There were no long lines waiting to see "The Dark Knight Rises" at the urban multiplex closest to where I live in Washington, D.C. A mild surprise, since this wasn't, after all, just any movie's opening Friday. This was, as we kept being told, a Major Summer Event, the biggest, darkest and most eagerly anticipated of the many Hollywood blockbusters being wheeled out to the movie-going public. It was also a workday. And I was willing to believe that there were too many people who didn't or couldn't play hooky, no matter how much frothing hype had been aroused on Batman's -- sorry, The Batman's -- behalf.
But this was no ordinary opening Friday -- or any other Friday. Less than six hours before I arrived at the box office, a lone gunman opened fire in a darkened theater in Aurora, Colorado, whose seats were jammed with men, women and children gathered for a special midnight showing of "Dark Knight Rises." He killed and injured numerous people. For those who survive, I would guess that going into a dark room to watch a movie will never be the same again.
The only outward sign at my screening yesterday was another ticket-taker at the entrance asking to look into my book bag. Others were likewise asked to show the contents of their carry-on items. It wasn't a full house, but this was one of those theaters where the movie was being screened in several theaters at once. As the lights dimmed, I heard the crackle of police radios by the exits. Then darkness -- and the show.
Of the movie itself, it's enough to say, for now, that it succeeded in absorbing my attention, using every one of its estimated $250 million to fill its 164 minutes. It was too long by half, just like every other summer blockbuster that preceded it. But it was conceived with surging ambition, executed with imaginative cunning, performed with admirable conviction and succeeded at doing what it was build to do: Make me forget the outside world's travails -- even the fact that people died hours ago watching this film.
And what did they see? I don't know how far they got before the true horrors began, but here's some of what I remember.
(I'm going to spoil some things for you here because I'm trying to make a point. So skip the next few sentences if you want).
Several bridges blow up during the course of the film. You don't see close-ups of people trapped in cars plunging into the river. Nor do you see what actually happens to the people on a football field ravaged by an underground explosion, though a field microphone is snatched quickly off the corpse of a dead official. Otherwise, little blood, not much gore, just a lot of stuff blowing up and limbs being cracked ... Real people died, hours ago, watching this stuff. The thought lurked in the back of my head for most of the movie. It pushed itself to the forefront as I walked onto the sidewalk.
Source:CNN
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