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The Masked Crusader. |
Its unusual for me not to be bowled over by movies based on
comic books, or as there know known graphic novels, and I have especially
enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of the Batman story in the first two
films of his trilogy. Batman Begins
(2005) explored the origins of the crime fighter including the death of his parents,
how he travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and how he
unleashes his alto ego the masked crusader with the help of his trusty butler
Alfred. In the second film, The Dark
Knight (2008), Batman continues his fight against organised crime in Gotham
City that falters when he has to pit his strength and intellect against the
criminal mastermind known as The Joker.
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Catwoman in all but name. |
The final part of the trilogy The Dark Knight Rises
(2012) is a spectacular looking movie with the production designers along with
Nolan’s regular Director of Photography Wally Pfister on top of their form. But
what undermines this film is its lack of humour and a sense of fun, which are essential to
carry this style of movie. The only character that gets anywhere near this requirement
is Anne Hathaway’s red lipped Selina Kyle, a version of Catwoman in every thing
but name. Also we seem to have a somewhat baffling and unnecessarily
complicated narrative with characters that are hard to empathise with, even Christian
Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman, proves quite difficult.
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Bane. |
The main villain this time is a character called Bane (a
barely recognisable Tom Hardy) who wears a sinister facial leather mask and is
a giant of a man who leads a gang of mercenaries with the usual intention of
ruling Gotham City. Two problems, the mask makes his speech a little unclear
and I’m afraid we have been spoilt by Heath Ledgers ultimate villain The Joker,
who too my mind is probable the best comic book screen antihero.
A small niggle I know but the wonderful Juno
Temple (
Killer
Joe 2012) who plays Jen, a friend and accomplice of Selina Kyle, is
woefully under used. With out meaning to give anything away, are we really
introduced to Robin at the end of the movie? Therefore is this indeed the end
of the franchise?
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The woefully underused Juno Temple. |
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