Review: The Dark Knight Rises

We certainly have come a long way since the days of 'na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Batman!'  The Dark Knight Rises marks the end of Christopher Nolan's beloved bat-saga, the critically adored grounded-in-reality superhero series that inspired everyone and their mother to pull off their own gritty reboot.  And if you thought the other films were dark and gritty, buckle your seat belt, Dorothy, cause Kansas is going bye-bye.  The main baddie this time around is Bane, a terrorist who is basically doing what the Joker only talked about doing: introducing a little anarchy and watching the world burn.  Batman and co. face some of the scariest post-9/11 scenarios you could imagine, and trust me, the 9/11 symbolism is here in full force, along with the motif of "rising."  Not only is Bruce Wayne and Batman constantly "rising" after the events of The Dark Knight and the loss of a substantial amount of money from Wayne Enterprises, but literally as well in almost every scene (even the damn bat suit rises out of the water), including one of my favorite scenes that truly tests Bruce Wayne's willpower (no spoilers).

The cast, as with most of Nolan's films, is spectacular.  You've got Christian Bale, who took a bit of a back seat last time around to make room for Heath Ledger, re-taking center stage, playing Batman as well as anyone could hope.  You've got Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine in their top forms as Lucius Fox and Alfred, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a devoted, "hot-headed" cop, Marion Cotillard as a philanthropist, Tom Hardy as the hulking Bane, Anne Hathaway as the sexy femme fatale Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), and last but not least Gary Oldman as the iconically-moustached Commissioner Gordon.  Every one of these people makes the movie better and it's through their interactions that drive the movie forward.

The Dark Knight unarguably features the best super-villain performance in a film; while not being nearly as fascinating as Heath Ledger's Joker (and who could expect him to be?) Bane is certainly still a seriously menacing figure.  Played by Tom Hardy (Warrior, Bronson), Bane is as brutal as his comic book counterpart.  Sporting an accent that sounds like the offspring of Sean Connery and Patrick Stewart, Bane is a grandiose, violent force in this film.  Though obscured by a mask throughout the running time, Tom Hardy was a perfect choice for the role, bringing the same level of body strength he showcased in Warrior, and the same level of unrelenting intensity as Bronson.  And though it's Bane who's the mastermind behind the destruction of Gotham, it's Anne Hathaway as "Catwoman" (though never referenced by that name) that steals the show, among other things...because she's a cat burglar.  She is just so sleek, quick-witted, and not to mention among the most attractive women working in film today, you just can't take your eyes off her, and is the closest this film comes to a "fun" character.

As I mentioned before, TDKR hits you over the head with its 9/11 imagery and political overtones.  There are many scenes in this film that are difficult to watch, mostly due to the unrelenting powerhouse of terror called Bane.  He's just so brutal - every punch, every look, every word has a dark, heavy menace.  You really get a sense of the scope of desperation across Gotham, and the helplessness of its citizens.  As an avid fan of horror movies I'm pretty desensitized to violence, but I was constantly wincing - let the weak-hearted be warned!

I do have to say, although I loved and would recommend seeing it in IMAX, the difference between 'regular' and IMAX shots were very noticeable - much more so than in The Dark Knight.  In certain instances in Rises, the movie will cut quickly between different scenes that were in real 70mm IMAX footage to 'regular' 35mm, and it takes some effort to tune out the difference, whereas a little bit more pre-planning could have fixed that issue (I have no idea how this looks on a 'normal' theater screen).  But besides that this film simply looks sumptuous and Nolan's trusty cinematographer Wally Pfister gives this that familiar 'Nolan' level of class.  There's not much in here that wasn't shown in the trailers, but the set pieces and big action beats are gorgeous, and seeing how it all clicks together is still satisfying.

I could nitpick this film to death in a spoiler conversation, but the gist is that The Dark Knight Rises is a great end-note to the Nolan trilogy of Batman films despite some minor issues.  The last five minutes of the movie will take Batman nerds on a roller coaster ride of 'oh shit' moments, and there are so many amazing individual moments that some of the bigger problems of the film really shouldn't matter.  There is so much going on in this film, it may take repeat viewings to get a bearing on it however, especially considering Bane's sometimes-indecipherable accent, muffled by his alien-looking voice box.  But still, summer entertainment doesn't get much better; Christopher Nolan's three bat-entries can comfortably fit alongside the original Star Wars films as one of cinema's great trilogies.

Rating: A-