The Sci-Fi Christian – 7/20/12 “The Sci-Fi Christian: The Dark Knight Rises – Instant Reaction” featuring Matt Anderson, Ben De Bono, Daniel Butcher, and Koby Radcliffe
Episode 76: The Dark Knight Rises – Instant Reaction
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I reluctantly have to agree with Matt’s ranking of the trilogy. TDK is definitely the best, due in large part to Heath Ledger’s uber-compelling Joker and to the clear through-line of “at what point are you corruptible?”. BB gets second place because it is such an incredible reimagining of the myth, so it has the advantage of being fresh and new. TDKR is a lot like BB (by design, I know), and Bane didn’t translate overly well to the screen (that mask was a mistake); but it’s a very, very strong film and the ending is the perfect resolution to the trilogy, so it’s only a micron below BB. Overall the trilogy is an undeniably impressive achievement.
I left a message through your system there but I just wanted to add here: as a whole, the trilogy is awesome. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises are bookends and in between them is a chapter that soars above them, but as much as the first and last chapters are connected, The Dark Knight is needed to push Bruce and Jim and Alfred to the points where they need to be eight years later in Rises.
As for the mask, consider this: Bane is the flip side to Bruce Wayne. They were both trained by the League of Shadows, to two different results. Bane continued training and pushing his mind and body to be what it needed to be for his final battle, Bruce let his go. Bane was motivated to act because of a girl; Bruce was manipulated to act because of a girl. Bruce’s mask covers everything except his mouth . . . and Bane’s mask covers only his mouth!