Spoiler-Free Review: The Dark Knight Rises

It shows today, and true enough, Christopher Nolan delivers the epic finish to the Dark Knight trilogy. I have a spoiler-filled review via my other site, but here's the short and sweet non-spoiler version for the public to note, featuring non-spoiler excerpts from the other detailed review. It opens today in cinemas in the Philippines, both in IMAX and conventional theaters. Thanks again goes to Warner Bros. Philippines and SM Cinema for the premiere!


Threequels rarely show that there's redeeming value for a franchise other than big box office numbers. Spider-Man 3 proved that some years ago, and there's rarely been any continuation of a story or movie that ended on a high note with expectation or promise. As such, it's a very big surprise and achievement to witness the final chapter to British-American director Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight saga with the film "The Dark Knight Rises". The film places an ending to the franchise that began with 2005's Batman Begins and escalated with 2008's The Dark Knight, and all plot threads and storylines built within the events of those two films culminate into one grand epic presentation, presented in both conventional and IMAX formats. 


The Dark Knight Rises Trailer #3

Breaking down the film itself, I will admit that it's epic in scale and fits nicely into the scheme of things. It plays down the eight year absence of Batman ala Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and takes the isolation of Gotham and the Bane threat from No Man's Land and Knightfall respectively. Nolan has been known to be crafty when he creates his own treatment of Batman, and I thought this one served as a fitting ending to his saga. The only complaint I can think of frankly is Bane's voice in the prologue scene. They remastered and rerecorded it, and it just doesn't sound as authentic as it was months ago when it was shown in its original form. Other than that, while the film doesn't overshadow the success of its predecessor in terms of execution and plot, I still think it does an awesome job that earns it excellence in its own right. Some things felt anti-climactic, but it does what it can to end the story. It's literally Batman Begins' threat meets The Dark Knight's escalation, so it's the perfect conclusion to things in EPIC fashion.


In short, there's plenty of action and lots of exposition. Those who have seen Batman Begins and The Dark Knight owe it to themselves to see the conclusion to Chris Nolan's vision of Batman. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman return to their respective roles, and Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Marion Cotillard add stellar performances for this movie. For 2 hours and 45 minutes of epicness, The Dark Knight Rises delivers on the promise of ending Batman's journey on a high and exciting note. Bank on it.


For more details and spoilers, read up my detailed review.

Here Comes The Calvary! The Official G.I.Joe - The Rise Of Cobra Toy Launch!

Cobra's invasion came one month earlier than expected.XD


Paving the way for next month's blockbuster movie release, Hasbro, Toy Kingdom, and Cybertron PH came together and ushered in the official local toy launch of G.I.Joe: The Rise Of Cobra. Much like Transformers, the merchandise is based on another 80's franchise by Hasbro, and it is one of the most enduring toy lines that still continues to delight fans to this day.



Held at the lobby area of SM Megamall Building A, this two day event began in the morning of July 11th, Saturday, with much of the collectors already on location and just waiting for the mall doors to pop open and welcome them in. As soon as the bell hit, the ceremony went underway with a ribbon cutting to open up the festivities, with the sponsors in attendance and a few cosplayers dressed as Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow to promote the show. Once that was done, the toy area was officially open to the public, and collectors of all ages flooded in to check out the new figs and grab their stuff.



I entered the hallway not expecting to pick up any toys that day, but I underestimated my interests verily, as many of the figures on display were great and mighty tempting to pass up. The movie toys were pretty looking, sporting the movie's neat looking logo and a new packaging that's smaller than the original Joe toy clam shells. Of course, several new characters made for that toyline join the ones that make it into the movie. There were also several vehicles and drones... great catches for those army-builders out there. Both Joes and Cobra had a well stocked toy assortment made available, and there were even toys made specifically for the kiddies who didn't really care for collector's value.



In addition to the movie toys, there were restocks of the re-released G.I.Joe classic series as well, a line I only began collecting last year. Since it's relaunch on 2007 to commemorate the series' 25th anniversary, people have been hooked to the Joes now more than ever. New collectors join the old guard, and as a result, we have lots of people racing just to grab those "hard-to-find" figures off the shelves. Personally, my favorite character for the line has and always will be Snake-Eyes, the silent and deadly Ninja Commando of the G.I.Joe Team. Since his debut, the character's popularity has risen exponentially, and he has been outfitted with several costumes over the years that give him more than just a drastic makeover - he becomes more intimidating and dangerous as a result. Probably the most sought after costume among his various iterations would be his "V2" outfit, the one that has him wearing a cool looking visor and pairs him with his faithful pet wolf, Timber. I picked up this one several months ago, but I had to get a spare just to open it (you can smell a toy review coming, and it will in the next post, hehe).



Going back to the show, there wasn't anything you could have missed out if you were there to see it. Cybertron PH set up a display booth with all of their personal G.I.Joe collections mounted and posed for the public to see. In addition to that, there was also a show organized for the people, more specifically the kids since they had a contest up with cool prizes to give away. I ended up being an unwilling participant as a result, as one kid had to grab a guy who bought figures and bring him to the stage - which was me, haha.



Afterwards, I had a photo session with the folks who came and dressed as the movie characters (with the guy who dressed as Duke being a friend of mine). Some of the guys (Storm Shadow and Snake-Eyes included) looked great in their outfits, while others (Destro and Cobra Commander) were "interesting", but the ones who were eye-openers were the babes dressed as The Baroness, Scarlett, and Cover Girl. Hot stuff, yesh.^^



All in all, I think The Rise Of Cobra toy launch was a success. While it didn't gather a large crowd comparable to the Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen toy launch, it was still fun nonetheless. In addition to hauling another set of Movie and Classic figs, there were lots of eye candy and stuff to see around, which practically made my day and fulfilled my expectations of what an event should be. If this write up sparked your curiosity, you can bet the toys will be all over regular shops in the next few days. It's a good time to be a G.I.Joe fan. Tag 'em N' Bag 'em!