katikat | The Dark Knight Rises

TDKR was seen and very much enjoyed! My feelings are overwhelmingly positive. Yes, the movie has its flaws but I think it will only get better with re-watching.

First the bad to get it out of the way:

- I didn't like Selina Kyle much. I don't like double crossing, self-centered character. But it was nice to see her as a polar opposite to John Blake.

- The movie was way too long. I know that it covered 6 months or so but because of that, it wasn't as tightly woven as it could've been.

- I have mixed feelings about Bane working FOR Talia. It explained a lot but... it made him the muscle, not the brain behind the operation. I very much preferred it when it was his plan, his brilliant strategies. In the end, he turned out to be just the muscle and nothing else. If they worked TOGETHER, as PARTNERS, I would have liked that much more.

- Bane's death. After everything, Catwoman just shoots him? Eh. I actually hope he survived and became the bane - LOL - of Blake's Batman's existence.

And now the good:

- Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Looking mighty fine, let me tell you. I really liked that he figured out who Batman was and that it was his visit that made Bruce return back to life. I loved all their encounters throughout the movie. I think that Bruce came up with his plan to disappear long before the final explosion and that he was basically setting John up, guiding him to become the new Batman. I loved that Gordon chose John as his right hand because he was convinced he could trust him. Them leading the underground movement was SO AWESOME!

- Tom Hardy. His physicality, especially in the scene in the plane, where he just hung there... He had such a larger than life presence, it was amazing. His voice took a while to get used to but I had no problem understanding him. And his Bane was... the loyalty he inspired in the men around him, it was beautiful.

- Bane's relationship with Talia al Ghul. They loved each other so much and I don't care if you see it as a sexual love or brother-sister love. Tom Hardy had amazing chemistry with Marion Cotillard. When they looked at each other, when she touched him and smiled at him... At first, I thought that Talia was setting Bane up when she left to take over the truck with the bomb but then I realized that she didn't expect to survive either. Neither of them expected to survive the thing. It's just too bad that they weren't shown as partners, real partners - see above. But I loved that he helped her escape from the prison, that she forced her father to go back and save Bane and when her father kicked him out, she went with him.

- Talia al Ghul. Miranda Tate didn't make much impact on me. But Talia al Ghul was fantastic. What a lady! Standing up for her principles till the very end. I mean, when you look at the bad guys and at the good guys, the bad guys showed much more loyalty, they stuck up for each other much more than the good guys.

- The siege. I really love stories about underground fighters a la the original V. And here, with Gordon in lead and Blake as his right hand... AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!

- The ending. What a wonderful ending. I for one hope that they will not make a Catwoman movie because I loved that she ran away with Bruce and Alfred saw that they were happy. That was perfection! And then John Blake aka Robin inherited the cave and everything in it. I bet Bruce knew he would be the perfect guy for it, showing so much integrity and need to help people. Beautiful!

What I would really love is to read some stories or learn more about Jim Gordon and John Blake's Batman. And about Talia and Bane - I think I would prefer if they loved each other like siblings because sexual love can be found in every movie but a deep brother-sister love is a rarity.

Off to buy the book!

ETA: Oh, forgot to rate it - 9/10!