The Dark Knight Rises
WRITER'S NOTE: Before I begin this review proper, I feel I should briefly mention the tragic mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Pretty much everything that can be said has already been said, so all I can say is that my heart and thoughts go out to the victims, their friends, and families. And even though the person responsible is in captivity, there is no joy, as James Holmes has destroyed his own future, as well as the lives of his loved ones. The midnight screening of the film was supposed to be a joyous occasion for the fans who waited four years to see the conclusion of Christopher Nolan's trilogy, and it instead turned into a tragedy for everyone involved. I think George Takei put it best by saying...
"Many victims of today's tragedy were fans of science fiction/fantasy. They stood in line to be the first to see, to be inspired, and to escape. As a community of dreamers, we mourn this terrible tragedy and this senseless taking of innocent life".
Couldn't have said it better myself. I will end my thoughts on the matter here. The review of the film itself follows.
The Dark Knight Rises could be argued as the first Batman movie that almost didn't really need Batman at all. The fact that I think Bruce Wayne (once again played by Christian Bale) actually dons the cape and cowl for a grand total of 35 minutes tops in a nearly three hour movie kind of enforces this thought. More than that, though, it's based on the fact that I found the stuff surrounding Wayne's superhero identity the least interesting stuff in the film. He's up against a less interesting villain than Heath Ledger's Joker in the last movie, and up until the film's final moments, Batman does not really stand out all that much in this film.
Instead of the heroics we expect, we get an apocalyptic story of Gotham City being torn apart by urban uprising and warfare. A cloud of doom constantly hangs over all the characters. Only one of the main characters, a woman known as Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), sees these clouds before they are too late. And by the time Gotham City has exploded in chaos and terrorism, even she is not as prepared as she initially thought. The cause of the near-destruction of Gotham is a villain known only as Bane (played by an unrecognizable Tom Hardy). He's a hulking, massive brute who wears a contraption on his face that kind of looks like an orthodontic tool from hell. This also forces him to talk through a voice synthesizer. Many have complained that he is hard to understand, and while some of his dialogue is definitely muffled, I found myself able to understand him enough that it was never an issue with me.
What is a bigger issue surrounding Bane is not only is he not that interesting of a villain, but his motives seem to be very shaky. His reasoning is murky at best, and by the time he's trying to blow up the whole city with a nuclear bomb, I was left kind of wondering why he was so wrapped up with the whole class warfare thing, and turning society against each other. If you're just going to end with blowing everyone up anyway, it seems kind of pointless. I guess he's one of those people who does things simply because he can. But, I digress. The film has a bit too much plot for its own good at times. There's Bruce Wayne living in seclusion since the ending of the last movie, and trying to motivate himself to get back into action as Batman once again, there's battle for control of the Wayne Corporation itself, there's an energy device (which ultimately becomes a bomb for Bane), there's Wayne's faithful butler, Alfred (Michael Caine, who gets some wonderful moments here), who is torn by Bruce's decision to be Batman again, there's a young cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who still believes in Batman despite his disappearance, and there's the previously-mentioned Selina Kyle, who not only serves as Bruce's potential love interest, but winds up getting better action sequences than him when she goes out on the streets as the Catwoman.
As jumbled as the plot can sometimes be, it still manages to work, because we find ourselves caring about these people. Since Bruce Wayne spends so little actual time in the movie as Batman, we instead get to focus on his personal struggle to move on past his own personal tragedies. This makes for a somewhat heavier and joyless experience than some audiences might be expecting, but I think it fits with the character. The film is mostly dour and serious, with only a few fast-paced action sequences thrown in, like Bane's attack on the Stock Exchange, and the resulting motorcycle/car chase that follows. It oddly ends up being Anne Hathaway who provides much of the film's action and fight sequences, and she is truly incredible. Her fighting is fluid and fresh, whereas when Bane and Batman go at each other, it feels almost sluggish in comparison. The fact that Bane's final encounter with Batman pretty much ends with a bad joke does not help matters.
