"So let's cut to it, shall we? Privately I'm worth more than all of your corporations combined, I could buy and sell you three times over, which is something you should factor into your decision should you choose to make our disagreement public. I think you know the way out."
becauseavengers replied to your post: “That’s Jeremy Renner? Ew, his eyes are kind of...
this is funny because then there is my friend james who loves jeremy and his ass and is of the heterosexual preference and is also male. YOUR FRIEND NEEDS TO CHECK HIMSELF BEFORE HE WRECKS HIMSELF
Hunter is about as gay as you can get without being gay.
Oh, I snapped at him and then he just sort of laughed at me.
(and by great I mean extraordinarily long)
(and by long I mean Great Wall of China long)
My favorite Selina moment though was when she was being walked into the jail and the guard claimed she broke out of prison at age 16. In a culture where all too often women are placed in the position of prey needing to be saved, it is heartening to see an autonomous female hero who doesn't need to be protected by the boys. Even black widow had a number of moments where her weakness in comparison to the guys was highlighted. When I tried to come up with a time when Batman needed saving by Catwoman or Catwoman needed saving by Batman, nothing stood out. These two are equals in everything that matters. And I loved them! Which brings me to my one complaint: my shipper heart needed more! Or not even more, but better! Romance doesn't need to take a lot of time devotee to it, but the interaction needs to be spot on and skillfully handled. Poor Nolan just can't do it. I mean, goodness, a few choice lines between Tony and Bruce and suddenly I was shipping Ironman/Hulk. A heavy glance full of emotion shared by Natasha and Clint and I was a Hawkeye/black widow shipper. Its possible to create chemistry, but neither Bale not Hathaway was able to bring it on screen despite obviously trying. Their kisses were not even nearly as electric as Rachel and Harvey's, or the emotional scene between Talia and Bane. Which leads me to conclude that in truth, Nolan simply can't imagine his Batman falling in love with anyone. On which point I shall have to respectfully disagree ;). I think everyone can find, and deserves love. Batman perhaps most of all. But again, the differing takes on Batman even within the Nolanverse is one of the reasons I adore this character so much.
Speaking of the caped crusader, I was disappointed in how Nolan neglected the star of the show. Nolan simply had too many characters, and Bruce's screen time fell by the wayside. If this was billed as a movie about Robin, boy wonder, I would have accepted this lack of attention.
Oh wait. Pause. Think. Shit.
Okay so maybe Nolan outsmarted me and pulled a clever switcharoo. I'm going to have to see it again to decide. If in fact the title of Dark Knight Rises refers to the person who does, in the end, rise to become the Dark Knight (more on that later), then I suppose I can't fault Nolan for neglecting his main character. Darn. I wanted more Bruce Wayne. Nolan is too clever for his own good sometimes, but I love it because it means the more I pick this movie apart, the more in awe of the director I am. That's the main reason I like the Dark Knight trilogy: it makes you think more than the average superhero movie.
Anyway, back to Bruce. My biggest question is how in the world did we go from The Dark Knight to The Dark Knight Rises. Perhaps I'm too picky, but I thought the transition was way too quick and didn't satisfactorily explain Bruce's decision to quit and become a recluse. Oh sure, Nolan provided us with all the excuses in the book: Gotham's crime rate is down since all of Dent's criminals are in jail, Bruce has bad knees, Bruce is heartbroken, Bruce hates everyone...but we didn't see this happen! And the change is so drastic that a huge part of me throughout the beginning of the movie was screaming silently for my beloved Batman and Bruce Wayne to return. In the end of the Dark Knight, Bruce was strong and able to push past his traumatic feelings for Rachel to go after and apprehend the Joker. It was incredibly jarring going from the image of the" unstoppable force" of the Dark Knight riding his motorcycle, forever angsty, forever alone, but using that trauma to feed his need for justice and saving others....to then be presented with a limping Bruce Wayne. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the image of the limping Bruce Wayne. The introductory scene where he literally has become a shadow, hanging on at the edge of parties and watching from his mansion roof, was stunning. The man finally took off the mask. But he didn't take of the batman's mask, he took off the Bruce Wayne mask, becoming completely submerged in the shadowy, reclusive, caped crusader. So that was all good. My problem was, we never saw the turning point! We are left to imagine the point when Bruce got so injured that his knees and spirit couldn't hold up anymore and he quit. Not good enough Nolan, I want to see it! Partially because the bull about being in love with Rachel is completely unbelievable.
