Dark Knight Rises... And Shines!

"We were in this together, and then you were gone. Now this evil... rises. The Batman has to come back."
"What if he doesn't exist any more?"
"He must... he must..." – Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne

Some days, it seems like the work of a masked vigilante leading a double life just doesn't seem to end.  While multiple things have been happening in the workshop lately, suturing the mask, doctoring tools and holsters for the utility belt, my "other mask" (that of Bruce Wayne) has been busy.

Wayne and the Batsuit

What possibly can a billionaire-playboy not push off to his butler/employees?  Well, a promise made and an opportunity of a lifetime.  Through a group of my good friends, specifically my comic book artist friend Adonis Howard and comic book store owner Todd Mara, I've come to be involved in a promotional crew for the new Dark Knight Rises movie (in theatres today!)

The 5 Drive-In at Oakville invited us to make a big event of this Saturday's showing of the Dark Knight Rises, the third and last installment of Christopher Nolan's epic Batman trilogy.  So for the past month or so we've been rather busy creating signs, banners, and artwork, and pulling the whole thing together.

Bruce Wayne dances with Selina Kyle

For our work we've been rewarded with admission to the advanced screening of this spectacular show last night, before the rest of North America even gets a chance to see the opening title.  Something that others would spend anywhere between $70-$150 per seat for in theatres.

But all the money in the world couldn't have prepared me for this.  This magnificient end to the Batman legend shines through all those that came before it, leaving all of us gripping at the edge of our seats right from the very beginning, all the way past the very end.  Every angle, every movement, every detail was true to the iconic mood and theme of the Dark Knight.

Catwoman, defiant

The care in putting detail into plot development is unbelievable.  What's more, as the plot develops, those of the audience who are initiated into the plot of the past two movies slowly come to realize, that Nolan's quite carefully and quite deliberately weaved these two prequel blockbusters in a way that seems like he was planning and building up to this climactic finale all along.

Now, I will admit, that I'm a sucker for certain parts, and I really do wish there was a bit more focus on Bruce Wayne (Batman), and on Selina Kyle (Catwoman).  But with this many layers to unfold in so short a time, and so many things to blow up...  Nolan quite successfully floored even a lifetime Batman fanatic like me.

In the grime and the wreckage of Gotham city under siege, the Dark Knight truly shines.

I can't wait until we all get to see it again on Saturday.