The premiere of the “The Dark Knight Rises” was blighted by a terrible tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. But there has been some light despite the darkness of this tragic shooting. The nation and the team behind Batman have impressively risen to the support of the Aurora victims.
Last week, Batman actor Christian Bale visited victims in the hospital and Warner Brothers announced they’d be donating a portion of “The Dark Knight Rises” ticket sales to help victims and their families.
Now, “TDKR” composer Hans Zimmer has found a unique way to contribute. He wrote a new piece called “Aurora” and dedicated it to those who lost their lives or were affected by the tragedy. The song can be purchased and downloaded by a pay what you want donation starting at 10 cents.
Zimmer writes,
“I recorded this song in London in the days following the tragedy as a heartfelt tribute to the victims and their families. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Aurora Victim Relief organization.”
This morning, the cinema world has had to react to the shock of a celebration of one of the biggest films of the year being turned into a tragedy. The Aurora, Colo. “The Dark Knight Rises” theater shooting has unfortunately left its stamp on society and the movie going experience.
The film’s studio, Warner Brothers Pictures has released a statement in regards to the violent act:
“Warner Bros. is deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”
The studio has also cancelled the Paris premiere event of the film and cancelled all media interviews.
On Facebook, AMC Theaters has expressed their condolences and talked about their plans to keep theaters safe:
We are terribly saddened by the random act of violence in Aurora and our thoughts are with the victims and their families. For the safety and security of our guests and associates, we are actively working with local law enforcement in communities throughout the nation and under the circumstances, we are reaching out to all of our theatres to review our safety and security procedures. Being a safe place in the community for all our guests is a top priority at AMC and we take that responsibility very seriously.
Twelve were killed and more were injured in the mass shooting during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
The staff at Midcoast Station also wishes to extend our sympathies to the victims and their loved ones.
Editor’s note: This review is meant to be spoiler-free, but it does reference material seen in the previous Nolan Batman films and “The Dark Knight Rises” trailer.
“The Dark Knight Rises” is a fitting conclusion for one of the most ambitious trilogies to date and the breathtaking finish stirs up a lot of surprises.
This film is like the “through the looking glass” version of what was presented in “Batman Begins.” In other words, it returns full circle to be a twisted mirror opposite of that first origin story film (Hint: Definitely do not see this film unless you’re aware of the plot of at least “Batman Begins”). In the first film, Bruce Wayne was a bright, rich man playing the role of a philandering playboy. He was overly cocky, initially disinterested in his company and hellbent on revenge for his parents’ death. The police and the citizens were corrupt and hardly worth saving at the film’s onset. In this film, we return to Gotham in a time of peace, roughly eight years after Batman took the fall for Harvey Dent’s crimes in “The Dark Knight” and disappeared. The people of Gotham have cleaned up their act, but now, we’re faced with a sad, reclusive Bruce Wayne. He’s moved on from letting revenge control him, but is weighed down by age and a sense of duty to live in punishment for Dent. He’s disinterested in his company, but for different reasons than his naivety displayed in the first film. Bruce Wayne has lost his spark even before meeting Bane. Bane was just the pebble that shattered already fractured glass.
Enter the young, idealistic cop, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Continuing the flipped mirror image theme, Blake’s story is eerily similar to Wayne’s. Both were orphaned at a young age as the result of violent crime, grew up in the same orphanage and went on to fight crime. Yet in seeing their similarities, we also really see just how much Wayne has changed. Though Wayne has stopped believing that Gotham needs Batman, Blake passionately differs. This character is a fiery heart to the film and fueled by the same ache of revenge that Wayne used to feel. Even when things look their bleakest, Blake is still fighting and believing in his hero. The story of Blake is by far the most fascinating and engaging storyline in the film. You think you’re watching the story of the superhero Batman, but really you’re watching the story of a regular guy caught up in super events. But as Batman himself is wise enough to point out, heroes come in all forms, even as a kind man wrapping a heartbroken boy in a coat.
Bane (Tom Hardy) is a formidable foe and though Ledger’s Joker is hard to top (because really what’s scarier than unpredictable crazy), the cold, calculating Bane does his bad guy job and he does it well. The Darth Vader voice effect mixed with a difficult to understand accent did make it a little frustrating to keep up with what Bane’s plan was as he was laying it out in the opening of the film, but it hardly matters. You didn’t really need to understand his dialogue to be scared by that guy and know that his piercing gaze meant bad news.
