In the true brush stroke of brilliance, The Dark Knight Rises Prologue does exactly what a movie opening should do. If done right the beginning of a truly incredible film should introduce a bit of story while getting you excited of the rest of the film. The Dark Knight Rises dances circles around this idea by simply teasing you a little bit and finally introducing the world to the character and voice of the mysterious Bane.
I won’t give a way every detail because this is certainly something you want to experience, but I will say that most of the scene takes place on an airplane. There has been a lot floating around regarding Bane’s voice and I won’t lie and say that I understood every word, but I absolutely loved his voice. It’s almost somewhat eloquent and it reminds me of Darth Vader, but more menacing and british. It’s so completely different from what you’d expect from such a brute, but now that I’ve heard his voice I wouldn’t have it any other way.
If the score is as good or better in the rest of the movie as it was in the first six minutes than this final film might very well have the best music in a series filled with amazing music. The music cues are awesome and correlate right along with the beautiful action and dialogue on the screen. Christopher Nolan has a habit of upping the ante when it comes to action scenes (i.e. hallway scene in Inception, truck flipping scene in The Dark Knight, etc.) and this opening scene of The Dark Knight Rises is an action sequence that you just come to expect from this masterful director.
Then after the beautiful opening six minutes a short montage of shots follow that get you pumped for the film you’ll be sitting and watching next July. We finally get a shot of Catwoman in full costume, we get to see the bat wing, more shots of Bane and then the resonating last shot of Bane discarding a broken piece of Batman’s mask. I don’t think I’ll ever be as excited for another movie as I am for The Dark Knight Rises and watching this prologue, a long with the recently released second trailer, is exactly what I needed to hold me over before next July when my favorite series of film is concluded.
There are absolutely no words to express exactly how badly I want to see the film, The Dark Knight Rises. I could write a best-selling book series on all the reasons that make me completely ecstatic about seeing this movie, but for now I’ll just give you the two most important reasons: The Dark Knight Rises is the sequel to my favorite movie and it is the final film in what could very well be the greatest series of films ever created.
My 100th post on this site was a The Dark Knight Countdown and I was planning on this being my 300th, but I’ve been posting a lot of reviews and just lost track so in honor of 303 posts here’s the countdown for my second most anticipated movie of all time (first of course being The Dark Knight), The Dark Knight Rises.
In this review of the second and last part of the finale of the series, Harry Potter, I’d like to express my views on the not only this part, but the first part and the series of films in general. I’d first like to take this opportunity to say that I have never read the books. This puts me in the rare position to actually judge these films with out a bias love for these generational books. This is all to say that I for one do not find the Harry Potter films very good.
Its been told to me on many occasions that I can’t judge these films with out reading the books as if to say that I need to read the books to find the good filmmaking in the films. Its a comment like that, that only furthers my arguments against these films. It doesn’t matter what the film is based off, any film should be judged based on how well it was made, the ideas it trys to establish, how it entertains you, etc. If a film has to rely on a separate art form to prevail than it shouldn’t have been made in the first place.
This is not to say that I absolutely hate the Harry Potter films because I don’t. They are just not very good movies. Some of the story lines are compelling, others aren’t and others could’ve been but were executed horribly. Some characters are very interesting while others are annoying. Oh and some of the performances are phenomenal (particularly the adult cast; especially Ralph Fiennes), while others certainly are not (particularly the main characters).
Either way let’s get into Deathly Hallows. In part one of this final film you could find everything that makes for a bad Harry Potter film; the unbelievable melodrama, the failed attempts at humor due to writing and awful delivery, but most of all the exploration of characters that just aren’t interesting. Rarely was I ever enjoying what was occurring in Part I and I understood why it was being told, but for the most part I just wasn’t entertained with what was being told. And there was no art in the film to outweigh that fact.
Where as Part I might just be the worst Harry Potter film I’ve seen, Part II of Deathly Hallows was the best Harry Potter film I’ve seen. It was in no way an amazing movie, I could sit here all day and express my problems with this series and even this specific film, but I will say that I was never more entertained by Harry Potter film than when I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.
The greatest pro of this series is in its awesome villain and to finally see his rise and expected fall was very compelling especially when he’s played by one of the greatest actors working today (Ralph Fiennes). I’ve also been a big fan of Snape and Alan Rickman’s portrayal. He has a much larger part in this one and it worked well. There are other positive remarks I could talk about and there were definitely negatives I could go into and even some story aspects that I hated (mainly that our hero whom I’m supposed to be rooting for wins on a technicality), but I will say that no I do not like the Harry Potter movies, but this last one was kind of cool.