Nolan should have consulted J.K.R. for advice on how to portray an obsessive, idolatry form of love in a sympathetic light. Snape's "always" was heart wrenchingly believable and tragic. Bruce just sounded like a wounded, whining child. And for a man who has proven himself to have overcome his inner selfish child, this seemed out of character. Nolan should have scrapped Rachel altogether because truthfully he didn't need her! His version of Batman didn't need her love, what his Batman needed was Rachel's normality. I think the real reason Bruce turned into a recluse, and what Nolan should have focused on exclusively, was that when Rachel died, Bruce saw his last connection to a normal life die with her. Let's face it, Nolan never wanted to write a Batman romance. Instead of the heartbroken lover narrative, I much preferred Nolan's portrayal of recluse!Bruce as a man indulging in selfish pity. Rachel's death forced Bruce to admit how alone he was, and his response was to isolate himself completely in a fit of depression. Bruce gave up the mask of playboy billionaire and became Batman, because Batman was his method for coping with depression and isolation previously. Except now that he is crippled, even Batman can't save him. Furthermore, this was shown to be incredibly selfish of him since when he stopped paying attention to Wayne Enterprises, the company went downhill fast and the charities like the orphanage lost funding. (I have a bone to pick with Nolan over this by the way. He takes his lone strong character of color, Mr. Fox, who many fans love dearly, and strips the character of his power completely. Mr. Fox, a genius with business, would NEVER have let Wayne Enterprises fail. NEVER! lazy writing Nolan, lazy. I understand why he did it to continue the plot, but I think it could have been done better. Anyway, that is an entire article on its own discussing Nolan's serious race issue, which is arguably even worse than his problem with women)
Where was I? Right, recluse!Bruce. I loved the fact that Nolan gave us a hint at what Bruce might have been had he never become a hero. Nolan showed us even heroes have weak moments when they give in to selfish instinct and let the world move on without them. Bruce momentarily giving in to that weakness makes the point when he overcomes it to take a heroic stand against Bane all the more poignant. A recurring theme in Nolan's characters: all people are inherently selfish, and it is the select few who rise above this who become heroes. Nolan, have I mentioned I love your amazing ability to string every thread of your story together in a maze of connections that only becomes clear when people take the time to detangle it? Okay then, back on topic.
In the end, when Bruce doesn't sacrifice himself for Gotham, and instead uses autopilot, he no longer is the Batman. The cowl passes on to the new hero, a younger man, similarly isolated and alone, who can make the sacrifices that Bruce Wayne no longer can.
Though I am compelled to add, Nolan seems to have a thing for women in the refrigerator and heartbroken men. I mean: inception, prestige, now Rachel. The sole point of each of the wives in these movies was to be one dimensional, symbolic characters who further the plot development of their men. Rather sad. Give me Catwoman any day over a moralistic wimp like Rachel. Perhaps Selina is Nolan's way of showing he can overcome this stereotype?
In addition, even if Bruce's steadfast feelings for Rachel are to be believed, I find it incredible he would end eight years of (i assume) celibacy to sleep with the first woman who shoes up at his door in a wet dress. I wanted to like Miranda, but that encounter had so little chemistry that I was left disappointed. Why would a man so secretive suddenly let a random woman into his precious mansion without question? Why did he not to a background check on a potential business partner, let alone a love interest? Bruce is suspicious to the extreme, and this seems out of character and odd. Miranda had so much potential to be a complete mind fuckery as both lover and enemy and Nolan dropped the ball. Maybe the extra hour and fifteen minutes will redeem this relationship.
