In 2005, director Christopher Nolan
revitalized the Batman franchise with 'Batman Begins' by avoiding the
comedic routes taken in the Batman films of Joel Schumacher and not
only returned the Caped Crusader to his darker roots, but also
grounded him in reality as well. Three years later in 2008, Nolan
raised the bar for superhero films with his follow-up, 'The Dark
Knight', which continued to portray Batman in a more realistic way,
as he faced a villain who tested him both physically and mentally,
officially pushing him to his limits. Now, in 2012, Nolan makes his
final mark on the Batman franchise with 'The Dark Knight Rises'.
Really, there's no other way to put it... this may just be the most
anticipated film of not only this year, but all time. With two great
films under his belt already, especially after a film like 'Dark
Knight', the pressure is on for Nolan to deliver on this final
chapter. Can he break the 'third film' curse that has plagued many
franchises (particularly comic-book movies) with the epic finale to
his 'Dark Knight' trilogy?
At the end of 'The Dark Knight', Batman
(Christian Bale), AKA millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, took the blame
for the murders committed by District Attorney Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent
in order to preserve his good name so that Gotham would not lose hope
in its darkest hour. Eight years have gone by, and Gotham City has
recovered from the onslaught of the Joker. Because of this, Bruce has
retired from crime-fighting knowing that the city no longer needs
Batman. But Gotham is soon threatened again, this time by the
terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), who plans to burn Gotham to the ground.
As Bruce also tries to deal with the appearance of the mysterious
cat-burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), he must take up the mantle
of Batman once more to save the city that has now branded him an
enemy against the toughest enemy he has ever faced; one that may just
be his downfall.
Now, the real challenge begins in order
to not spoil anything from what is simply one of the greatest
superhero films of all time, if not the best Batman movie at this
point. Nolan yet again delivers with a truly epic film, and some of
the paths that he takes in terms of story and character development
are going to leave you genuinely surprised but satisfied at the same
time. More importantly, however, Nolan avoids the curse of the
'threequel' by effectively ending the story arc of Bruce Wayne. What
started when a young Bruce fell down that well in 'Batman Begins' and
then went on the run from the police in 'The Dark Knight' comes to a
close in this final chapter. By this point, Bruce has been through so
much that he is just no match for this new villain. He's a broken
shell of his former self, and it is only throughout the course of the
film that he regains his confidence to take on this threat and save
Gotham.
Each of Nolan's Batman films have
revolved around a certain theme, like fear in 'Begins' or chaos in
'The Dark Knight'. Here, it's all about pain. Of course, Bruce is
dealing with all that he has been through over the years, but other
people are dealing with pain as well. The main reason why Gotham
became as peaceful as it did was because of a lie. Commissioner
Gordon (Gary Oldman) is conflicted knowing that he is honoring a man
who really shouldn't be honored after the crimes he has committed,
resulting in him losing his faith in justice. Meanwhile, while Bruce
is considering becoming Batman again, we see Alfred (Michael Caine)
unable to deal with him going back into the field. He knows how much
Bruce's past experiences have hurt him, and that he doesn't stand a
chance against Bane. The only real problem with the film is that
Alfred is given little to do in this story and Caine isn't in the
film that much, but the emotions that he gets across in the few
scenes that he is in are extremely powerful.
This is probably Christian Bale's best
performance as Batman. He was already fantastic in the role in the
previous two films, but this one puts him at the same level of
Michael Keaton in the Tim Burton helmed Batman films in the way he
gets across the emotions that Bruce is going through. The rest of the
returning cast, including Caine, Oldman, and Morgan Freeman are
fantastic as well once again. As for the new cast members, we have a
great performance by Tom Hardy as Bane which could very much be up
there with Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. Comparing these
two is rather unfair because the Joker and Bane are different
characters. Bane is more calm than the manic psychopath that was the
Joker and is clearly someone you do not want to mess with. Also, in
regards to the issue regarding Bane's voice after the prologue was
released last December, I had no issue understanding what he said in
this movie, although there are just a few minor instances where you
won't get what he said. I'm betting Christopher Nolan didn't even
change a thing after the prologue was released.
Then you have Anne Hathaway, who is
phenomenal as Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman. This is very much what
Catwoman should be; cunning, sexy, and witty at the same time. She
has great chemistry with Bale in this film and this is quite frankly
the best portrayal of Catwoman on film. Also closing out the cast is
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as cop John Blake, one of the few people left
who still believes in justice and the Batman, and Marion Cotillard as
Miranda Tate, a member of Wayne Enterprises who helps Bruce come back
to reality and is also a love interest of his along with Selina. Even
with two love interests, the film actually does balance this out
very well. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Christopher
Nolan is a extraordinary actor-director, and all of his films (this
film in particular) is proof of that.
There's no other way to say it... 'The
Dark Knight Rises' fully lives up to its expectations as the final
chapter in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. In fact, dare I say it
even blows Dark Knight out of the water. Nolan avoids the dreaded
'third film' curse by completing the story arc of Batman,
successfully getting across the emotions that the main characters go
through, and doing some very risky moves that actually do work out in
the end. The final shot of this movie in particular (which I am not
going to spoil in any way) is just too tempting to leave unanswered.
In fact, I feel that it's almost impossible for the next adaptation
of Batman to beat what Christopher Nolan has done with his three
films. Not only did he resurrect a once-dead franchise, but he also
did what no one else has done in the superhero genre, and that was
producing a trilogy where all three films are excellent. This film is
one for the ages and does not disappoint whatsoever.
Rating: 5/5!
(On a more tragic note, I would like to
dedicate this review to the poor souls who lost their lives in the
shooting at that theater in Colorado at the midnight screening for
this film and to anyone who was affected by this tragedy in anyway.
Said Christopher Nolan himself, “The movie theater is my home, and
the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place
in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.” Could not
agree more.)
