The Dark Knight Rises

My buddy and film buff Andy Fish has mentioned in past blog posts "the curse of the three-quel". And there's a lot of truth and wisdom in what he has to say.

A Three-quel is the third movie in the series. A lot of people (including me) have always given the sequel a bad wrap. There have been quite few sequels I've seen that have been a better effort than the original. The Empire Strikes Back and Batman: The Dark Knight have been better efforts than the original. Heck, I even enjoyed the second Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes better than the first one.

Sure there have been a great many corkers in a sequel. But the third movie is the diciest.

However, there have been a few exceptions to the rules. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one that comes to mind where I found the third movie much more enjoyable than the second. They went back to an enjoyable formula of the first movie without being repetitive.

Superman III or Batman Forever are a prime examples of when a third movie can go horribly, horribly wrong.

The latest and last installment of the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy I feel could go either way. It could be a pleasant surprise and a fun roller coaster ride of excitement and action.

But it also has the possibility of being overkill. The introduction of multiple villains might be the movie's undoing. Too much of too much in one film.

Although, I don't mind so much having Catwoman AND an additional key villain. I don't really consider Catwoman completely a villain since even in Batman Returns you don't feel like her motivations are necessarily bad. Most of the recent interpretations I feel she's not out to hurt anyone. Just to get a couple kicks. Illegal kicks, yes. But not the "world domination" motives of the classic baddie.

I did have a problem with both the Riddler and Two Face in the same movie. Because they are both villains that can carry a movie on their own. If done right.

Hell, in the right hands even the Riddler could be turned into a very menacing and psychotic baddie. If the question marked leotard bothers you, he's got the option of the bowler hat and suit.

They also finally got Two Face right in the last movie. Almost. Too short of an appearance. Aaron Eckhart just made me wanting to see more of the character. They could have easily cut his scenes short and saved his first appearance for the next film. He could have easily carried it.

Also the thought of Christian Bale's Batman's voice where I feel like the theater should put up the Closed Captioning whenever he's on the screen makes me uneasy. I don't think he's the worst Batman of all time.

However, Val Kilmer still gets the award of the most unconvincing Batman.

I'm impressed with what I've seen in the trailers of Tom Hardy who is playing Bane in this film. THIS seems more like the Bane from the 1990's Knightfall series. Forget mindless thug you saw in Batman and Robin. This seems more like a Moriarty type Bane. His brains just as deadly as his brawn.

Even in the comics I never really saw Bane as a villain that could carry a movie. But I might be proven wrong.

I like the introduction of Catwoman. However, I'm not terribly sure about Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. I've just found myself annoyed by her in some of the movies I saw. Again, I might be proven wrong.

This movie has a lot going for it. But it has a lot that could end up being it's undoing. We shall see.