Now, I know what you are thinking. Just review the film! Tell us your thoughts! Is it better than it's contemporaries that were released earlier this summer? Come on, spoil it for us! Well, here's the thing. Before I saw this movie I had to sign, initial, sign, initial so much paperwork, endure a rather lengthy speech about not posting a single revealing thing regarding performances, technical, thematic and plot points until a certain date. I also had to turn in my cell phone, and they had to check my jacket, pockets and even had to take off my shoes to make sure I did not have any other recording devices. It was kind of like going through air port security. However, I am going to try and be as vague as possible, while giving my early thoughts on this very, very ambitious film. I'm going to do this in bullet format so I can avoid not getting into too much detail.
Now mind you I can not say ANYTHING about this film. Please don't ask me questions in the comment section because I will be unable to answer them. Again I know I could spoil everything and probably not get caught, but as a fellow fanboy you do not want me doing that. It would be a disservice to you, and completely disrespectful to my wife and the lovely people that allowed me to see an early screening. So here are my extremely vague thoughts on the film.
- First I will say A LOT happens, it definitely warrants repeat viewings.
- The film is long but it needs to be, and it flows better than its predecessor. You are not thinking about the run time while watching it. Surprisingly it doesn't really drag, which is something it's predecessor did from time to time.
- There are A LOT, I mean A LOT of BS spoilers making the rounds. I tried to go around last night to all the various sites (SHH, IMBD etc.) and see if anybody had it right. There are some sites that have a lot of the plot points right, but so far I have yet to read anyone get it 100% right.
- Avoid spoilers at all cost this week, there are some scenes that haven't been spoiled that are very surprising to say the least, and I didn't even see coming.
(By the way you don't realize how hard it is to not talk about this film in depth).
- Like I said the film is very ambitious, and the scale is quite grand. It's hard to classify it into a single genre.
- I think I can talk about this, as far as Oscar hopes. It has a VERY strong chance to get nominated, but it's chances of winning depend on the strength of its competition. If it does win, I think it will be a combination of this film, and the strength of the others as a whole trilogy. However, like I said, a nomination is definitely not out of the realm of possibility.
- Again, please avoid having the end spoiled. I know I already posted avoid spoilers, but trust me it is worth posting twice.
- It's a very cohesive narrative, and in my opinion a much more intriguing story than its predecessors. The best words to describe it are Grand and Ambitious. I know I've used that word a lot now, but truth be told it's the best word I can think of to describe it.
- The villain is completely articulate, very easy to understand, and in many ways is much more frightening than the villains that proceeded him.
- The film is quite brutal in some areas. If parents had a problem with the story and violence of the last one, I would recommend not taking your child to see this.
- The story will probably be debated by the television talking heads, but it is not preachy, nor does it shove any philosophical ideals down your throat. It requires you to think a little bit, and brings up some very interesting observations on society as a whole. However there will be some pundits who will look too deeply into the story because after all, it is election time here in the States.
- It's definitely a worthy predecessor, and not a weak link by any stretch of the imagination.
- Without getting into specifics, everyone brings their A game. Nobody phones in a performance.
- For those of you worrying, this is not like Spider-man 3, Godfather 3, X-Men The Last Stand, Alien 3. If anything the QUALITY is comparable to Return of The King. A lot of care went into this movie and it definitely shows in every frame. Nothing is wasted, and there is no filler. Some may argue a couple of scenes could be cut, but not many. Almost every scene is important to the narrative.
- There are more lighter moments in this film than it's predecessor. The humor isn't as cheesy or forced this time around. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a lighter film, but these scenes are definitely welcome and break up the tone beautifully.
- I must say the film is beautifully shot. If you can see it in IMAX do so!
- The trailers that have been released don't reveal anything about this movie. So don't worry about being too spoiled if you have been avoiding them.
- The last thing I will say is this. This film is the comic book movie equivalent of an epic poem.
It's been a lot of fun talking and debating these movies with everyone this past year or so. I was actually surprised by how emotional I was, not necessarily because of the story (I mean that did play a part in it) but just watching everything unfold from pre production to casting and story rumors. I remember watching set video's, arguing about costumes, quotes people who are involved in making it said and just speculating what would happen. When the credits rolled all those thoughts rushed through my mind, and I couldn't help but smile. This film was exactly what I wanted to see and then some. It definitely left me very satisfied, and if you are fan of this trilogy you will definitely get your money's worth from this movie.
One last thing, my wife says to tell everyone she loved it and intends on seeing it again with me.