything looks stunning and while the small special effects used on stuff like The Bat look good, the main reason TDKR succeeds its down to the cinematography. The way the film is shot is simply amazing, so many times I was just taking in all of the beautiful shots of the city and those wonderfully shot scenes and sequences in the winter. Never before has a film with so little CGI and special effects ever impressed me so much. I just love how real everything is and how much practical effects they used on the film, the visual side of TDKR is truly a sight to behold. Also outside of the intimate scenes with the main characters there are some absurdly cool scenes of destruction and chaos going down. Football fields crumble, buildings are demolished, explosions happen in many locations and mass panic ensues. TDKR also gives us the best fight scenes in the entire trilogy, whether it be Catwoman throwing down against her adversaries or the incredible fight scenes between Batman and Bane. Now most Batman films seem to be lacking in the fighting department because Batman’s never been a proper fight before, but in this film the fight scenes are not only good, they are hella good! They are well-filmed, well-choreography and they’re shot in some really interesting and beautiful ways and the music that comes with these scenes only amplifies the awesomeness by 100%!
The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer is great. The previous soundtracks done by Zimmer and James Newton Howard in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have been damn good, but this soundtrack is my favourite so far. This soundtrack captivated me deeply (much like when I saw Inception). Zimmer’s work is simply incredible, it is a combination of the two previous Batman films with some new themes brought into the mix for this third film. It was soft and touching in the emotional scenes or it can be loud and insane in the tense action scenes. I think my favourite track was “Gotham’s Reckoning“, it builds from the beginning to end and just becomes this ferocious and chaotic beast of a song.
Obviously there is another big question that needs to answered; is The Dark Knight Rises better than The Avengers? For me that is a tough call, I fell in love with The Avengers and watched it 4 times in the cinema, while I’ve only seen TDKR once, but I feel that I would still put The Avengers ahead of TDKR because it was everything I wanted and more. The Avengers for me was the definitive version of what a comic book film should be while TDKR gives a realistic form of a comic book film.
Conclusion
So in conclusion The Dark Knight Rises wasn’t just great, it was amazing. To be honest I was just expecting a film that was just going to be good but not as good as The Dark Knight, but luckily the film exceeded any expectations I had of it. It was big, loud and proud. This was my favourite of the Christopher Nolan films because it gave me everything I had wanted from a Batman film; a dramatic story with amazing dialogue, deep and interesting characters, brilliant, brutal and well-choreographed fight scenes, incredible cinematography and a fantastic soundtrack. While the film does a few nitpicky issues and many may argue that TDK is still the best Batman film around, I however beg to differ. This is my favourite Batman film, I was hooked from beginning to end and I was thoroughly satisfied with the end result. I REALLY WANT TO BAG TO SEE IT RIGHT NOW! I feel gutted for the person who has to reboot the Batman film franchise, he’s got a tought act to follow.
Howdy ladies and gents and welcome to another instalment of Films I’m Looking Forward to in 2012. And today’s post will be on what could be described as the most anticipated film of not only the summer, but of the whole year; The Dark Knight Rises.
Now is there really any need for me to talk about how big this film is? Do I really need to try and convince you as a person to see this film? Chances are you already know about The Dark Knight Rises and are ridiculously hyped for it. But there are a number of people in the world that aren’t that well-informed or in some strange cases may not even care about this upcoming Batman film, so for those people this blog post is gonna be about the info surrounding the film, why I’m hyped for it and why you should see it when it comes out in July.
Now TDKR is the third installment in the series of Batman films directed by the awesomeness that’s Christopher Nolan (director of Memento, The Prestige & Inception). First we had Batman Begins in 2005, which was the first Batman film since the disgusting piece of work that was Batman & Robin from 1997. Luckily Batman Begins was a solid film that was dark, gritty and make Batman seem pretty cool again. That film also introduced us to a more realistic take on the superhero genre, Nolan’s take on Batman was more like a realistic thriller with superhero elements attached to it in my opinion. While Batman Begins was good, it did have it’s fair share of problems like: Christian Bale’s raspy Batman voice, horribly messy fight scenes, the tumbler and the poor use of the villain Scarecrow. Overall though Batman Begins was very successful both financially and critically and the fans became obsessed and wanted another one…
The film that started this crazy train of Batman madness. A good entry to this Batman trilogy.
