A Review

I will disclose no information deemed a spoiler, this I promise.


I had imagined a movie theater with about 4 other people in it. My plan was to watch this latest and last installment of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy on a Sunday morning.

To my dismay the theater filled up, but I avoided lining up amongst teeming teenagers. This was good enough for me and I would suggest that all of you, my dearest readers, devise a way to enjoy this movie a la matinee (I still paid the full 13.50 per ticket). I sent a text message to my brother after watching the film which read: "Pay whatever is asked of you to watch this movie."

Anyway, onto the film. Would it be strange if I told you that for a moment I cheered on Bane (the mask wearing villain)? I guess not. I did once produce a limited set of t-shirts which read "Eat The Rich" in enormous font (want one? email me at theflyingbm@gmail.com). I know we usually attend theaters hoping the good guy wins but you have to admit that villains work pretty damn hard at perfecting their villainy.

This film showcases the growing acknowledgment that socioeconomic struggle is peaking in our world. Rich vs. Poor takes a sort of background, yet center stage. It all depends on how you want to view the movie. This is what makes Nolan's trilogy so different from previous Batman films- especially the Clooney versions (were those comedies?). You can enter the theater expecting to be wowed by futuristic technologies, cool suits, violence and leave satisfied. You can leave the theater thinking "Hey, I think this movie was about more than explosions and the good/bad dichotomy." It's like the Superbowl in that everyone (not everyone) watches but those with a team to root for get so much more out of the experience; there is something actually on the line here.

The fact that the films budget can fund a presidential campaign is disheartening to those who thought the producers would buy what they're selling. "The mock revolution will be showing at a theater near you." If the 99% start dragging Park Avenue residents onto the streets they better hope Batman comes around to save them.  

Transforming Bane from the bruising brute I remember him being in cartoons to Dostoevsky's Underground Man, quite literally, was brilliant. The idea that beneath our very feet discontent gathers and emerges is not new. Their exacting severe revenge is as cyclical as the seasons. Combining elements of fiction with the very real revolutionary struggles seen across the world today is what made this movie special to me. As strange as it sounds (there's a pun here) Bane, unlike pundits and politicians, expresses the sentiments of those washed out by capitalism best. There are also tons of explosions, cool vehicles, and weapons you wish you had.

- Alex