Last night was a lot of fun!
Granted, we didn’t get to bed until almost four o’clock in the morning, but still – it was totally worth it. 
First and foremost, I was definitely glad that we had an opportunity to see the previous two movies first because there were a ton of details that I didn’t remember – I mean, they were from 2005 and 2008, respectively, and I don’t think I ever even saw Batman Begins in the theater (plus, Sara had never seen it at all), so that was kinda cool, too! It was also a big help with continuity (except for Rachel getting swapped out from Katie Holmes to Maggie Gyllenhal!) … for some reason, I guess I didn’t really associated the first and second one together because they didn’t keep the naming consistent, but overall it was just a nice way to really absorb the trilogy that I didn’t super get into the first time around, but really enjoyed this time.
For the record, I think that Batman Begins was actually my favorite of the three.
### And now on to the Dark Knight Rises spoilers… ###
Boy, was this a dark movie!
I suppose that the previous two had really been building up to it, but even the creepy Bane trailers didn’t fully disclose just how dismal and depressing Gotham City could plunge when it gets hijacked by a terrorist who nearly kills the caped crusader in the process! The villain in this finale was certainly scary as all hell and I think it really helped to sell home the idea of just how absolutely fucked Gotham was…
…and of course, it also made Batman’s inevitable return all the more awesome, too! 😉
I absolutely loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman – she’s definitely my favorite actress to fill that role, and not just because she did a mighty fine job of filling out that leather catsuit, either! This might sound kind of weird, but she has really expressive eyes, and I just thought they really helped to portray her conflicts over Batman as she pined over whether to support this new masked man in her life. And though I didn’t know until I read it online afterwards that they were often love interests in the comic books, I was really happy to see them end up together in the end.
I thought that the little twist at the end hinting that John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Lewitt) could become Robin was kind of pointless.
But ultimately, I guess what I really liked the most was simply to see Gotham turn around to see Batman as a hero instead of the vigilante/troublemaker burden that he had to endure throughout the bulk of the trilogy. It was a little sad that in the end he had to (appear to) sacrifice his own life to do so, but in essence I think that’s really the Batman who Christopher Nolan was trying to portray here. I love the dialog between Catwoman and Batman that even made it into the trailer…
Catwoman: You don’t owe these people any more – you’ve given them everything!
Batman: Not everything. Not yet.
Such powerful words to show that Bruce Wayne really had turned into “something more than just a man” – he had become the hero that Gotham needed and deserved. When it seemed like all hope was lost and people looked out their windows to see the bat symbol burning in one of bridges leading out of the city, that sense of heroism re-surged and if there was any time for someone to swoop in and save the day, this was most certainly the time! Quite the bad ass entrance for somebody who had nearly been to hell and back, if you ask me!
All in all, I really enjoyed it and I think that it did a great job of helping me to see the Dark Knight trilogy as a whole in a new light. All together they really show the strong arc that Batman endures as he tries to do his parents proud by making the streets of Gotham safe for all of its citizens, even if he has to dip into some really dark places in order to get there. I’m definitely glad that I got the opportunity to re-watch Batman Begins because it reminded me what a great movie that was, and also re-affirmed my appreciation for the dialog between The Joker’s dialog with Batman in The Dark Knight – great narration of the public perception of Batman, even if it was coming from a crazy person!
I guess you could say I wouldn’t mind finding these under the Christmas tree, a la Blu-Ray later on this year… 😉
Good times.