The best way for me to sum up The Dark Knight Rises is that it is a great film on its own, but it lacks the intensity and non-stop momentum of the last movie. In the grand scheme of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, I would be this behind The Dark Knight, but above Batman Begins, so somewhere in the middle. The movie has a sensational final half hour, some great performances, and wonderful individual scenes that seem oddly human for a superhero movie. It simply does not have the growing sense of dread that Ledger brought to The Dark Knight. What it does do, and what ultimately makes the whole thing work, is that it wraps up the whole story quite well, and in a way that I expect to hear few complaints from fans. It also does nothing to betray the characters we have come to know and love over the last three movies.
My guess that the somewhat shaky and overstuffed plot is a sign that Nolan is getting out of the Batman business while the getting is good. He needs to move on, but he is at least leaving us with a satisfying conclusion before he does. And hey, it's a summer event movie that chooses not to be in 3D! That alone is noteworthy. I think the best complement I can give is that although Nolan's trilogy has had its ups and downs, it never sunk, and ended up being quite the ride right up to the end.
See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!
"Many victims of today's tragedy were fans of science fiction/fantasy. They stood in line to be the first to see, to be inspired, and to escape. As a community of dreamers, we mourn this terrible tragedy and this senseless taking of innocent life".
Couldn't have said it better myself. I will end my thoughts on the matter here. The review of the film itself follows.
Instead of the heroics we expect, we get an apocalyptic story of Gotham City being torn apart by urban uprising and warfare. A cloud of doom constantly hangs over all the characters. Only one of the main characters, a woman known as Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), sees these clouds before they are too late. And by the time Gotham City has exploded in chaos and terrorism, even she is not as prepared as she initially thought. The cause of the near-destruction of Gotham is a villain known only as Bane (played by an unrecognizable Tom Hardy). He's a hulking, massive brute who wears a contraption on his face that kind of looks like an orthodontic tool from hell. This also forces him to talk through a voice synthesizer. Many have complained that he is hard to understand, and while some of his dialogue is definitely muffled, I found myself able to understand him enough that it was never an issue with me.What is a bigger issue surrounding Bane is not only is he not that interesting of a villain, but his motives seem to be very shaky. His reasoning is murky at best, and by the time he's trying to blow up the whole city with a nuclear bomb, I was left kind of wondering why he was so wrapped up with the whole class warfare thing, and turning society against each other. If you're just going to end with blowing everyone up anyway, it seems kind of pointless. I guess he's one of those people who does things simply because he can. But, I digress. The film has a bit too much plot for its own good at times. There's Bruce Wayne living in seclusion since the ending of the last movie, and trying to motivate himself to get back into action as Batman once again, there's battle for control of the Wayne Corporation itself, there's an energy device (which ultimately becomes a bomb for Bane), there's Wayne's faithful butler, Alfred (Michael Caine, who gets some wonderful moments here), who is torn by Bruce's decision to be Batman again, there's a young cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who still believes in Batman despite his disappearance, and there's the previously-mentioned Selina Kyle, who not only serves as Bruce's potential love interest, but winds up getting better action sequences than him when she goes out on the streets as the Catwoman.As jumbled as the plot can sometimes be, it still manages to work, because we find ourselves caring about these people. Since Bruce Wayne spends so little actual time in the movie as Batman, we instead get to focus on his personal struggle to move on past his own personal tragedies. This makes for a somewhat heavier and joyless experience than some audiences might be expecting, but I think it fits with the character. The film is mostly dour and serious, with only a few fast-paced action sequences thrown in, like Bane's attack on the Stock Exchange, and the resulting motorcycle/car chase that follows. It oddly ends up being Anne Hathaway who provides much of the film's action and fight sequences, and she is truly incredible. Her fighting is fluid and fresh, whereas when Bane and Batman go at each other, it feels almost sluggish in comparison. The fact that Bane's final encounter with Batman pretty much ends with a bad joke does not help matters.The best way for me to sum up The Dark Knight Rises is that it is a great film on its own, but it lacks the intensity and non-stop momentum of the last movie. In the grand scheme of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, I would be this behind The Dark Knight, but above Batman Begins, so somewhere in the middle. The movie has a sensational final half hour, some great performances, and wonderful individual scenes that seem oddly human for a superhero movie. It simply does not have the growing sense of dread that Ledger brought to The Dark Knight. What it does do, and what ultimately makes the whole thing work, is that it wraps up the whole story quite well, and in a way that I expect to hear few complaints from fans. It also does nothing to betray the characters we have come to know and love over the last three movies.See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!
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