The Dark Knight Rises

Spoiler alert!

You’ve been warned. If you don’t want to see spoilers, go somewhere else until you’ve seen the film.

Okay? All good? Rightio then.

The Dark Knight Rises is a difficult film to review. On one hand, do I review the film as it is, or do I look at it from the perspective of a Batman film? Ultimately, you’ll be able to find plenty of reviews that talk about the film, so I’m going the other path – how does it rate from a Batman perspective?

The answer is “It was alright”. Don’t get me wrong, the film itself is great fun, but Nolan was never a great creator of Batman films, and while his first film struck the right notes for such a thing, the subsequent two films have gotten progressively further away from the characters of Batman and Bruce Wayne, further away from the figure steeped in a long (Batman was first published in 1939) history. Gone was Batman’s rage, an essential element to Bruce Wayne; instead we were left with a resigned, reclusive and depressive figure that has enough angst to power a Twilight film.

The villains of the film – Bane and Talia al Ghul – were also divergent from their comic book origins, with Bane originally being something of a twisted mirror to Batman that broke him to establish himself in the hierarchy of Gotham’s underworld, rather than out of revenge. Talia, on the other hand, has always been a complex figure, torn between loyalty to her father Ras al Ghul and her love of Batman, but in this film we saw little of that; just a wounded girl out for revenge on the man who brought about her father’s rightful downfall. A side note here, but I had trouble taking Bane seriously; he sounded like a poor impression of Sean Connery.

And then we have Catwoman. Compulsive thief, anti-hero and mixed thorn-in-his-side and love interest for Batman, we’re instead given a thief who’s just looking for a fresh start, a wounded girl just hoping to begin over. Hathaway makes a solid performance as the femme fatale, but it’s robbed of the essential nature of Catwoman, leeched away by Nolan as much as the essence of Batman has been bled dry.

I’m being hard, I know, but I feel it’s important to express just how disappointed I was at the divergence. Something that the new Spider-man and the Avengers have both done very well is that they’ve brought a fresh look at long-time favourite heroes without changing the core essence of them. DC here could learn a lot from Marvel, and I say that as a mainly DC fan boy.

There is, I noted with a deep sigh, the splash of American patriotism which to the outsider feels unnecessarily and jarring, and the scene on the bridge where the external security forces destroy it rather than allow people to cross safely seems to rob something from the previous film, where the essentially trusting and good nature of people (as illustrated with the prisoner’s dilemma on the ferries) is championed, even though said forces had good cause for their actions, it felt something of a betrayal of the established continuity.

To the good, then. Gary Oldman continues to portray a wonderful Commissioner James Gordon, full of conflict and righteous ire, and Sir Michael Caine is a brilliantly heartbroken Alfred Pennyworth, trying to bring his friend out of his wallowing self-pity. The action sequences while odd (Batman involved in an open, large scale battle in broad daylight?) were well paced and the chant of deshi basara as Batman literally rises from a dark prison pit into the light was a triumphant scene, well contrasted against the pain and loss his friends feel with the supposed death of the hero at the end.

In summary, the villain Bane is meant to break the Batman – instead we start with an already broken hero, that is ultimately restored and healed through his conflict with Bane.

Three out of five stars. A good film, but not a good Batman film.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Mild spoilers contained within. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

There’s an essential core to a Spider-Man tale; nerdy Peter Parker is living with his Aunt and Uncle after his parents die in a plane crash, Peter is bitten by an altered spider (in the original tale it’s radioactive, but since we’ve generally learned that radiation just kills things, we’ve moved on to genetically altered) and rapidly develops spider powers. Shortly after, his Uncle is killed (usually after he and Peter have a fight, but not before the essential element of responsibility is imparted) by a criminal that Peter had previously allowed to go free, thus sending our hero into a guilt spiral that ultimately helps him become the hero we all know as Spider-Man.

The new “The Amazing Spider-Man” film adheres to this formula well, giving us a solid grounding in the Spider-Man mythos.

First up, I should probably introduce the main players of our winsome tale; most of the people will be familiar to you, but there’s a few changes from the 2002 Spider-Man film that might have a few people confused.

No shock, we have Peter Parker (played by Andrew Garfield), teenager and science whiz, bitten by a genetically altered spider following which he develops superpowers. Wracked by guilt over the death of his Uncle Ben, Peter dons the identity of Spider-Man and tries to become a hero.

Uncle Ben (played by Martin Sheen) is the heroic impetus for Spider-Man. He’s Peter’s father figure, and it’s his Uncle’s death, and his Uncle’s speech on the importance of responsibility (which, as you may know, comes with great power), which drives our super powered youth from bystander to hero.

May Parker is his Aunt (played by Sally Field), his now only living relative, and she provides an emotional grounding for him, she is the entirety of his family and the closest thing he has to a mother.

