The Dark Knight Rises: A Hypothesis

As special screenings are viewed all around the US before the worldwide release of the most anticipated film of this year on July 20, many reviewers barf out their thoughts about The Dark Knight Rises and alas, the news isn't perfect.

It isn't all that bad either.  Rottentomatoes has 86% approval rating as of 7:10 PM 7/18/2012, which is not the end of the world by any means, however, I am sure Nolan wanted this film to hit 100% mark after its predecessor (The Dark Knight) was crowned at almost 95% rating with baffling net box office of $540 million*.  I think even though majority of the reviews are still pending, the important ones and the generous ones are in, so reviving back to 95% mark is out of the question.

So, where did Nolan go wrong? Well, I believe the writers of Dark Knight were simply writing a great story with no intentions of making it larger than life. This unadulterated hard work put in only for the story worked out really in their favor. Also, since Batman Begins wasn't that big of a burden as many members of the audiences thought of it as too slow, ominous and dark for a superhero film, expectations from Nolan weren't humongous anyways.  However, with the death of Heath Ledger, the Dark Knight got the kind of reception that took everyone by surprise, undoubtedly Nolan was distracted by the burden of Dark Knight and hence, just wanted to make the movie huge in every sense.  I believe he simply didn't get one with the story. Still, since Nolan is exceptionally talented, Rises should turn out to be great film nonetheless.

Now, how is this going to effect the box office for the finale of this exceptional trilogy? The net box office would probably not hit the Dark Knight status but should land somewhere near that point and for the same reason that helped Dark Knight reach such a lucrative figure.  Both films acquired hype from not just content, crew and the cast, but something more.  For Dark Knight, it is unquestionable that the untimely death of Heath Ledger yanked the film into the center of the universe.  This time The Dark Knight Rises is the last of the three and the end of the almost decade long saga of the Batman, this aspect should help spike the numbers for the film.  My prediction is a bigger business than The Dark Knight!

So, is this movie all that good? Well, if you liked Batman Begins and went gaga over Dark Knight, you will definitely love this one too (I am saying it before watching it).  This is only because you can't comprehend all the layers of the movie just in one viewing anyways.  You will simply be flabbergasted by the sheer grandiosity and ominousness of it and end up liking the feeling being awestruck gives!

Am I going to watch it? Yes. How stupid of me to ask that question.

(* Courtesy www.rottentomatoes.com)