The animation studios at Dreamworks have created some films to be proud of whether they be the first two Shrek’s, How to Train Your Dragon and with Kung Fu Panda as another fun animation that I can say they indeed can be proud of, I can say sincerely that Kung Fu Panda 2 had the potential to be another enjoyable animated movie. And where it did have its flaws I will say without a doubt that I had decently fun time at the movies when I watched this one.
A large factor in my rushing out to see this movie was to see Gary Oldman at work. He’s one of my favorite actors and he’s always excellent as the villain. The same could be said about his voice acting in this piece. As for everyone else, I have no complaints, their job was done. The comedic timing was on, its just the writing that wasn’t. None of the wit that you might find in other fantastic Dreamworks movies was there, but it was a children’s movie so what are you going to do? It guess its only Pixar who can manage to please all audiences.
The strength of an animation are in its endless possibilities. This is the aspect that makes both Kung Fu Panda movies so fun. The fight scenes are downright awesome because they realize they can do anything and they do, they have no limitations here and both films use this idea to their full potential. The story and the way its told is just much better in the first film making for a few dull portions when it comes to this sequel.
It was a fun film, I’m glad I saw it if at the very least to see Gary Oldman’s character connive. I think my biggest problem with the film is in its ending. I obviously won’t ruin it, but I will just say that I found it extremely out of place and a failed attempt at trying to get you excited for a sequel. Kung Fu Panda 2 was an entertaining animated film, but not one I intend on getting entertained by again.
It’s a very unfortunate, but true fact that there are many cases where awesome movie villains worthy of great movies appear in god awful or just alright films. Sometimes those villains aren’t given the recognition they deserve based on the film they are in. So, this is my list dedicated to them, the villains that are downright beautifully written and performed, but because of the awful or alright movies they’re in, don’t get the same recognition and praise they sometimes deserve.
10. Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th series)
I will agree that the Friday the 13th movies are fun, but the series as a whole is truly awful filmmaking. What can you expect from a slasher series that grew into over ten films? What can’t be denied is how awesome the villain that it spawned is. Jason Voorhees is one of the most iconic characters known to the horror genre and this list wouldn’t be complete with out him. His trademark hockey mask has got to be one of the most well-known props in film.
9. The Sniper (Phone Booth)
The movie phone booth is awful from beginning to end, but for some reason I always need to watch it when it comes on. The reason is because Kiefer Sutherland is truly brilliant as the villain of the film. Basically the entire movie takes place in a phone booth with Colin Farrell in the starring role. On the other line we can hear the voice of a man whose point a large sniper rifle at our star. The Sniper is an awesome villain that never seems to get noticed. I suppose I can see why.
8. The Joker (Batman)
Before 2005 when the masterpiece Batman Begins came out, Batman movies weren’t that amazing. Batman Forever was alright, I wasn’t a fan of Batman Returns and Batman and Robin is one of the worst movies ever conceived. My third favorite Batman movie after Christopher Nolan’s two masterpieces would have to be Tim Burton’s original Batman. This is due in part to Jack Nicholson’s wild take on The Joker. It is nothing compared to Heath Ledger’s, but it still deserves lots of praise.
7. Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street series)
I know A Nightmare on Elm Street is considered a classic when it comes to the horror genre, but to tell you the truth, I’m not a big fan. I love the idea, but the execution wasn’t as great is its made out to be. I do however love the wickedly awesome villain Freddy Krueger. Even though he’s one of the most iconic and evil killers ever put on screen he still has brilliantly delivered dark humor. Its almost like he feels the need to not only kill his victims, but humiliate them and if that’s not villainy than what is?
6. Jigsaw (Saw series)
The “serial killer” who actually hasn’t technically killed anybody just had to be on this list. The ultimate guilty pleasure of mine is the Saw movies. Other than the first one, they are god awful, but I get unhealthy amounts of joy watching them. The joy doesn’t come from watching Jigsaw’s famous “traps” in which his victims are put to tests to see if they have the well to survive. The joy comes from the insane plot surrounding the main character and antagonist Jigsaw. He’s maniacal and sadistic, but he has good intentions in a way.
5. Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
Some might be surprised to see Hans Gruber on this list because most consider Die Hard to be an amazing movie. I do like Die Hard, it’s cool, but its not spectacular. It’s a certainly a fun movie, but its truly nothing special, just an entertaining action movie to me. It’s alright or as the title states “OK”. Hans Gruber however is a truly fantastic villain. A suave calculating thieve who might give his hostages some food, but won’t hesitate when he has to pull the trigger. Alan Rickman plays the character to a tee and the fact that he’s thrown off a building is made all the more pleasurable because of what basterd he truly is.
