Maybe I need to see TDKR again?...

There will be spoilers...

Filling cinema seats by the thousand up and down the UK, The Dark Knight Rises opened on Friday.  After lots of scheduling clashes, and rearranging, I managed to be one of the faithful who went along on the opening day.

My wife and I had watched Batman Begins a few nights before, during which she made a great point.  It's the first time we see on screen what goes into making Batman so kick ass.  I get that's the point of an 'origins' film, but in all the other films Bruce Wayne just puts on a Bat Suit and takes on a slightly super human quality.  In Batman Begins, we see what goes into it, and it makes it more believable once the suit goes on.

Then we were treated to The Dark Knight.  I will very shortly be watching it again, as it sits waiting in my iTunes library.  As action films go, it's a corker, and Heath Ledger's performance has ensured The Dark Knight's place as a timeless classic.  The kind of film that I will sit down and watch 20 years from now and enjoy just as much (a great example of this I watched just last night in Aliens).

So then we have TDKR:

What a mouth watering prospect.  Bane, Batman and closure.  3 things that were, in my opinion, heavily touted by all involved.  That rare thing, a compelling and well told story, allowed to run it's course and then end.  All things pointed to modern day greatness in the making.

I left the film on Friday, and for a good hour I felt frustrated and disappointed.  My wife and I spoke at length about the ending, which she loved, and I tried to reconcile my differences with it.  I will undoubtedly see the film again at the cinema, in a final attempt.  I didn't know quite what to expect from the ending, but whatever it was, I didn't get it.

You know how for some films, when they release the DVD or Blu-Ray, they include alternate endings?  Well I think in a bid to save everyone's time from having to watch several different endings to TDKR, they just cut them all together.  First Batman/Bruce Wayne dies, then he doesn't.  Then Gotham is saved, but wait, let's hand over the mantle of protector to someone else just in case (which in itself ruins the whole closure aspect).  Then you have the scene in the café...

Whilst TDKR is a great film, it's not the triumphant sign off I was hoping for.

The saviour of DC?

As we draw closer to the release of The Dark Knight Rises, speculation increases as to where Christopher Nolan will go after this.

There has been lots to say that whilst he will not be at the helm of any further Batman films, he will help produce future Batman reboots.  The current trend for reboots is something that I'm finding myself increasingly at odds with.  Take the recent 'reboot' of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  

I'm a big fan of the 2011 film, the book, and of David Fincher.  The problem being it's critical reception due to it's proximity to the original, had a damaging effect on it's box office performance.  This in turn has put a dampener on the subsequent sequels, in particular the turning off of Fincher.  Who has pretty much categorically ruled out a return to the chair for the remainder of the films.  The current news being that both sequels are due to be filmed back to back (starting in the autumn), for release in 2013.  I'm not holding my breath.

Back to Nolan.

I'm reading lots about plans for Nolan to be the saviour of the remainder of DC Comics character stable.  Most notably with a reboot of The Green Lantern (hence my earlier comment about reboots).  I'm not hugely opposed to a Green Lantern reboot, as the Ryan Reynolds outing was particularly awful, and as a character The Green Lantern deserves better.

What concerns me more is the possibility of Nolan getting caught in a black hole of comic book adaptations (which wouldn't be the end of the world, as I love comic book movies), ultimately detracting from other projects.  Nolan has the midas touch, and I love the variety and quality of his films.

One door that this does potentially open though, and one that is currently a hot topic out there, is the Justice League being brought to the big screen.

This I would love to see...

Getting older and Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

As a Father, you see time pass quickly.  You have a child growing and learning rapidly before your eyes.  It gives you a great ability to enjoy the smaller, seemingly less significant things in life.  Ask an 18 year old to sit and watch a child playing at playground for an hour, and you will probably be met with a roll of the eyes and a sharp tongued quip about it being an amazingly boring way to spend an hour.  Yet I in fact spent such an hour (several in fact), just last week when I took my children to an adventure park.
Another ability, imparted by age, is the use of the phrase, "when I was a lad/lass" (delete as appropriate, and spoken with a broad yorkshire accent).  And I'm finding with the rapidly changing world we live in today, courtesy of the technological advances of our time, the use of this phrase comes to us all the sooner.

Now, you're probably thinking what the hell this has to do with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL).  It all started when I was looking for information on upcoming releases for this year, finding that 3 bigs one star none other than JGL (Looper, Lincoln, and of course TDKR).  JGL is, quite rightly, on the up and up with regards to his big screen career.  A rise that started when he played the role of Arthur in Inception (a role that was originally meant for James Franco before he pulled out).  Here's how he looked when he hit out screens in 2010.

Inception was a 12A, meaning that people old enough to see the film, may not have been old enough to know JGL from his earlier career success in television.  Between 1996 and 2001, JGL starred in TV sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.  Here's how he looked back then:

This is how I remembered JGL.  Needless to say, when he hit the big screen in 2010 for Inception I was amazed at the transformation.  Made all the more profound by the fact that we are very similar in age.  Looking at his filmography, it's clear to see that JGL has had a slow burning, and successful career.  One that leads him to his position now, one of the most talented actors of his generation, with a very busy 2012 on the cards.

I'm really looking forward to JGL's contribution to the coming year.  I'm off to watch some 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Why not go watch some yourself?