The Dark Knight Rises marks not only the end of a brilliant trilogy, but serves as a notable milestone in a stunning legacy: born from a comic, grown by brilliant minds (Burton) and squandered by others (Schumacher), now under director Christopher Nolan, the legend lives and breathes and has indeed “risen” to unimagined heights. Not only does this installment live up to the hype, but ages perfectly, becoming better upon multiple viewings, through a power of brilliant direction, stunning visuals, and a nuanced attention to detail that comes from creators that care as much for the story and its impact as the fans do.
Premise: Eight years later in Gotham, the terrorist mercenary Bane, overwhelms the city, forcing the Dark Knight to resurface to protect a city that had branded him an enemy. Result: A stunning, satisfying film that will live long in fan and non-fan memories alike.
The film begins in a time of peace, many years after the defeat of Gotham’s greatest nemesis The Joker; the city is now lulled into placated submission, dormant with crime at an all-time low. This result stems mainly from the swift justice brought about by The Dent Act, a somewhat tyrannical law that rises from the legacy of the lionized White Knight Harvey Dent, whose atrocities were kept secret to protect the city, as the Dark Knight took the blame and fled into darkness.
Now, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) languishes in shadow, with a broken body and broken spirit, the true legacy of past events. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) also has hit his nadir, agonizing over his decision, wondering if the ends did in fact justify the means.
But both need wait no longer, as a devilishly clever and complex plan is being hatched by the greatest threat to Gotham yet, brought by the terrifying masked mercenary Bane (Tom Hardy) and his accomplices. Complete with chilling visage and eerie voice that resembles the output of Voldemort and Darth Vadar dropped in a blender, his plans as head of League of Shadows rest on carrying out what Ra’s Al Ghul began in Batman Begins some many years ago.
Scene after scene brings with it deeper intrigue and astounding visuals, building excitement with new, interesting characters like Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), and Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard), all who demand the audience’s complete attention. Of course, old friends are still around like Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Alfred (Michael Caine) as well as more minor, sometimes rightly forgettable characters like Foley (Matthew Modine) and Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn), who serve to advance the plot but little else. But in the end, this is necessary, as there is so much to keep audiences occupied that anything else added to the mix might be cruel and unusual.
The ultimate plot of the film stems from The Dark Knight coming out of certain retirement to defeat Bane and his army. But Bane is much too clever, and anticipates every move eventually luring Batman and the city into trap after trap. It is little help that Selina Kyle, the stealth and uber-intriguing “cat” burglar, keeps everyone’s attention long enough for the insidious play to take effect.
The film itself is beautiful with notable cinematography that casts a dark and almost melancholy tone while being strangely alluring. It is also fast paced, moving from scene to scene dexterously, always keeping audiences on their toes, ever-engaged and thrilled. The battle sequences are also quite impressive: the use of the Bat is enthralling as well as the other “Bat Toys” and most importantly, clashes with Bane are exciting and hypnotic, in particular, an initial clash between the two that will leave audiences terrified.
Kyle, herself, demands as much attention, working as a powerful, resourceful and cunning quasi-villain who ebbs and flows from temptress to foil with remarkable skill; playing with audience emotions, she acts as a lightning rod for treachery and sympathy, both coexisting perfectly in a mortal enigma.
The remainder of the film rests on several essential events: the possible destruction of Batman, the capture of Gotham, and the testing of Wayne, Kyle and all key characters in their resolve. And with each scene, the plot thickens and as the true mystery reveals itself, layer after layer peeled away by an anxious audience, the resolution offers a sweet reward buffered by constant, non-stop excitement and smart filmmaking.
Gordon-Levitt, Hardy and Cotillard prove once again why Nolan continues to cast them in his films, if for different reasons. Gordon-Levitt is wonderful as up-and-coming detective that helps reinvigorate the police, and demonstrating the broad range of emotions required to keep his character relevant and growing.
Cotillard is also fantastic, proving that female characters do not need to be explosive like Hathaway’s Kyle to control the on-screen events; like she does time and time again since La Vie En Rose, Cotillard glows on screen, delivers line after line as if only she were made to deliver them, and with an elegance few possess. She keeps audiences watching intently enough to make eventual developments plausible and realistic.
And Hardy is absolutely terrifying as Bane: his strange accent -once audiences acclimate to his intense, bizarre cadence- is perfectly chilling and his management of nuance through his voice and eyes -considering much of his face is hidden for the entirety of the film- is a marvel.
Of course, not all goes perfectly in the Nolan Universe. His seemingly eternal Achilles Heel is comparably poor sound mixing, where background music or explosions obliterate dialogue; this becomes increasingly problematic with Bane, who is difficult to understand in the best of conditions (note: this is somewhat remedied by avoiding IMAX in favor of regular viewing). Additionally, his bizarre affection for character mumbling is at some moments both irritating and distracting; with a film this action-packed, moments of diversion are luxurious that are ill-afforded.
There are also some bizarre continuity issues: for example, the Wall Street scene, considering the NYSE closes at 430p -and it certainly did not appear that this was even the case- why the subsequent chase scene occurs at night is an utter mystery. Additionally, a few lines border on hokey or ignore how actual people speak, but largely this can be overlooked by a broader understanding of the script, where issues were minimal.
Nevertheless, the ultimate resolution of the film and then of the series are both respectively fantastic. The film winds down as the city, having been purposefully tormented for months, is now meeting its final moments as a catastrophic event looms. It is during this crucible that truths and twists are heaped onto viewers as they sit transfixed by the sheer intensity of events. And the final moments in the film not only serve to close the series in a satisfying manner, but also manage to provide hope, however bleak, a central theme in the film and the trilogy.
In the end, The Dark Knight Rises is an extremely strong, exhilarating and enjoyable film. Considering the intense pressure of expectation that followed the previous film, Rises required a brilliant cast, a nuanced, detailed script, stunning visuals, exciting events and a holistic control that made the overall feel of the film a triumph. Despite a few errors, Nolan delivered on this expectation a film that is fantastic on first viewing, and even better with time.
Rating: 9 – An expensive red wine and juicy steak that someone else is paying for and where you don’t have to put out
Director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) has found that good balance between the sublime and the absurd in Kingsman, essentially a film that can be boiled down to “Baby-Bond”. Harkening back to the thrills, drama, and camp of the original Bond films (prior to the reboot), Kingsman manages to keep interest from moment one and make us long for the next iteration.
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