Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan simply said, this film is about “pain.”

The pain of lost love, in Rachel Dawes, Gotham’s pain without Harvey Dent, Batman’s forthcoming pain at the hands of Bane, and perhaps the pain of this Batman trilogy coming to an end.

The four years since The Dark Knight have been chock full of assumptions, rumors, and flat out lies. When the clock strikes 12:01 A.M. on Friday 7-20-12, the truth will finally be revealed.

We are taken eight years after The Dark Knight, and the death of Harvey Dent still looms. Gotham’s streets are clean, no thanks to the Batman, and Bruce Wayne who, coincidentally, have been in exile for those eight years. Commissioner Gordon leads Gotham’s finest with an iron fist, protecting the streets from the crooks, and mobsters that once inhabited the city.

In true Nolan fashion, it is all about one-upping the competition, too bad this time, the competition is his previous work of art. You can tell, right away, from the opening scene that Nolan is in a fight with The Dark Knight, attempting to stun the audience the second they sit down, just like he did four years ago with the introduction of the Joker.

Exile, redemption, the fight of survival, rising above; these are the key elements of The Dark Knight Rises. How far will a hero go, how much sacrifice can be made to protect what he stands for?

With Batman gone for so long, it’s been on the shoulders of Gotham PD to keep the crime at bay, but there is only so much they can do. A new villain seeks destruction, he sees vulnerability in a city desperate for a calling, and thus Bane arrives.

Hailing from the depths of The League of Shadows, by way of South Africa; he is the devil reincarnated. Bane is the definition of evil, tearing Gotham down, bringing it to it’s knees, in an attempt to liberate the people from the tyranny of their so-called fearless leaders.

Fear is something they will get.

Tom Hardy assumes the role of Bane, having to gain over 25 pounds of muscle for the role, as well as a distinct new dialect, one which has been the main topic of discussion when it comes to this film, Hardy transforms himself.

Just because I say transform, don’t automatically assume it is on the level of Heath Ledger and The Joker, I know everyone is trying to compare the two, but you really can’t. These two villains are completely different, from their demeanor, to their end-game goals, the two couldn’t be further apart in similarity.

Hardy, who said the inspiration for Bane’s voice came from late bare-knuckle boxing champion Bartley Gorman, is as imposing of a figure as you will see in a movie. He is terrifying, yet calculated, it seems like he is always 10 steps ahead of Gotham PD, and Batman.

But the scrutiny surrounding Bane’s voice from months ago, and once again when the trailers hit, isn’t without merit.

Even though Nolan said there was a ton of post-edit work done to make Bane’s voice more intelligible, at times it is still very difficult to hear what he is saying. About 20% of his words are muffled. I know that sounds bad, but Hardy makes up for it with his acting, body movement, hand gestures, and eyes.

Depending on the theater you go to, the sound may be a bit too loud and that too could interfere with his voice, because there are times where it sounds like he is speaking into a microphone or on a bull horn through the mask. For some, his voice may be distracting, but I absolutely loved it. It’s different, and at times it becomes fun and playful, yet there is venom dripping from every word uttered, if that makes sense.

With the theme of the first quarter of the film being Batman’s whereabouts we are introduced to two new prominent characters. John Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a young cop, cut from the same cloth as Commissioner Gordon, often regarded as a “hothead” with a savory appetite for justice. The other being a dastardly jewel thief named Selina Kyle, as she crosses paths with Bruce Wayne, the two clearly have a mind-state in common.

As we progress in the film, massive amounts of story-line are given to us, more than ever before in any Batman film, simply because this is the finale. Miranda Tate, played by Marion Cotillard, is a rich business woman with a goal of clean energy solution for the world. Her role with Bruce Wayne becomes greater once she is given the keys to Wayne Enterprises in order to lead it back to fiscal solvency.

From Bane’s terrorism of Gotham, to a potential nuclear explosion, the need for Batman is stronger now than ever before.

One thing is paramount in The Dark Knight Rises, the action and fight scenes are second to none. Nolan has really outdone himself.