In fact, once the movie got past the complex and confusing opening 20 minutes of the film and had everyone in place and ready for action, it was practically perfect. My only complaints were minor. There were some out of the blue romances that the film would have been stronger without. Some characters felt flat in the busyness of the ambitious plot lines. Anne Hathaway is handed some cheese lines, which she handles surprisingly well as Selina Kyle (they never call her Catwoman). In fact, the complaints only exist because of the high bar already set by this saga. So even with a few rough edges to the movie, the whole last half of the film was a spectacular, bombastic journey that not only provides satisfying closure, but leaves plenty open for the imagination to continue to dream about Gotham adventures. I don’t want to say too much about the end of the film at risk of giving something away, but there are plenty of twists and even things that I thought were more fact than rumors that still managed to take me by surprise.
One surprising thing that I can talk about (and this isn’t a spoiler, just an adjustment) is how much of this film takes place during the day. In the prior films, Batman is an agent of the night and fights in shadows. But as Bane is quick to point out, the shadows don’t belong to Batman anymore, they belong to him. It was yet another big flip from the dark night scenes of the first films, but the fights against the stark white sky in a bleak Gotham managed to keep a grim atmosphere with an almost ironic sense of hope. The Nolan really thought a lot about the look of the film and the gritty imagery is really fantastically done. It’s worth noting that much of the film was shot using IMAX cameras and it is worth seeing on that big screen.
Finally, the score really helps carry the film and prevents it from ever reaching a lag. The infamous chant heard in trailers seems to initially be Bane’s anthem – often playing in dark, haunting chords whenever he’s on screen. But when it is later revealed that the chant means, “Rise,” the melody becomes something more.
“The Dark Knight Rises” is a fitting title for this film, but just like the “Rise” theme, it means a lot more than you think. And while it is bittersweet to say goodbye, “The Dark Knight Rises” is a great note to go out on.
It’s set to be a big summer for superheroes – “The Avengers” is already breaking records and that’s just the first superhero film to come out. We still have “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” to look forward to. Both have new trailers attached to the theatrical release of “The Avengers,” but for those of you staying home and avoiding the crowds this weekend, we’ve got both right here.
Marc Webb’s Spider-man reboot is due out July 3. It stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and it shows a different side to his origins story. This new trailer gives us a better look at the Lizard and a bit more insight into Parker’s relationship with Gwen Stacy.
Due out July 20, “The Dark Knight Rises” is the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s Batman saga. In this story set 8 years after “The Dark Knight,” we see Bruce Wayne as a battered, broken man. This new trailer gives us a lot more of the villain Bane, as well as Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Officer John Blake.
Some rumors have been spreading around that a “The Dark Knight Rises” teaser would be attached to “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” and Wednesday, AMC confirmed these rumors.
AMC announced in a blog post (though have since taken the blog down?) that a 6 minute prologue/teaser of Warner Brothers’ “The Dark Knight Rises” would be shown prior to Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” is due out December 21, 2011.
Now before you get too excited about this sneak peek at the new Batman film, AMC also announced that this teaser would only be screening in 70mm IMAX theaters: not on digital IMAX. Many 70mm IMAXs are only located at Zoos and Science centers, so until an official list of theaters screening “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” comes out, you might want to contain your excitement until it is more clear who is even showing it. LFexaminer.com has a list of IMAX screens and their formats so you know who to keep on.
While it’s a little disappointing to those of us in areas far away from 70mm IMAX theaters, we do think it is cool that Christopher Nolan and company are really treating making movies like an art form – filming on IMAX cameras and making sure that the IMAX footage is shown on the proper outlet. For those lucky enough to be near a screening, make sure you check it out.
This is not the same “trailer” that has been all over Youtube… this looks like the real deal (those of you at the Harry Potter midnight showings tonight can probably vouch for this later).
The video below contains the trailer, but you have to view a sponsor video for “Insidious” and then watch the tail end of the “Reel Steel” trailer. Twelve seconds after the “Insidious” sponsor prom video you will see what we believe to be the first official teaser trailer for “The Dark Knight Rises.”
