This is a silly thought, but I feel like writing about it. I really like Bane as a villain, the way he was portrayed in The Dark Knight Rises. Let me rephrase that. While I think Bane deserved more screen time and more back story (and less love story), I found Tom Hardy's performance just the right mixture of menacing, disturbing, brutal, and smart. And since that movie, I can only ever picture Tom Hardy as Bane.
Lawless is Bane kicking the shit out of people in the Prohibition-era South. Warrior is Bane kicking the shit out of people as an MMA fighter. And Bronson is Bane kicking the shit out of people... because he enjoys the attention. I'm not saying Hardy is a typecast actor; on the contrary, he is very talented. But something about the character Bane left such an impression on me.
Lately my obsession over the Bane character has overflowed into other movies. I now envision Bane as the ultimate villain, finding his way into other movie franchises. For example, I am right now watching a Lord of the Rings marathon. The fell beast just grabbed Theodin and his horse and threw them across the battlefield. And as the Witch King of Angmar instructs the beast to "feast on his flesh", I, for some reason, picture Bane dismounting, cracking his knuckles and saying, in his raspy, slightly mechanical voice "now I will break you".
And then my imagination just gets out of control. Thus my envisioning Bane as every villain in Lord of the Rings. Or Bane as a Bond villain. Bane working for Gustavo Fring. Bane in the zombie apocalypse. Bane tasting half-and-half and getting some on his mask. Bane waiting on a bench at a bus stop in Alabama. Bane going through airport security. Bane on a blind date....
I think I have a problem.
"Citizens of Mordor, Osgiliath is yours! Do with it what you will."
ReplyDeleteI already told you but here's my interpretation and evaluation of Bane. Though I agree Tom Hardy did an excellent version of Bane, I don't think of him in the same light. He's no ultimate villain...just very scorned, very impressive muscle/catalyst. Thalia Al Ghul was much more villainous. A villain needs to be subversive to be that good of a villain. She befriended everyone, and then used that to (attempt to) screw them all in the end. The only thing that pissed me off was that she had such a grand entrance...and such a dismissing exit from the screen. She deserved more screen time and a better death.
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