4. Stuntman Mike (Death Proof)
I absolutely love every minute of Death Proof, but I can’t deny that its not really a good movie because Tarantino didn’t want it to be a good movie. With Death Proof he’s paying homage B-movies with insane violence and car chases. The villain of the story is downright awesome. I don’t find nearly as much pleasure watching Kurt Russell in other roles than this one. Stuntman Mike is a sadistic, yet charming maniac who deliberately kills his victims with his “Death Proof” cars just because its a blast.
3. Agent Smith (The Matrix series)
I’ve seen The Matrix movies an unreasonable amount of time, but watching the first one recently was actually the inspiration to make this list. I just sat there as Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith interrogated Lawrence Fishburne’s Morpheus and thought, “Holy cow, this is amazing”. Then Keanu Reeves walked back into frame and I realized why I don’t consider this movie great. Agent Smith is such brilliantly crafted villain in one of the other films that I would consider a guilty pleasure of many. I love watching the Matrix movies, even the sequels, they’re pretty bad movies, but there’s a lot to enjoy and one of the main points is Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith.
2. Norman Stansfield (The Professional)
I do not like The Professional. Its an over-the-top action movie surrounding a relationship between a hitman and a twelve-year-old that is so awkward and annoying to the point of the movie becoming unentertaining. The reason it is worth watching though is because one of my favorite actors, Gary Oldman, plays the only redeeming quality of this movie and he plays him spectacularly. The character isn’t nearly used to its full potential, but the scenes he is in are made fascinating. He trues throw the scene like the shark in Jaws and you just can’t wait to see him again. I would’ve much rather just seen an entire movie surrounding a character study of this character. That would’ve been a brilliant film.
1. Voldemort (Harry Potter series)
I don’t get very much enjoyment at all out of the Harry Potter films. Maybe its just me, but sub-par execution and awful acting from the main characters don’t make for entertaining movie experiences. The series did get one thing right though, they managed to cast the supporting characters to perfection. Gary Oldman was awesome and Sirius Black, Richard Harris and Michael Gambon both made enjoyable Dumbledore’s (even though Harris was obviously better), Helena Bonham Carter is brilliant, as always, as Belatrix and Alan Rickman plays a part that he was born to play. The real treat in Harry Potter though is one of the greatest actors known to cinema playing the main antagonist.
Ralph Fiennes is one of my favorite actors and like all his roles, he plays Voldemort so utterly brilliantly. Voldemort is such a dark presence on screen to the point of every other character, even his allies, feeling uncomfortable. This is because every single person he comes across knows where the true power lies. Voldemort is truthfully the only reason I go see the Harry Potter movies. If I can only catch a glimpse of Fiennes performing the character to literal perfection, than the price of admission was worth it. When I began writing my list of the Top Ten Awesome Villains in Bad/OK Movies I know right away deserves the top spot. Ralph Fiennes playing the villain Voldemort is simply breathtaking.
The Book of Eli is the perfect example that even some of the best actors out there performing admittedly pretty great can’t always save a movie from falling flat. I’m not gonna lie I think both Washington and Oldman gave pretty great performances, but I did not like the movie as a whole at all. Post-apocalyptic movies always have that same gritty and deserted style as does The Book of Eli and it works, but even that couldn’t save this corny story.
This was new territory for Denzel, he was still that tough kind of character that we’ve seen him in many times before, but it was played so differently hear. He played the role as if every action was necessary and at the same time morally straining. When it comes to Gary Oldman, I always love his work. He is so fantastically versatile and you know you have an ace in the hole when you put him in the role of the villain. Arguably his greatest screen presence is seen in The Professional as Norman Stansfield, which is another movie I’m not a huge fan of, but I absolutely love him in.
The movie as a whole was weighed down by a pretty awful script, an even worse supporting cast, and worse of all, effects that tried so desperately hard to be intriguing, but failed miserably. The Book of Eli is just another waste of time concerned more with its fight scenes and the money it will bring in than the actual art behind the tale they could be telling.
It’s always sad to see some of your favorite actors in a movie you don’t enjoy, but it doesn’t make me question them because they were still able to give good performances. Obviously it was their attached names that drew me to this film. They weren’t enough to save this project obviously. I don’t doubt for a second that they will be acting in masterpieces again soon.
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