Bruce's strongest relationship is still with his Butler. I believe the loss of Alfred is what finally pulls Bruce out of his depression. Considering how he called out pathetically for Alfred the next day, and that he never carries keys, Bruce obviously took Alfee for granted quite a bit. And interestingly, I think Nolan places the blame in Alfred for this since the butler always seemed to maintain a respectful distance. Despite the distance, Alfred is still as close as Bruce will get to having family, and his absence makes it clear to Bruce that the Batman was never truly alone. Alfred takes away Bruce's excuse for self pity, and suddenly Bruce finds new strength to reconnect to the people around him including Miranda, Fox, and Gordon. Unfortunately, the scene between Bruce and Alfred that should have been the most moving emotional scene in the entire movie fell flat due to the stunted, didactic dialogue. The story about the cafe in Italy felt forced and didn't have as many ties as Nolan's plots usually do. And it ended too quickly. Again, so many things in this movie could have been fixed had Nolan simply been given more time. Instead the emotional moment for Alfred occurs during Bruce's burial. When Alfred chokes up because he is sorry he "failed you", the camera then cuts to show him addressing not Bruce, but Bruce's parents. Alfred addresses his employers rather than his young charge. With that final comment, I was left with the impression that Alfred's true failure was always treating Bruce as a job, as a precious object to be guarded and adored, but never as a son. I always thought it strange that Alfred, who could have adopted Bruce as a surrogate father, resiliently maintained the formal "sir" and "master Wayne". Ultimately, Alfred failed to fill the hole left by Bruce's parents. And that's why, when Alfred's dream comes true and he sees Bruce sitting at the Italian cafe with Selina, Alfred doesn't run up and embrace Bruce as a relative, but instead remains distant and nods, satisfied to discover that his job is done, and he can now move on (and pass away?) in peace. While Nolan's Alfred is very thought provoking and tragic, I still prefer the comic book version who steadfastly stays by Bruce's side no matter what.
Finally, the less said about baby batboy the better. Joseph Gordon Levitt's role (I dont even remember his name because he seemed so personality-less), underwent the least character development of all of them. He felt like a bad mary-sue fan-fiction. Consider what would happen if an avid fan created a female character, a tragic orphan turned cop, who upon seeing Bruce Wayne up close once simply KNEW by intuition, or magic, or mind reading, or whatever, that the billionaire was batman. Imagine the ridicule this author would face from the fan community! Add on the fact that JGL starts the movie as an idealistic, naive, stubborn kid, and ENDS the movie as an idealistic, naive, stubborn kid, and you get one of the most boring characters ever. I can only assume Nolan was forced to include him by Hollywood execs who wanted a way to continue the series without Nolan or Bale. And Bruce being flustered and put on the spot by baby batboy's confrontation was completely out of character. I would rather it have been revealed when it was either inevitable or through careful research and detective work by the bat-with-training-wheels. It was just so painfully obvious.
So, to end this stream of conscious commentary about my first viewing: I loved the movie. Best movie I have seen all year. It's largest weakness was character development, which I strongly suspect will be fixed somewhat when we see the full version of the film. This version was almost like an incomplete teaser, designed to leave us wanting more.
Lastly, watching the movie as a transplanted Pittsburgher overlaid a sense of pride on top of every scene where our damaged yet much beloved city came into view. In many ways Pittsburgh shares a similar history to Gotham: a city once great, brought down by the collapse of the steel industry with glimpses of its past decadence frozen in time. A city so poor that when my mom came to visit she, spoiled by the extreme wealth and prosperity of the Seattle area she calls home, derided me for living in a slum and complained that all the housing options in Pittsburgh are slums. The really sad bit is that compared to the real slums in Pittsburgh, my apartment, even with the bedbugs, is a palace. Anyway, my point is that in the economic hard times the people of Pittsburgh still take pride in their city through outlets like the Steelers, to the point where if you wear Steeler's paraphernalia, suddenly everyone im the city you meet is your friend. And watching the crowds in the stadium wave their terrible towels cheering, and then go deadly silent when the field began to collapse, was heartbreaking. Destroy that football stadium, and you really would destroy Pittsburgh's tenuous grasp on unity between the poor and the wealthy. It would destroy the heart and soul of the city, demoralizing the people.
Of course,along with the beautifully symbolic insights, I also was greatly entertained by the use of Mellon Institute. When Bane stood up and declared our college a prison, my friend and I turned to each other and started laughing hysterically. Finally, I told him, they admit it.