Gwen Stacy is Peter’s high school crush and eventual girlfriend (played by Emma Stone), a change from the 2002 movie (which featured Mary Jane Watson), but this change actually takes us closer to the original comic book where many consider her to be Peter’s first love. A quick side track here, in the comic series Gwen is killed when the Green Goblin throws her off a bridge, and Spider-Man’s webs catch her, they stop her from falling too quickly, thus making Spider-Man inadvertently responsible for her death… but I digress. You should keep an eye on that for me, or we’ll never get to the end of this.

Captain George Stacy is Gwen’s father. Unlike in the comic book series, where Captain Stacy is a supporter of Spider-Man, the movie incarnation (played by Dennis Leary) treats him like a dangerous vigilante, filling the persecutory role that is normally taken by J. Jonah Jameson. Captain Stacy becomes the social challenge for Spider-Man.

Dr Curt Conners is the Lizard (played by Rhys Ifans), a conflicted villain that starts out only trying to help humanity and himself by harnessing the abilities of animals, such as the regenerative abilities of a lizard to restore his missing arm. Unfortunately, this triggers a Jekyll/Hyde like transformation in the doctor, providing Spider-Man with an enemy that is both a physical and an intellectual challenge.

This new Spider-Man film departs from the 2002 franchise entirely, a reboot on the continuity that retains the original elements of the Spider-Man story without betraying the tale of Peter Parker. In many ways, the Garfield portrayal is more active, more the outsider when compared to Toby Maguire’s reclusive, insecure Spider-Man. This new Spider-Man film feels darker and more energetic, missing the large set pieces of the previous franchise to instead focus on the essential elements of Spider-Man’s heroic struggle.

Spider-Man has three challenges in every incarnation; the physical, the mental and the social. Due to his dual Spider-Man/Peter Parker nature, Spider-Man’s villains tend to challenge him on both the physical and mental levels, with a greater or lesser degree depending on the villain, but it’s the social challenges which makes Spider-Man distinct from the other heroes we see splashed across our screen. Spider-Man battles against the perception that he’s a freak, a villain and a dangerous vigilante, and the film puts police Captain Stacy in the role as primary social antagonist, declaring him a villain and menace to the city, a perception that Spider-Man fights the same way he always has; by saving the everyday people that are in danger, building a reputation amongst the every-man of his home city that ultimately benefits him, and while the culmination of this support feels cheesy and out of place in an otherwise on-tone film (the pan up to an American flag was particularly jarring), there’s nevertheless a great pleasure in seeing him overcome that social challenge, to have the general public support him when he needs them to.

I’m digressing again. I thought I asked you to keep an eye on that?

This Spider-Man is far more athletic than the previous film incarnation, feeling part gymnast and part parkour expert (check the link if you’re unfamiliar with the sport, it’s worth a look to see some of the crazy things people can do), and the film focuses on the spider elements of the character to a greater degree than any other has to date, especially emphasised in a scene in the sewers (which I shan’t spoil for you, but you’ll know what I meant when you see it).

Despite some contrived moments and jarring sentimentalism, The Amazing Spider-Man is a great film, a spectacular relaunch of one of the world’s favourite superheroes that captures the heart of the hero without feeling stale, and re-tells his story with enough verve and vigour to keep the audience engaged. I particular enjoyed the awkward and yet adorable scene between Peter and Gwen at high school, a scene which captured a low of the teenage uncertainty of the two, especially in contrast to their development across the film, and I was especially pleased to see that while Gwen was used as an impetus for Peter, at no stage was she placed as the damsel in distress.

The use of 3D was minimal overall, though if the glasses don’t bother you I’d recommend you see it in 3D simply for some of the pieces where Spider-Man swings through the city, the subtle use of the technology making an appreciative difference without going over the top.

Stick through the credits at the end, there’s a little teaser there that rather strongly hints at a planned sequel, and given the recent successes in the superhero genre (and, in my opinion, the excellent work in this film) it’s no surprise that there’s more coming.

Four out of five stars; an entirely enjoyable film.

Just don’t eat two choc-tops in quick succession like I did. Ugh, I still feel unwell.

Prometheus

First up. There are spoilers in here. Read at your own peril, eh?

Prometheus is a hard film to review. On the surface it’s enjoyable; visually impressive, with great actors and the acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien) and yet… there’s something missing. On reflection it’s almost as if great swathes were cut from the film, as we don’t see enough of the characters to really care about them, getting flashes of them that makes us feel like we’re only getting part of the story.

The film feels in many ways rushed, and the addition of Peter Weyland (played by Australia’s Guy Pearce) seemed largely unnecessary to the story, a sub plot that added little to the movie but instead detracted from it by stealing valuable screen time from the primary story, and even worse was a sub plot that could have been expressed in a far more interesting manner between the android and the crew’s interactions with each other – the time used on Weyland would have been better spent expanding on the android David’s motivations and detached interaction with the crew, rather than largely limiting it to the puzzling moment where he spikes the drink of Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green) with alien matter and providing little exposition otherwise.

Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed the movie. If you’re an Alien fan (and I am, let’s be honest here) you’ll pick some great nods to that seminal sci-fi classic in Prometheus, especially in the closing arc, but I think that might be a part of the film’s downfall – it’s just trying too hard to align to that Alien formula, and instead comes out feeling rushed and formulaic instead of capturing that original magic.

Indulge me a moment, and allow me to describe the following film:

“A scientific crew on a spaceship encounter something unexplained, fail to follow proper quarantine procedure, are teamed with a morally dubious android and after the crew are picked off one by one, we’re left with a single surviving female crew member left and a message log playing as she travels alone into the depths of space.”

You’d think I was talking about Alien, right? Well, that also covers the general frame work for Prometheus as well. Of course there are differences – Prometheus is about humanity within the Alien universe (and is explored through the crew’s experiences with the aliens, and the android’s – expertly played by Michael Fassbender – experience with humanity).

Prometheus ultimately leaves a lot unexplained, to the point that you’re wondering if they’ve intentionally set it up for a sequel by leaving holes in the story, and it’s an undeniably fun experience with a few moments where you might be inclined to cover your eyes.

Three out of five stars.

The Avengers

I was a fan of the franchise before going in. I’ve seen Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk, so I thought I knew what to expect. I was sceptical at first about a number of things; that the movie would work at all with such big name characters and actors, that a movie with so much could do the characters and story justice, that a movie that has followed on from so many fantastic films could do its predecessors justice.


I was wrong.

Last night I saw the Avengers and I was in good company; every man, woman and child there was a fan, if not at the beginning then certainly by the climactic end of the film. This movie makes fans of the viewer; it draws you in and asks you, as a collective group of people, to share in the ride. And it was a collective sharing. I have never been to a film that brought out so much enthusiasm from the audience, engaging with them on a level that brought out true emotion; extended emphatic laughter and honest cheers and, for some, the welling of tears for characters given form, a body taking them from two dimensional to fully realized people, an achievement in any film let alone the superhero genre which often serves us a caricature of a person. Instead we were caught up in a world of a disparate group of people brought together for the ultimate of tasks; saving the Earth, or – stated far more eloquently by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) than I – avenging it should it fall. Together we watched those people forged into a group of superheroes, a team.

The Avengers.

A stellar array of talent has been brought into this movie, both in cast and in crew, and it shows through the entirety of the film. The heroes themselves are excellently played, possibly in part because they’ve had the opportunity to rub the sharp edges off the characters in their own films before. Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) brought a growth to their roles from when we last saw them, an extra layer that shows from the hearts of the characters. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) build on their smaller roles in proceeding films (Iron Man 2 and Thor respectively) and stand up well beside their powered comrades, replacing the power of the other Avengers with skill and wit. Rounding out the team itself is the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and despite being the new guy to the universe of the Avengers, Ruffalo brings a subtlety to the character and plays the role of the tortured Doctor Bruce Banner with an understated skill, a role that builds throughout the film to a genuinely glorious culmination in the grand finale which had the audience cheering and laughing.

On the other side of the coin we have Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who plays an appropriately egomaniacal supervillain whilst yet retaining a pathos that makes him a complex figure, more than shallow depiction of evil.

The supporting cast of the film was no less skilled, led by the ferocious and surprisingly emotive Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), the Director of SHIELD assisted by Agents Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Hill (Cobie Smulders), and secondary characters from other films making a reappearance in Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Behind the scenes was masterful team; Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse amongst his creations) is obviously an avid fan of the world he has been given control over, being both director and the screenplay writer, with Zak Penn’s (writer of a number of other superhero movies, including The Incredible Hulk) story brings an appropriate comic book flair to the proceedings. The special effects were unobtrusively proficient, with a use of 3D which wasn’t overwrought or clumsy, used to emphasise where appropriate without being glaring, and the animation used for the Hulk captured a character brought to it through Ruffalo’s digitally re-created acting and artful digital skill.

The movie burns with an intense energy from start to finish, and is unceasing with action evocative of iconic comic book imagery, the fight pieces staged with an attention to detail that flows through each scene, creating fantastic moments of pure, distilled superhero.

Will the Avengers stand on its own, without the predecessor films that have built up the universe around it? That is a harder question. There is much in the film that references the films that have gone before it and the mythos that has been created of the world in which the movie in set, and elements would be missed if you haven’t seen those other films. It would certainly be an absolutely enjoyable movie by itself, seeing it without any exposure to the franchise as a whole, but it would be an experience lessened by that lack.

I guess you have some more movies to watch then, don’t you?

Don’t forget to stay through the credits.

5/5 stars.

Avengers is released in Australian cinemas on April 25th

Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk are available now on Blu-Ray, DVD and via iTunes