The Dark Knight Rises
Bottom Line: The Dark Knight Rises…rises but never falls.
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Alon Moni Aboutboul, Anne Hathaway, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Matthew Modine, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy
Editor’s note: Unless you honestly believe that “Bruce Wayne is Batman” is a spoiler (God help us all if that is so), then yes, this is a spoiler-free review.
I do love films very, very much. Otherwise I would not be devoting so much of my life to writing about them. I do have some cinematic pet peeves, however. My biggest, by far, is the art of “threequels”. It’s as if the filmmakers have a lazy idea that they can construct a great movie, follow it up with another great one, and then–now that they have the audience’s attention and anticipation–burn away all the guarantee for a great third entry with a continuing sequel that works more for money than for story. I could write a book about how frequently this occurs in the film industry. Christopher Nolan makes his epic Batman interpretation a rare exception, though. Admittedly, it isn’t the best of the trilogy; it’s close to nothing in comparison to 2008′s THE DARK KNIGHT, which is considered by many to be the greatest superhero film ever made. As the “superhero movie” begins to solidify as its own single genre, consisting of a fair range in quality like any other genre does, I would not likely hesitate to place THE DARK KNIGHT RISES in the top five.
Holy crow, Batman! It’s quite a fine “threequel”!
We waited four years (a lifetime) for this massive conclusion, but the story takes off after twice that amount of time has passed. The film opens on the eighth annual holiday established to commemorate the life of Harvey Dent (played in THE DARK KNIGHT by Aaron Eckhart), the former district attorney of Gotham City. The city has been convinced that Dent was murdered in vain by Batman (Christian Bale), and has therefore branded him the enemy. Now they have someone else to fear, a man named Bane (Tom Hardy) who seems to communicate through an electronic voice box. Upon learning of this uprising terror, Bruce Wayne decides to return to his double life as the Batman (I am deeply sorry if I just spoiled the movie for all of you) and present himself as a hero come to save Gotham from destruction.
Director Christopher Nolan is aware of how to successfully assemble a great cast. We are greeted many of the memorable faces from previous entries (Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman) as well as some outstanding new ones (Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy). It’s actually very surprising that the name we’d least expect to enjoy in a film like this, is the one who shines brighter than everyone else. It’s Miss Hathaway in her fantastic performance as Selina Kyle. Not once is “Catwoman” mentioned in the film, but she represents the character even better than Michelle Pfeiffer did in BATMAN RETURNS. We assume within the first minute of her character’s appearance that she is intended to represent the fierce, feline female that we have seen so many times before, without the corny use of a special suit or overemphasized “puuurrrrr-fect”s. It’s quite impressive how well this is done. A close second would be Tom Hardy as Bane. We can forgive him for not being as classic as Heath Ledger’s Joker. Otherwise we’d be holding it against him for being unable to top an utterly unbeatable delivery. His electronic voice box also muddles his dialogue quite a bit. But we’re talking about a character who doesn’t need very many lines at all to succeed.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is, in whole, a well-rounded conclusion. At two hours and forty-four minutes, it takes its precious time to put a lid on the presentation of well-known, contemporary mythology. Ironically, this is the most engaging entry in the trilogy, despite significantly exceeding the run times of the first and second entries. Better yet, it ends on a very strong, albeit surprising note. Again, there’s no fun in seeing it if I spoil anything, so I won’t. The film commences like a fresh sheet of paper, then grows darker and more thrilling with every passing scene, rarely ever blemished in its conveyance. Many thousands words ran through my mind as I sat in the theater, and “disappointing” was never one of them.
Best Costume Design
Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway); Best Original Music; Best Effects; Best Quote; Best Sequel/Prequel/Remake/Reboot
great review, Now i have to think of my own top 5 superhero movies. I’d probably say (In order) Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, Iron Man, and… idk lets go with Kick Ass.
Anyways I completely agree about Selina Kyle, I was very relieved to see that Nolan abandoned the over-frequent use of cat puns to make the character surprisingly not ridiculous.