There are two major fight sequences between Bane and Batman, the first of which absolutely blew my mind and made me sit up, and lean forward in my chair. The second is so masterfully presented; it will truly blow you away. Bane is so strong, so unflappable; he is unlike anything Batman has had to face before. This is what the saga is all about, when evil rises, we look to one man to protect us, the question is can Batman defeat something he was never prepared for?

Anne Hathaway delivers arguably the best performance of her career. Her role as Selina Kyle, in and out of the cat suit really carries the film at times, and I’d go as far as to say she stole the show almost every time on screen; she was THAT good. Her dry humor, and ability to not be phased by the rich and powerful along with Batman, brings a new element into the story. Figuring out what side she is playing for is a plot point all in and of itself, and one even she herself, has to fight.

Speaking of career efforts; Christian Bale, for the first time really acts, and shines as Bruce Wayne, more than Batman. This is by far his best performance of the trilogy, as it truly shows him as a broken man, leaving his riches, and persona behind, in order to restore his calling as the caped crusader.

It’s bittersweet, once you sit down you realize it will all be over soon. The journey you are about to embark on over nearly the next three hours is riveting, but at times hard to follow. It’s not confusing, but there is so much story that is happening all at once, that it is hard to digest in one sitting. With Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight the story was always straight forward, with us knowing there was more to come once the film was over. Now, knowing there would be nothing left to look forward to, bringing it all to a close had to be packed into a relatively short period of time.

While Nolan is great at putting together a story, I’m not surprised that I want to watch it again (and will be at midnight), just like I did with Inception, Memento, and The Prestige. What do they all have in common, they are brilliant psychological films. And while The Dark Knight Rises, is probably not suppose to be on that level, I think it is very close. There is much more beneath the surface to this film then you can imagine.

The human element, as always resides with Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and Lucius Fox, and now John Blake. Michael Caine, the father figure to Mr. Wayne, must deal with his seclusion, after which letting Batman know he is up against a greater force than even he can withstand. Gordon has a smaller role here, than in TDK, but as always he plays for the good guys and has an impact on the way things end. Fox is tangled in a web with Tate thanks to Bane that plays a big role in the film. The ordinary characters we’ve come to know, play just as big of a role in the overall story as Batman, or Bane.

The Dark Knight Rises brought parallels of today’s world of political anarchy, terrorism, and the struggle for hope all onto the silver screen, in a way that was so beautiful, Nolan must be applauded for that.

Let me not forget to mention Hans Zimmer, who is always able to make a scene, or save a scene with his epic score, although at times drowning out some dialogue, probably not his fault. Expect an Oscar nomination.

It’s hard to dissect a film of this stature, one with such anticipation, and look for imperfections. It’s almost like a witch hunt, trying to locate the chinks in the armor, possibly subconsciously hoping it would not live up to the hype. That’s the reaction the “fan-boys” are giving, I don’t know if you can really blame them, but I will agree, this film is not perfect.

The character of Bane is nothing short of a monster, his presence is over bearing, and he is one villain the audience will fall in love with. However, I wish there was more back story to his character, the mask, and the pain he has endured. I felt there was a lot left to be desired for us to fully get a grasp of the man behind the mask.

At times the film’s plot gets sloppy, or simply suffocating, there is just so much going on at one time, we get scene jumps one-after-another, that it sort-of makes your head spin. Everything is eventually brought full circle, but it’s hard not to notice these deviations in the story. After watching the film for a second time, I was certainly more keen to the little nuances that I missed on the first go around.

I recommend everyone see this more than once, you’ll thank me in the end.

To Nolan’s credit, he gets very creative with the twists, and turns, the audience will collectively gasp many times, and that is always a good thing in my eyes.

The question everyone had in mind was would this be a fitting ending? With so many directions to go with the Batman character and story, how can it all just end? Rest assured, this is where the film shines the brightest.

There is as sublime of an ending as one could hope for. The final 10 minutes, and more specifically the last scene is simply flawless. Everything is tied into a Christopher Nolan-like bow, signifying closure, finality, and the end of an era.

Rating: 8.5/10

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