Robles 1 Sandra Robles Mr.

Newman English 101: Rhetoric 16 October 2013 The Dark Knight Finale Superhero movies have always been a big hit for summer blockbusters, and Christopher Nolans adaptation for the Batman franchise has been no exception. Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine all star in the final chapter of Nolans trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. After eight years since Bales character, Batman, went into retirement, a new venomous force by the name of Bane, Hardys character, has arrived to Gotham City. Bane aims to take over the city by force and expose the truth behind who Harvey Dent really was which then causes Batman to come out of retirement, even if his allies are few and far apart. While Lisa Kennedy and Christopher Orr enjoyed how the actors portrayed their characters in The Dark Knight Rises, they both had different views on how Christopher Nolan could better the movie and how Bane compares to previous villain, The Joker. Lisa Kennedys review of The Dark Knight Rises describes how each character in the movie was successfully exhibited on the big screen. Kennedy states how Anne Hathaways character, Selina Kyle whos later to also be known as Catwoman, is not only clad in the film's hottest couture (a wide brim hat hints at Audrey Hepburn), she's accessorized with the movie's finest quips, often delivered with an insouciant evenness. Christopher Orrs review also praises Anne Hathaways character by stating, Hathaway does about as well with the Selina Kyle role as one could reasonably hope, and evinces surprising combat agility of her own. Kennedy then

Robles 2 goes on to detail how Tom Hardys role for Bane was performed. Kennedy writes, Look up "Bane" and you'll find "slayer," "poison," "woe," "destruction." Tom Hardy's character is all that and more. Orr also expresses how well-crafted Hardys character was by stating, With his volcanic physique and a voice that booms metallically from behind a tube-crossed facemask, Hardy commands nearly every scene he is in. In Christopher Orrs critique of The Dark Knight Rises he speaks about how Michael Caines character, Alfred, pleads with Wayne that Bane is too powerful for him to tackle head-on and that he should find another way (Orr). Orr states, There is an opportunity here for Nolan to show us that other way, to (again) stretch the boundaries of what is possible in a superhero film. Alas, the latter half of The Dark Knight Rises retreats toward conventionally and, while perfectly fine in its own merits, cant help but disappoint. Lisa Kennedy would disagree with this statement. In Kennedys critique, she declares, From the moment The Dark Knight Rises opens, it is visually bold and masterfully paced. Sure it clocks in at Nolan's preferred 2 hour runtime, but the wildly choreographed action set-pieces are punctuated with character revealing pauses. In Orrs review, he articulates more on the missteps in the movie. Orr states, An oddly off-key, Occupy-Wall-Street-inspired political undercurrent suggests that a substantial population of ordinary Gothamites would be so dissatisfied with their civic institutions that they would join Banewho has by this time done some decidedly terrible thingsin a violent insurrection against the citys wealthy elites. Another misstep that Orr adds is, One character's recovery from a rather crucial impairment defies pretty much everything that I believe is known of human physiology. On last misstep that Orr writes about is, Moreover, it's hard to escape the sense that a movie as self-serious as this oneit is even more grandiose than The Dark Knightought to display a little more, well, seriousness. Kennedy counterpoints this statement by expressing,

Robles 3 Christopher Nolan continues to prove himself a serious moviemaker with superlative skills and a fondness for intelligent escapism, as one Brit wrote in the highfalutin movie mag Sight & Sound. Christopher Nolans previous Batman movie, The Dark Knight, has a notorious villain named The Joker, played by Heath Ledger. What makes The Joker notorious is that his goal isn't to kill Batman, as to murder Batman would be too easy, his goal is break the Bat, by forcing Bruce to kill him. Also he's a terrifying character because he murders with no real reasoning behind it. To murder for vengeance isn't scary, to murder for fun is. Kennedy writes in her review about the scene in the movie where The Joker had wired two ferries to blow, one full with prisoners and some officers and the other packed with innocent commuters. Each is given the detonator to the explosives on the other boat and must choose on whether to detonate the other ship before the other does or risk both ships being blown up by The Joker. Kennedy then writes, Bane must have consulted with the Joker because a trigger and a bomba much bigger bombfigure into this saga too. And there are many more moments for people not wearing masks to pick up the gauntlet of an ethical challenge. Orr compares Bane to The Joker from a different standpoint in his review. Orr states, Hardy's Bane, who, while not quite so indelible a villain as Heath Ledger's Joker (how could he be?), is one several times the size. While Lisa Kennedy and Christopher Orr enjoyed how the actors portrayed their characters in The Dark Knight Rises, they both had different views on how Christopher Nolan could better the movie and how Bane compares to previous villain, The Joker. Both Lisa Kennedy and Christopher Orr are great critics, and they are able to get their opinions across in their reviews, even if they are different from each other. Which goes to show that unlike things can blend well together.

Robles 4 Works Cited Kennedy, Lisa. "Movie Review: "Dark Knight Rises" a Fitting Finale for Batman Trilogy." Rev. of Movie. The Denver Post 18 July 2012: n. pag. 18 July 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. Orr, Christopher. "'The Dark Knight Rises' ... and Falls." Rev. of Movie. The Atlantic 20 July 2012: n. pag. 20 July 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.