First my thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims during the Aurora, Colorado Dark Knight Rises shooting. I write this review to hopefully honor them and inspire others to stand up against evil in all its forms.
Let me start by saying, I am a Batman Fan. Well let me restate that, I have become a Batman fan. I original grew up as a Spiderman fan (and still am to a certain degree) but as I have grown up I have appreciated the fact that Batman is just a Man who fights crime. Now, granted he is a Man who has ridiculous resources , being a billionaire and all, but nevertheless he was just a Man in a world where the next super villain can be created after that chemical spill or radioactive accident. There is something to this. Why fight when you know the odds are against you ? Why try to win when it is so obvious that the deck is stack against you ?
That is the core of what Batman is all about and in some ways Dark Knight Rises reflects this. At the beginning of the movie Batman/Bruce Wayne is a recluse. He has retired as Batman and now the shell of Bruce Wayne has decided to live life as a shut-in. But two separate individuals begin to awaken the hero within. The cat burglar, aka Catwoman, has decided to steal from him and that arouses the detective side of Batman. And a visit from a new character, Officer Blake, visits Bruce. This new character has pieced together the whole Bruce Wayne / Batman puzzle due to the simple fact that as a orphan himself he can see the mask that is Bruce Wayne. This character appeals to the heart that is Batman. These two rouse Batman from his slumber to again become Gotham City's savior. Unbeknownst to Batman a new threat has emerged, Bane, who threatens to tear down the entire city. Through the twist and turns I noticed a common theme popping up. This whole notion of heroism. Bruce Wayne has tremendous resources, gadgets, and training to beat back the evil that threatens his city but it really are the ordinary cops, personified by Officer Blake, who have none of the advantageous of Batman who created a lasting impression on me. These individuals stood up to evil when it was so clear that they should've stayed home and hide.
This really resonated with me after the terrible movie shooting incident in Aurora Colorado. This heinous crime committed by an unimaginable evil was truly tragic. But after hearing about what happened during the shooting, you hear story after story of specific heroism of ordinary people who put their lives at risk to save others. Unfortunately, Batman is a fictional character but when you hear the stories of people in the theatre, they are the true heros that we should write stories about. At the end of the day, it is this theme of ordinary people taking a stand against evil that the movie promotes. From Office Blake standing against Bane's thugs to Commissioner Gordon jumping into the dangerous Gotham sewers these examples represent the ordinary individual putting their lives at risk to save others.
This final chapter in the Batman trilogy looks to tie up loose ends and put a whole coda on this notion of a man who dresses up as a bat to stop crime. But ultimately it is the very nature of heroism especially in light of the recent tragedy that will last the longest in our collective memory.
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