The Dark Knight Rises: SPOILER ALERT

Tonight was the first time I've seen The Dark Knight Rises; I viewed it at my college as one of the "Bryn Mawr Film Series" movies, which take up most of my early Friday and Saturday evenings.  Preparing to watch this infamous film, my thoughts were mixed with paranoia and anticipation.  Other than knowing that Cat Woman was involved and that there was a guy with a breathing device and that it was about Batman and the creation of Robin, I had no idea what the actual story was going to be like.  Also because of the films infamous opening night there was a smidgen of anxiety and sadness, especially since the film began so violently.  I have to admit, other than the violence, the beginning was really hard to follow and I'm still not sure how it fit in with the rest of the plot to be exact.  I also am confused about some of the other plot points, like who was Miranda's father in relation to the earlier movies and story, as I am not a Batman fanatic.  Many times in the movie, I had no idea what was going on, like how was Batman transported to the prison, and how did he get to Gotham from the prison?

I must also admit that until almost the second before the unveiling of Miranda, I had no idea that she was the real bad guy and mastermind.  I did however, even though I had mostly forgotten that Robin appears, anticipate Joseph Gordon-Levitt being Robin and giving up the police force.

The movie was very dark at the beginning and quite depressing at first; however, as it progressed, it became lighter and lighter. By the end there was much hope and happiness; in other words, it had a very happy and mostly satisfying ending.  The only unsatisfying thing I can say about the ending is that there really was no build to the romance between Cat Woman and Batman...  They had no real connections; Cat Woman just flirts and kisses Batman.  That is no reason for them to end up together.  Their relationship had no real progression.

My biggest criticism of the movie is that if you haven't recently watched all the Batman movies preceding this one, you (like I) would be totally lost on much of the plot and references.  The only reason I don't criticize Batman's escape from the nuclear bomb is that I'm sure they'll explain it in the next film.

I don't know whether this is a criticism or a congratulation:  But, other than the obvious subliminal similarities, they made a STARK reference to Gotham actually being New York City when they flashed by Saks Fifth Avenue in one of the battle scenes towards the end.

By the end of the movie, I determined that overall, I enjoyed the film, although it was very confusing and the beginning was a little to dark and violent for my preference.  I think the fact that most of the actors are very beautiful, helps a lot in my determination of it being an mostly satisfying movie.

Oh, I almost forgot!  In the scene where Cat Woman drops Batman off at the underground lair, I was reminded of the scene in Star Wars where Luke finds out that Darth Vader is his father.  Not that the situation was similar, but the look of the set and characters.  Batman looked like Vader while Bane looked more like Luke, but with the Vader voice....

On Another Note (sort of):  Christian Bale is from (according to IMDb) "Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK".  Bryn Mawr <3