So then wait three years down the line, it’s 2008 and we were given what many comic book fans and critics consider to be the best comic book film in existence, The Dark Knight. Before this film came out, the hype for TDK was insane. No seriously it was like the world was going to blow up. The stakes were higher, the scale was bigger and most importantly we had Batman’s best and most recognisable villain in there too, The Joker. The marketing for this film was very well crafted. The viral campaigns were so stylish and the trailers for the film looked insane and was so much deeper, creepier, darker and more realistic than ever. Unfortunately actor Heath Ledger who portrayed the Joker in the film died 6 months prior to the film’s release which shocked man people around the world, that in turn did make more people pay attention to the film due to the media’s coverage of Mr. Ledger’s death and how he was attached to TDK. So anyways The Dark Knight eventually came out in July 2008 and it blew up at the cinema. It was the hottest film of that summer and of that year. It was a hell of a lot better than Batman Begins, there was deeper character development, better fight scenes, wonderful cinematography, a fabulous soundtrack and an incredibly dense and interesting story. Though the best part of the film really was the Joker, he really just stole show in the film. Heath Ledger gave us a dark, twisted and chaotic version of the character who took inspiration from the comics while still offering up something new. Every scene he was in was incredible. It truly was Heath Ledger’s best performance in my opinion. The film blew up as the box office and broke so many damn records, some of which have yet to be broken to this day. For me TDK is a great film, though it’s a tad overhyped for my liking. Some things were still off for me like: Bale’s gruff and raspy Batman voice, the film’s pace sort of dragged at times and the realistic setting as good as it was it started to feel less like a Batman film and more of a realistic thriller with Batman characters lurking around in it. And I also thought that TDK lacked a bit of the charm that came with Batman Begins too. But that’s just my opinion.
The film that’s seen by many as the best superhero film in existence.
So after the success of The Dark Knight how do you follow that up? By being Christopher Nolan and busting out another film in 2012, that’s how! After TDK many fans of the film wondered how would one honestly follow-up a film like that when you’ve used the most iconic villain and put Bruce Wayne/Batman through a great deal of pain already. Well, somehow the production moved ahead, we found out that the two main new characters would be Bane and Catwoman and Chris Nolan teamed up with several of his previous collaborators in order to craft what would be his final Batman film.
Now I ain’t gonna lie ladies and gents, as much as I like Batman and have a great love for the many animated TV shows over the years, I can’t say that much of a big Batman fan overall. Technically speaking I’m a Marvel fan, more so than DC. So when it comes to big superhero films I know everything when it comes to Marvel and then casually look at DC-based stuff. So in turn that’s why I’ve been more interested in The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, and that’s also the reason why’s there’s much more information on those films then the amount of TDKR.
Anyways now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what’s the story of this film gonna be? Well it apparently takes place 8 years after TDK and it seems like Gotham City has been in a state of peace for a while, that is until two new villains show up on the scene in the shape of Bane and Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman). Batman must then come back into action and save the city from being destroyed. To be honest from what’s been shown in the full-length trailers, this film looks like it’s going to be big and on a much bigger scale than the previous film. I thought that The Dark Knight was the height of epicness that could be reached in Nolan’s Batman films and yet here we see in this film that the stakes are higher, the level of destruction going on is insane and it seems like Batman might actually be defeated or even worse… Killed. I found it interesting back in the early casting days that a few members from Inception was gonna be joining the cast of TDKR in the form of Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And since we’re on the subject of casting I guess now would be as a good a time as any to talk about the cast of this film.
So let’s start with Tom Hardy as Bane because I’m always more interested in the villains then I am in Batman. Now I remembered when he was signed on to the big bad villain role and most of us who had watched either Inception or Bronson knew what the deal was with Hardy so we knew we had a good actor at the ready. Now when the first few pictures came out, a good number of fans were complaining that he was too small and that he needed to look more in-lin with the comic book material. Though you’d think a lot of them would have learned that Chris Nolan’s Batman world is much more realistic than those of the conventional comic book movies so there are bound to be liberties taken with character design. And let’s remember that a great deal of stuff from Nolan’s Batman films only bare small resemblance to their source material. But anyway moving on, I remember when the first trailer came out and Bane’s voice was soooooo muffled and I had to listen really carefully to understand him and that was a major factor with all the people who saw that 6-minute preview of the film back in December. Luckily by the time the latest trailer came out Bane was as clear as day and he looked and sounded like a badass. He just seems like a big badass man of destruction. Not only is he more than a match for Batman himself, but he also seems like a calculated man ready to bring a new type of chaos in a different way from the Joker.
