I know I said I would be doing The Other Guys next, but with my niece and nephews here yesterday, I had no time. That said, I did go to The Dark Knight Rises midnight showing last night and have been dreaming of it since I got home.
I will again be doing this out of order. I have been struggling about wit for a half hour and cannot decide yet, so I'll tell you first about what I am more confident about.
If it gives you any sense how carefully I thought about this rating, I began by comparing it with The Dark Knight, which was all 9.5's. I then compared it to (500) Days of Summer, another one that received all 9.5's. I then compared it individually with every film that has ever received a 10 on anything. It is as wise as Robin Hood (1973) and Battle: Los Angeles. It was as wonderful as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Sin City, and it was as witty as Annie Hall and The Royal Tenenbaums.
I gave it a 10 for wisdom. There is a single insinuated sex scene and it is fornication. This is my only fault for the film in its wisdom, but extenuating circumstances made it less than a .2 knock-off. I rounded up. This act is, in the end, a pretty strangely huge mistake for one party, which you might as well know is Batman/Bruce Wayne. Beyond this, sexual mores are straight-laced and the overall message is perfect. Examples:
1. It is suggested, by my interpretation, that both money greedy faux capitalism and power grubbing faux populism are untenable. As someone somewhere said, "The truth will out."
2. That same statement, as applied to the Batman's solution at the end of The Dark Knight, is played for great force, not least in Joseph Gordon Levitt's character's response.
3. Bruce's response to being broken by Bane is uber-hero, Jesus level self-sacrifice with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control thrown in. Some will object to my comparison between Jesus and Batman. This will not stop me. Also, I insert Perelandra by C. S. Lewis and its violent conclusion as my collateral. Sometimes, violence is the answer.
4. Alfred's attempts to save Bruce from slipping into a miserable, self-depressive coma coupled with Nolan's immensely brave ending are simply the most life-affirming message ever written.
There's probably more, but who could say it all "if all the forests' trees were pens and all the oceans ink." Excuse me if I wax poetic, but this film brought it out.
As for wonder, I gave another 10. Here's why: the Bat, Hans Zimmer, plane ripped from the sky, scale. I'll explain each of these.
The Bat is the name for the Batplane in this film and it is awesome. I use that word too often, but I mean that it inspires awe. It truly is a thing of beauty. This is also short-hand for every cool gadget made for this series, including but not limited to the Tumbler, the escape pod/motorcycle, the cape/glider, etc.
Hans Zimmer is possibly the greatest composer in the history of film, if not, he is second only to John Williams. It really is a foot race with no clear winner. His music may well be the reason I think this film is so darn good in the first place.
The opening scene is breath taking in its devastating, how-did-they-do-that manner.
Scale may also be the key to the film. Before the film, I watched one of those preview shows at home from Reelz Channel. Chris Nolan mentioned that he tried to take from old silent films that epic feel. They used thousands of extras in some scenes. They staged a full scale battle. They also travelled around the world for great locations and built Gotham in a building.
I could go on about the subtleties of makeup on characters that need to be 8 years older suddenly and costume design, but I will cut that short.
Wit was for me the hardest to decide. I compared and compared. It lacks something that is often essential to me granting a 10. It is not particularly funny. I have never given a 10 for wit to a true drama before, but this film truly earned it.
I think, even as a purist fanboy of the highest degree, that Christopher and Jonathan Nolan did nothing wrong. They kept me in suspense from beginning to end, even though I knew certain things beforehand, they made me doubt. Every line is crafted to perfection. No one says anything out of character or corny or over-simplified. There are no gaps and no filler. Every scene is on cue.
There is little to complain about in terms of acting. Again with Batman's voice, there is a tension, in which it sounds silly. This is again a <.2 offense and I rounded up. Beyond that, Bale does not disappoint. His discipline and strength of will show through, his virtues make the screen virtues more real.
Tom Hardy deserves an Oscar nod at least, but unless he dies I have no expectations. He embodies a character of consummate evil without being a madman a la Heath Ledger's Joker. He moves with consistent and uncharacteristic mannerisms that show he has prepared himself adequately for the role and he play the populist terrorist with conviction without making it seem false when his true motives are revealed.
I'll lump Joseph Gordon Levitt and Gary Oldman in with Matthew Modine and all the cop extras. Joseph and Gary are stellar performances that never stray too far from simple normal men, but play with power and ferocity when need be. There performance doesn't sound strange or do anything fancy, but when Joseph's character is threatened and he steps forward anyway, the tension in his eyes makes it believable. When Gary lies in a hospital bed delivering lines or throws himself into a sewer pipe, we believe in his character and who he claims to be, even if it's mundane next to psychopaths and vigilantes. Matthew Modine is alternately despicable and inspiring depending on the scene, but he does it all with that air of confidence that suspends disbelief.
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson do much the same as we expect of them, which it's easy to forget almost no one else can do.
I cannot forget Marion Cotillard, who shocked and enthralled me every minute she was onscreen, which was far too little, though again perfect for the story.
I am loath to leave anyone out and there are so many, though it never seems crowded, which speaks to scale done right. I can only speak to the attention to detail on the part of every extra and crew member.
