Film: The Dark Knight Rises
Starring: Christian Bale (The Fighter), Anne Hathaway (Love, and Other Drugs), and Tom Hardy (Warrior)
Director: Christopher Nolan (Inception)
U.S. Release: July 20th, 2012 (Rated PG-13)
Genre: Action
Runtime: 164 minutes
After the four longest years of our lives, director extraordinaire Christopher Nolan's final Batman installment, The Dark Knight Rises, has finally arrived. And since 2008, no movie has even come close sniffing the quality and precision of The Dark Knight. With the biggest of shoes to fill, Nolan spent nearly half a decade meticulously crafting the epic conclusion to his unmatched Batman saga. And now that I've seen the movie twice in the past 36 hours, I can say without hesitation that Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises is an absolute godsend. It's the perfectly tied bow to the greatest cinematic gift ever given, the most notable trilogy of all time.
It's been eight years since the death of Gotham's white knight Harvey Dent and Batman (played by Bale) has vanished since his assumed responsibility for the murder of the beloved District Attorney. After a steady run of clean streets and no organized crime to speak of, a new villain emerges from the ashes. Raised in the shadows of hell on earth, Bane (played by Hardy) is an ex-communicated member of The League of Shadows wreaking havoc on Gotham to fulfill the destiny of Ra's Al Ghul and destroy the city once and for all.
While attempting to dissect Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, it's important to view the film in two different lights. First, examining the film within the context of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is a fanboy's dream come true. Circling around in impressive fashion, Nolan's conclusion once again focuses on the psyche of the story's hero Bruce Wayne. In 2005 Batman Begins was predominantly a movie about Wayne, only to see 2008's The Dark Knight turn its focal point to other characters such as The Joker and Harvey Dent. With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan delivers closure to the trilogy's main character by spending a near 2 hour and 45 minute journey testing both Wayne's physical and mental being. In doing so, we receive a finale that is both thematically perfect and utterly satisfying. Although The Dark Knight Rises fits perfectly into the mold of Nolan's big picture, some will claw and search for any flaw that they can find. The most obvious criticism may reside in the small sense of disappointment in Bane's character. However, Nolan makes the right decision by shifting the story back to Bruce Wayne and using Bane solely as a backdrop to a larger picture. Let it be known that Tom Hardy's valiant efforts will not go unrecognized, yet they're a far cry from the indescribable work of the late Heath Ledger. And to Hardy's credit, he adhere's to his director's wishes and never tries to steal the show. Nolan is one of the greatest visionary directors of all time and his masterfully executed finale, The Dark Knight Rises, is just another testament to his brilliant abilities.
In addition to analyzing the film within the context of its trilogy, it's also important to dissect the movie as its own entity. In this regard, The Dark Knight Rises becomes less perfect and sparingly flawed. With obvious visions of grandeur, Nolan inflates his script with an overabundance of central characters and gaudy action sequences. While I'll agree that most of Nolan's additions are warranted and beneficial to the film, I can think of one subplot and character in particular that's clearly forced into the story. Despite these minor blemishes, The Dark Knight Rises is entertaining throughout and clearly one of 2012's best pictures. Part of its success hinges on the phenomenal casting decision of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. I must admit that I was one of the skeptics and naysayers when news broke of Hathaway's inclusion in the script. However, I was catastrophically wrong and freely admit to it. Hathaway adds a much needed element to the film that only Nolan could have envisioned. Kudos to the director and his leading lady on proving many of us wrong.
Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises is the biggest "Must See" movie of the year. Although it never reaches the same heights as its predecessor, it stands well on its own and it makes for a truly epic conclusion to Nolan's Batman saga. There's plenty to enjoy for all types of moviegoers and there won't be a better summer blockbuster than The Dark Knight Rises. Don't wait any longer, head to theatres ASAP and witness the final installment to the greatest trilogy of all time.