Now let’s take about Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Okay we’ve seen him in the previous two films and he’s a been through a lot, but in this film Bruce/Batman looks like he’ll be put through hell and back physically and mentally. I’m just curious to see what’s been going on in Bruce’s life in the 8 years between the last film and this one. And I also wanna see how the story develops his character too. Compared to a lot of other superhero films, Bale’s version of Bruce Wayne/Batman I’m not overally interested in, he’s alright and I’m sure there are people who love it but for me there’s never been a point where I’ve been attached to his character.
Okay now let’s move onto Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I think it’s fair to say that when Ms. Hathaway was cast as Catwoman a lot of people weren’t too keen on her. I mean she’s hot, that’s a fact. But outside of that not many of her films have ever been amazing and she’s not really the first actress you think of to take on the character as interesting and as complex as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. But most us trusted Chris Nolan’s judgment as he’s never made a film where the cast didn’t work in his favour. The first screenshots we got of her were interesting, but lacking the more ‘cat-like’ aspects of the costume which lead a lot of fans to go into frenzy about it, complaining in many of the forums I passed through. Other people just thought she looked hot in leather and never questioned anything else about her haha. Eventually we did see the full uniform and she indeed have the cat ears and to be honest that’s all I needed. In the trailers she seems very suspicious, provocative and acrobatic; all the key aspects hat Catwoman requires, so I am curious to see what Anne Hathaway does with the role and hopefully she’ll do her comic book character justice.
Now I know that there are many other additional cast members that’ll be part of this film, but to be honest I’m only mainly interested in a few specific people outside of Batman, Bane and Catwoman. Like Alfred, I love Michael Caine in these Batman films and I believe him to be one of the key aspects of what makes Nolan’s films work, he is the reliable butler always supplying helpful information and supporting Bruce throughout all of his endeavours. I’m also curious to see what’s been going with Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and I also want to know what the significance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character as John Blake. Outside of characters I’m looking forward to some absurdly cool scenes of destruction and cool spectacle. I also am ready for another kick ass soundtrack from Hans Zimmer who I swear is a composer of music who can never do wrong! I’m also curious to see how the character dynamic will work between Batman and Catwoman. The key thing that has my interest in the fight between Batman and Bane, finally we’re going to get a big one-on-one fight with Batman and another enemy which is totally necessary in my opinion. I just want to see Bane break Batman! 😀 We haven’t seen a proper representation of all of Batman’s martial arts skills and how he’d use them along with his gadgets in a fight. Fights in Batman films seem to lack style, choreography and that ‘cool’ effect you’d get the X-Men or Spider-Man films which excel in their fight sequences (sure they have super powers but they are still done well and that’s what counts).
In conclusion The Dark Knight Rises is looking like an epic conclusion to the Christopher Nolan Batman films. Its got action, drama, atmosphere and so much more. Any fan of Batman or Christopher Nolan shouldn’t miss out on this film. It really is one of the biggest films of 2012, people have been patiently waiting for the arrival of this film, but now that it’s so close fan are starting to blow up. This film along with The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Hobbit is in the list of the most anticipated film of the year. Now The Avengers already started off the summer film season with a bang and has proven to be a success with fans and critics. It has now set the standard for good films this year, it’s also broken loads of records financially and has now become the 5th highest grossing film of all time! So TDKR has some pretty big shoes to fill, however if history is anything to go by, then by the time we get to July 20th the Batman fans will come in great numbers and destroy Marvel like they did in 2008. However times are different and The Avengers is no simple comic book film, it is the definition of the ultimate comic film and has been anticipated for 4 years (even more for comic book fans of the older generation). Either way I know TDKR is gonna be a big deal this summer and I’ll be there to see what the deal is. 🙂
If you still need convincing of the awesomeness of this film watch this trailer:
The Hypersonic55's Realm of Reviews and Other Stuff 