The Dark Knight Rises

Year: 2012
Genre: Superhero Movie
Directed: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Matthew Modine, Alon Aboutboul

Production:

Warning: here ye be spoilers! Do not read beyond this point if you have not seen Dark Knight Rises (2012).

First I want to give a special message on something that has to be addressed:

To all those effected by the tragedy in Colorado,

The streets of heaven are filled tonight with the angels, dreamers and fans who's only crime was going to the movies last night. Many of those killed or injured no doubt enriched the lives of others with their enthusiasm not only for the Batman phenomenon but in life itself. My hopes and thoughts go out to you.

The only man who looks good squatting

In 2008, movie audiences got to see the absolute zenith of a pop-culture phenomenon started way back in 1939. It's hard to believe that a character inspired by flying mammals can have such a long-lasting influence on generations upon generations of people. No one is too cool to not like the caped and masked shadow of the night. Like all heroes he stands as an example, a symbol of our highest aspirations.

Wait, I thought you were leading

He's the quintessential American hero topped only by the villains and difficulties he faces. Diluted to their core, the menagerie of colorful foes were the stuff of nightmares symbolizing all the things we would hide under covers as children for. The most popular of the Batman's malefactors, the Joker is a man who is meant to represent chaos in its most sinister form. Played beautifully by the late Heath Ledger, The Joker of The Dark Knight (2008) will never be topped. But if asked who I would rather find myself in a darkened alley with I would pick The Joker over Tom Hardy's Bane any day. For unlike the Joker who remained unpredictable to everyone but himself, Bane has a mission and that mission is pain.

Thus one of the major themes of Christopher Nolan's final chapter of his near perfect Batman trilogy. According to the film, it has been eight years since the events of The Dark Knight and the death of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). In that time, the streets had been all but cleaned up thanks to new law enforcement tools and the leadership of Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman). In that time however Batman disappeared from the limelight and Bruce Wayne has been spending his time as a recluse mourning the death of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

Enter Bane (Tom Hardy), a masked terrorist who according to Alfred (Michael Caine) was kicked out of The League of Shadows for being too radical. Think Occupy Wall Street times a thousand and you have a sense of his twisted sense of justice. Wayne dawns the mask and cape once more to find out what he's up to in the sewers of Gotham. His only clue a minxy catburgler by the name of Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway). Supporting characters also include Batman's armory expert Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Wayne Enterprises board member Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and a young beat cop named Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

On the whole The Dark Knight Rises was a near prefect film but a crappy comic-book superhero movie. What do I mean by this? The acting and drama is topnotch as is the deceptively labyrinthine story. Its a beautifully shot movie taking full advantage of its urban and underground settings. The themes were big, grand, frightening and original. The third act was 98% exhilaration, 5% adrinaline, 4% awesome and 3% butterscotch ripple. If you forget the fact that the film is a "Batman" film you might be able to enjoy it.

But this is a Batman movie, or at least I think it is. Bruce Wayne and his alterego get surpsingly little screen time in comparison to the Blake character or Commissioner Gordon. The action sequences sans the third act seemed shoehorned at times and unlike Batman Begins (2005) or Dark Knight, didn't have a sense of wonder or humor. Also from a strictly nitpicky point of view, Bane was at times too hard to understand.

Fans of comic-book superhero movies from a conditioned consumer point of view will no doubt be disappointed if not downright angry with the results of this movie. Never mind that the characters of the Batman world have been interpreted and re-interpreted so many times, devotion to a specific trait or storyline is completely pointless.

I only wish that Christopher Nolan went all in. Dark Knight was part superhero part crime drama, Dark Knight Rises should have been 100% dystopian morality play of biblical proportions and an R-rating. Afterall, Bane basically makes Gotham his bitch kneeling to the whims of his twisted idiology. Make that the focus of the film, not Bruce Wayne and his inability to move on from life tragedies.

The most powerful and most poignant scenes were also the simplest. When Alfred confronts Bruce over the note given to him by Rachel, the scenes where the rich and decatent were forced to walk on ice, an army of police staring down the bad guys before an all out melee and finally the scene where Batman knowingly sacrifices himself for his people; that's what I wanted to see more of. None of this Bruce Wayne stuck in a well in Jodhpur.

Final Grade: B-