Stars: 3 and a half stars out of 4
Grade: A-
Dave,
ReplyDeleteI told myself I would see the movie for the second time before I made any serious assumptions, but I just can't resist. The two thing that pulled me towards the first two Nolan films (as well as the Keaton films) was the darkness laden throughout them and the simplicity of the movies. Unlike the string of superhero movies that have saturated the action scene throughout the last decade, BB and TDK provided a story line that was easy to follow, major characters that carried the movie, and minor characters that new their place and highlighted the heroes and villians. Dark Night Rises falls dramatically short of its predecessors. Nolan bit of more than he could chew with this film. One: Too many characters were spread throughout the film with their own agendas that are not vital to the story line (You could delete Matthew Modine's character from the whole story and no one would shed a tear. Two: Daggett and Stryver (I know. Who? Ha) Did not need to be in the movie and are merely recreations of Crane's character and all of the pansies that followed the Joker (We get it Chris, the villains are super manipulative and have followers that will ultimately be killed). Three: After TDK, I can still look back and pick 5-7 scenes that not only are memorable, but are down right astonishing both visually and theatrically. I do not leave this movie with that feeling. And finally, Four: There are far to many plot holes additive story lines. I will provide some. Selina Kyle's instant mastery of a high tech Wayne Enterprise machine, the quick, haphazard explanation of Bane's and Talia's connection to Batman's past, and the ending. Come on. I was overwhelmed, perplexed, and sometimes just flat out bored. Hopefully a second viewing changes my mind.
Bill,
ReplyDeleteYou make a lot of interesting points and here's my rebuttal. You complain about an abundance of characters but I'll ask you, how much screen time did Matthew Modine and "stryver" really command? In the grand scheme of things they were very minor characters, so minor that it's not even worth getting caught up in (in my opinion).
As far as the Bane and Talia connection, it was incorporated in order to stay true to the comic books. Diehard fans appreciated it and needed no development. As someone who never read the comic books, I still appreciated it and thought it was an interesting turn of events that humanized Bane's character.
And by starting off the film with Selina Kyle breaking into an unbreakable safe, Nolan isn't creating a plot hole, he's setting the table. He's showing you right off the bat (no pun intended) what she's capable of without having to waste time developing her story. I'll take the movie the way it is over having Nolan add to the runtime to develop an understanding of her past.
*****SPOILER ALERT******
As far as being memorable, there's a few scenes that I think will stand the test of time. For example, Bane's final scene with Daggett where he mocks Daggett's claim of "power" and being "in control". I also thought that when Bruce Wayne finally conquered "the wall" and freed himself, it was a memorable scene. Maybe I'm a sucker, but I also liked the football scene, bridge collapses, and the city imploding. I also felt that this third film was a return to Bruce Wayne, where The Dark Knight was a movie about Harvey Dent and The Joker. In that case, what memorable scenes do you remember from Batman Begins?
Hopefully your second viewing will change your mind, but I thought it was a strong conclusion that stays devoted to the character and adequately closes out the story. It's by no means on the level of The Dark Knight, but I feel that it's every bit as good as Batman Begins (if not better), and a worthy finale to the franchise.
Another response to Bill:
ReplyDeleteIt may just be because it's fresh, but I think this film had more memorable scenes than either of the other two. Not to mention a few that make you all giddy inside and want to stand up and pump your fist. Don't deny it.
I also think how Bane and Talia were revealed to be connected to The League Of Shadows was well contrived and much more satisfying than if Bane was just a random terrorist.
And what three hour movie doesn't have any extra weaker characters and small unnecessary subplots? It's inevitable, and they by no means made the film any less enjoyable.
Seems to me you are splitting hairs and just trying to go against the grain.
Bill,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you didn't enjoy the film as much as the first two, although I can't tell if you were just disappointed or if you really disliked it? Either way, after seeing it a second time I can easily say the film improves vastly. I was a little overwhelmed with everything, including just sheer anticipation, that the first viewing was difficult to take everything in. The second time around I was able to digest the entire story and notice even smaller details I missed the first time, such as how (I believe) SPOILER - the jump from the prison couldn't have been made with the rope because it was too short - this goes back to what Bane was saying about there is no despair without hope.
There are other things I could offer but rather than try to convince you I'd say just see for yourself and you can determine if it improves. Also, if you didn't see it in IMAX (KoP not Franklin Institute) I would highly recommend this as it's the best possible way to experience the film.
Greg (Your best friend since Cancun)