It was worth it. This is my first perfect 30 ever and when I inevitably watch it again...and again, I may not leave all 3 10's intact, but I cannot recommend this movie enough. I can only hope you get as much out as I did.
I will again be doing this out of order. I have been struggling about wit for a half hour and cannot decide yet, so I'll tell you first about what I am more confident about.
If it gives you any sense how carefully I thought about this rating, I began by comparing it with The Dark Knight, which was all 9.5's. I then compared it to (500) Days of Summer, another one that received all 9.5's. I then compared it individually with every film that has ever received a 10 on anything. It is as wise as Robin Hood (1973) and Battle: Los Angeles. It was as wonderful as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Sin City, and it was as witty as Annie Hall and The Royal Tenenbaums.
I gave it a 10 for wisdom. There is a single insinuated sex scene and it is fornication. This is my only fault for the film in its wisdom, but extenuating circumstances made it less than a .2 knock-off. I rounded up. This act is, in the end, a pretty strangely huge mistake for one party, which you might as well know is Batman/Bruce Wayne. Beyond this, sexual mores are straight-laced and the overall message is perfect. Examples:
1. It is suggested, by my interpretation, that both money greedy faux capitalism and power grubbing faux populism are untenable. As someone somewhere said, "The truth will out."
2. That same statement, as applied to the Batman's solution at the end of The Dark Knight, is played for great force, not least in Joseph Gordon Levitt's character's response.
3. Bruce's response to being broken by Bane is uber-hero, Jesus level self-sacrifice with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control thrown in. Some will object to my comparison between Jesus and Batman. This will not stop me. Also, I insert Perelandra by C. S. Lewis and its violent conclusion as my collateral. Sometimes, violence is the answer.
4. Alfred's attempts to save Bruce from slipping into a miserable, self-depressive coma coupled with Nolan's immensely brave ending are simply the most life-affirming message ever written.
There's probably more, but who could say it all "if all the forests' trees were pens and all the oceans ink." Excuse me if I wax poetic, but this film brought it out.
As for wonder, I gave another 10. Here's why: the Bat, Hans Zimmer, plane ripped from the sky, scale. I'll explain each of these.
The Bat is the name for the Batplane in this film and it is awesome. I use that word too often, but I mean that it inspires awe. It truly is a thing of beauty. This is also short-hand for every cool gadget made for this series, including but not limited to the Tumbler, the escape pod/motorcycle, the cape/glider, etc.
Hans Zimmer is possibly the greatest composer in the history of film, if not, he is second only to John Williams. It really is a foot race with no clear winner. His music may well be the reason I think this film is so darn good in the first place.
The opening scene is breath taking in its devastating, how-did-they-do-that manner.
Scale may also be the key to the film. Before the film, I watched one of those preview shows at home from Reelz Channel. Chris Nolan mentioned that he tried to take from old silent films that epic feel. They used thousands of extras in some scenes. They staged a full scale battle. They also travelled around the world for great locations and built Gotham in a building.
I could go on about the subtleties of makeup on characters that need to be 8 years older suddenly and costume design, but I will cut that short.
Wit was for me the hardest to decide. I compared and compared. It lacks something that is often essential to me granting a 10. It is not particularly funny. I have never given a 10 for wit to a true drama before, but this film truly earned it.
I think, even as a purist fanboy of the highest degree, that Christopher and Jonathan Nolan did nothing wrong. They kept me in suspense from beginning to end, even though I knew certain things beforehand, they made me doubt. Every line is crafted to perfection. No one says anything out of character or corny or over-simplified. There are no gaps and no filler. Every scene is on cue.
There is little to complain about in terms of acting. Again with Batman's voice, there is a tension, in which it sounds silly. This is again a <.2 offense and I rounded up. Beyond that, Bale does not disappoint. His discipline and strength of will show through, his virtues make the screen virtues more real.
Tom Hardy deserves an Oscar nod at least, but unless he dies I have no expectations. He embodies a character of consummate evil without being a madman a la Heath Ledger's Joker. He moves with consistent and uncharacteristic mannerisms that show he has prepared himself adequately for the role and he play the populist terrorist with conviction without making it seem false when his true motives are revealed.
I'll lump Joseph Gordon Levitt and Gary Oldman in with Matthew Modine and all the cop extras. Joseph and Gary are stellar performances that never stray too far from simple normal men, but play with power and ferocity when need be. There performance doesn't sound strange or do anything fancy, but when Joseph's character is threatened and he steps forward anyway, the tension in his eyes makes it believable. When Gary lies in a hospital bed delivering lines or throws himself into a sewer pipe, we believe in his character and who he claims to be, even if it's mundane next to psychopaths and vigilantes. Matthew Modine is alternately despicable and inspiring depending on the scene, but he does it all with that air of confidence that suspends disbelief.
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson do much the same as we expect of them, which it's easy to forget almost no one else can do.
I cannot forget Marion Cotillard, who shocked and enthralled me every minute she was onscreen, which was far too little, though again perfect for the story.
I am loath to leave anyone out and there are so many, though it never seems crowded, which speaks to scale done right. I can only speak to the attention to detail on the part of every extra and crew member.
It was worth it. This is my first perfect 30 ever and when I inevitably watch it again...and again, I may not leave all 3 10's intact, but I cannot recommend this movie enough. I can only hope you get as much out as I did.
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