Review: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman
Director: Christopher Nolan
Country: USA | UK
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Official Trailer: Here
Editor’s Notes: For an additional perspective on The Dark Knight Rises, check out Jason’s review.
Christopher Nolan wanted to make a film that tied in all the aspects of the franchise he created to conclude it on a bittersweet note. The Dark Knight Rises is a fitting end to the story that began seven years ago with the revolutionary Batman Begins. It does so showing us deeper levels of depth for each of the characters we have come to care for, providing pulse-pounding action sequences (with special recognition to Hans Zimmer’s score, adding to the audience’s experience), and yet taking us back to the roots of the story.
The final instalment to Nolan’s trilogy takes place eight years after the events of the previous film, where we see a broken and withdrawn Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) trying to live in a city that no longer needs or wants a Batman. However, a new enemy, the masked terrorist leader Bane (Tom Hardy), comes to Gotham City to take advantage of the Batman’s absence and the police force’s complacency. Bane’s systematic takeover of Gotham forces Bruce out of retirement and to wear the cape and cowl again, but there is no telling if the years of exile have left him even capable of defending Gotham City and its citizens from this overpowering threat.
…with The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan brings the world he created to the edge of destruction to see if it is capable, or even worthy, of survival.
The story is not as dark or as deeply multifaceted as that of The Dark Knight, nor is that its aim. Nolan, just as in each of his previous Batman films, uses a novel approach to tell his final chapter. When he brought us Batman Begins, the focus was on setting a solid base for a legend and to establish a world in which that legend could exist. For The Dark Knight, he wanted to shake the foundations of that world to the core and depict a battle for its soul. Finally, with The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan brings the world he created to the edge of destruction to see if it is capable, or even worthy, of survival. The story is still intricate, intense and more than a little ambitious with action sequences meant to depict the war for Gotham City on a grand scale.
One could argue that the film is a little too predictable, but it seems that Nolan made that choice intentionally to add to the film’s entertainment value. Fans of the Batman comics will no doubt recognize aspects of a few iconic storylines, namely The Dark Knight Returns, Knightfall, and No Man’s Land, woven cleverly into a single movie. This can be seen as a deliberate attempt by Nolan and his team to pay homage to the great story arcs of the Batman mythology. A true Batman fan cannot help but pick up these references and enjoy how they have been modified to fit Nolan’s world. Thus, ‘predictability’ can be seen as a tactic to generate excitement for the audience as they watch the story unfold. Speaking as a fan of the Batman comics, seeing the twists coming was not a negative to the film experience, but something that made me love it more as I waited for the big reveals so as to see how they were executed. I was very pleased with how they were done and impressed that Nolan he was ambitious enough to try.
Unfortunately, Hardy’s performance, while excellent, was not anywhere near as frightening or as unpredictable as the late Heath Ledger’s Joker. Audiences should not go into The Dark Knight Rises expecting it to change their world the way The Dark Knight did.
The main drawback for the film is that it follows The Dark Knight, and that works against it because people are hoping to see either as good of a film or something better. This film is neither as it never goes as dark, twisted or diabolical as its precursor. Bane is a physically threatening and powerful opponent and his actions and tactics are terrifying. Unfortunately, Hardy’s performance, while excellent, was not anywhere near as frightening or as unpredictable as the late Heath Ledger’s Joker. Audiences should not go into The Dark Knight Rises expecting it to change their world the way The Dark Knight did. They should instead realize that this is a separate movie with a different story to tell than before, and so it should be judged based on how well it tells that story. Unfortunately, there are more than a few cheesy scenes in the film, which is unusual for Nolan. I’m reminded of a particular statue that shows up near the end of the movie that actually made me laugh out loud on account of how absurd it was. But given the near three hour runtime of the film, these cheesy scenes were few and far between and definitely did not take away from the film’s pace or feel.
As is the case in all of Nolan’s films, the acting was very good all across the board. All of the returning cast members, specifically Bale, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman, were as good as they have always been. The only real loss was a lack of screen time for the wonderful Michael Caine, who definitely drew the short end of the stick in terms of screen time, but was lucky enough to be entrusted with the most emotional scenes in the film. Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard were great in their roles as well, with special recognition given to Hardy and Hathaway. Hardy’s Bane was a large and physically threatening beast who was just as methodical and strategic as Batman. However, it is his voice and his insistently calm tone, which gave you a chill down your spine, rather than his intimidating size or his ruthless actions. The real surprise performance came from Hathaway’s wonderful depiction of Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Like Michelle Pfeiffer before her, Hathaway is a pleasant surprise as she makes Catwoman her own, and makes her just as complex and strong as a female lead should be. Where Pfeiffer brought us a damaged, withdrawn, and (at times) manic anti-hero with an occasional soft side, Hathaway brings us an adaptable survivor who has been hardened by her past while still having strong, but rare, moments of humanity. She is clever, elegant and beautiful, but can turn vicious and cold when crossed by unsympathetic people.
The Dark Knight Rises is thoroughly enjoyable, smart and well-acted. Although it is an action film, it is surprisingly thoughtful and effectively concludes Nolan’s version of the Batman franchise in responsible and almost loving way. One can hardly believe that the filmmakers did not originally intend this film to be a trilogy, as all aspects of the three movies are wonderfully tied up in this film. We are left sad that we are unable to see anymore of the Nolan/Batman collaboration, but the story arc ends in a way that makes us happy and proud to have been watching along the whole time.
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