Anyways if you’re feeling in the mood for non Spoiler-free discussion feel free to leave a comment on any of my reviews (I know, 6 parts may have been getting carried away with this movie but its hard not to get carried away with something like this
I know I’m alone on this one, but I didn’t find The Avengers or Iron Man to be all that great. They didn’t live up to all the hype for me, at least. And I haven’t seen Kick Ass. My top five would be The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight Rises, X2: X-Men United, and Batman Returns. Why, yes, Batman is my favorite superhero (if I had to choose one).
I’ll check out your spoiler-filled (I think?) discussions regarding the movie shortly.
What?! Bruce Wayne is Batman? Haha seriously, though. You would have totally spoiled it for most of Gotham, since none of them seemed to put two and two together after Batman and Bruce Wayne both disappeared at the same time, and then reappeared at the same time eight years later.
I’m loving that poster, though.
Oh Justin, it appears you’re right! And I think I would, truthfully, also have trouble putting two and two together after the two of them disappeared at the same time. I mean, if I was a Gotham citizen. You never see them reading, much less believing, comic books, so there isn’t much a chance they’d grow suspicious of an everyday man being a masked hero/”criminal”.
I thought that this was an absolutely fascinating movie. Of course, nothing can compare to Heath Ledger’s Joker (R.I.P. Heath), but Tom Hardy’s Bane was a menacingly imperious villain in the spectacular ending to Nolan’s darker Batman trilogy.
Though some of my theater companions sadly did not thoroughly enjoy this film as they should have (thanks, Mom…), I still stand by my opinion that Nolan could not have done better with this shocking finale.
You’re absolutely right that nothing can compare to Heath Ledger as the Joker. My friends at the theater were convinced that no one else could or WOULD ever play the Joker from now on, and I completely agree. They should be too afraid of not meeting or even insulting Heath. It’s rare that we remember people in the film industry so much for their last films, but for Mr. Ledger, it seems we only remember him for The Dark Knight.
And no, Nolan could not have done any better. It may be a slight spoiler (yes, bigger than “Bruce Wayne is Batman”) for someone reading this comment who has not yet seen the movie……but are you seeing a spinoff series, or perhaps a spinoff movie in your mind with that ending? I was.
Nice review. I’m going for a third time in a few days to see it. I can’t wait.
That might be one of the better posters I’ve seen on the net. Pretty cool.
THIRD!? Gosh. I don’t believe I’ve ever gone to a movie twice at the theater. You must really love it. This film will be at the top of my Christmas wish list. I’m kind of OCD of having only two entries in a trilogy (unless it’s like having Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers but not Little Fockers :/), and I already own Batman Begins and The Dark Knight on DVD.
I saw Begins four times, but honestly I don’t go to the movies like that very often. I’m just a huge Batman fan.
Yeah I can tell.
I love this movie so much – and I love your review of it as well! I could not tear my eyes from the screen while watching it with my cousins. I agree with you on our “Catwoman” as well.
I was surprised how well Anne Hathaway did, quite honestly. She was just a start.
3 facts.
1.) The greatest superhero film ever made is either 1978′s Superman or perhaps Superman II in 1980 which actually managed to top the original with its 3 supervillains.
2. While Hathaway is very very good, Michelle Pfeiffer still remains the best cinematic version of Catwoman.
3. This was a great review of a great film!
1.) I’ve heard your claim for Superman being the best superhero movie ever made. I’m still trying to find time to see that one. Superman II, I believe I’ve seen, and it’s great.
2.) Sorry, Mark, but I must disagree with you there. IMO she just barely outdoes Michelle Pfeiffer who I truly loved. I’m glad no one’s mentioned Halle Berry, though.
3.) Thanks! It’s undoubtedly going in my top 10 of the year. Right now it rests at #5.
Nice review! I thought it was excellent as well. Though Hardy wasn’t as good as Ledger, he still made a great villain, and Nolan gave us an great conclusion to one of the best series ever.
I agree. 100%.
Nice review. I agree that it’s a fine movie but still not as good as TDK. I didn’t think Hathaway was as good as Pfeiffer, but I still think she was pretty solid and ultimately proved me wrong. I had issues with the film’s pace (not all the time), the resolution of Bane’s storylineand the super-fake-looking death of the “surprise villain” but the awesome ending almost made me forget all about that.
I’ll look forward to your review.
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