Knight Rises

My immediate reaction upon seeing THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (and this is in no way intended to be a complete, thorough review): Bleak, violent, intense, over-long - I liked it - didn't love it. At least not in the way I did THE DARK KNIGHT a few years back. To be fair, THE DARK KNIGHT was just about as perfect of a superhero film as you could get, so it was a tall order for director Christopher Nolan to top it. Still, I was hoping for a film just as good, and this one didn't quite match up, and I had way more fun at THE AVENGERS (which pains this DC fan to say).

There were so many 'little things' that kept bothering me. Like: why did Selina Kyle wear the mask again? Everyone knew who she was, so there was no point, really, in disguising her identity. And why did Dr. Crane (aka The Scarecrow) NOT wear his mask? I would have loved to see him go looney tunes pulling on his mask as he passed down judgement on Gotham's finest. Not to mention the role of Dep. Comm. Foley (played by Mathew Modine), who seemed unnecessary and bogged down the plot. Plus the resolution of Bane's character seemed anti-climactic. For essentially BEING the movie, his coda seemed like a major let-down for this bat-fan.

When it was all said and done, this is what I kept thinking about the dark knight as we approached the explosive finale:

"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"

Sure, my opinion will probably soften, particularly when I see it in Imax. I'm a lifelong, die-hard Batman fan - so I really want to love this entry in Nolan's trilogy - but it may take repeated viewings for me to truly 'get it.'

P.S. The trailer for next year's MAN OF STEEL put a genuine lump in my throat. Loved it!