It’s a good film. I realise this isn’t the most insightful, eloquent or objective way to describe such a massively expansive film but it’s definitely accurate. The Dark Knight Rises is certainly entertaining; the story is rich and finds something to do with its large cast of characters, and presents Gotham City in a way the cinematic audience has never seen it before. Broken.
Breaking things seems to be the main theme of TDKR, so much so that the film in itself comes across as broken as its characters at times, raising questions like “How did he get there?” “Why are they doing that on the floor when they’ve only met twice?” and “If that was supposed to be a dream then why is that character taking the information he learned in it as fact?” Occasionally the continuity and logic are such a shambles you wonder which episode of Breaking Bad it was that the Nolan brothers were being distracted by while they were supposed to be writing.
The Dark Knight Rises is a good middle ground that bridges the gap between the quality of the previous two. It has some very nice character-building material without it being as boring and uneventful as Batman Begins (2005), and has some magnificent set pieces that were on tier with The Dark Knight (2008) although it doesn’t quite manage to touch the latter in terms of sheer enthrallment. The difference is subtle; The Dark Knight was a film about characters to which big events happen, whereas The Dark Knight Rises is about big events that happen to those characters.
I understand that there must have been a lot of pressure to outdo his previous films but unfortunately the third instalment of Nolan’s Batman trilogy comes off as grandiose to the point of arrogance which may be a result of taking itself too seriously. The camera wasn’t as experimental as The Amazing Spider-Man, although for what it’s worth, the pomposity is slightly cushioned by the amount of admittedly solid one-liners crammed in at the end of what seems like every scene.
Tom Hardy had his work cut out for him as the main antagonist for the film; he seems to have thrown himself headfirst into the role of Bane, though, and it really felt that he wasn’t trying to outdo Heath Ledger in any way. Instead he really made Bane a much different character, the chaos introduced by the Joker has been moulded into organization by a different kind of evil. The fact that Bane is decidedly presented as an evil character is confusing given his purpose. Bane’s main focus throughout the film reminded me of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement from a few months ago, a campaign I understood to be fairly righteous but was for some reason carried out on screen by a villain.
People may have had some reservations about Anne Hathaway being cast as Selina Kyle, but rest assured, her oozing sensuality and wicked mean streak made for a terrific antithesis to Christian Bale’s boring and grumbly Bruce Wayne. Just like Batman Begins, there were really very few appearances by Batman (the first of which was quite a let-down) but on the bright side we didn’t have to spend too long trying to figure out what Bale had just rasped at his wonderful supporting cast
Special mention should go to Michael Caine who steals the film as Bruce Wayne’s Butler and friend Alfred Pennyworth, and who even manages to outshine Tom Hardy’s truly absurd yet engaging voice. Credit should also be given to Joseph Gordon-Levitt for taking a character exclusive to the film and making his story arc the most intriguing, although towards the end of the film it drastically ceases momentum when he is literally informed that he isn’t needed anymore and is designated babysitter from then on which just comes across as the laziest of injustices.
The combat scenes were intense, and choreographed to the point of fluidity, particularly Batman’s first run-in with Bane, although something that came off as completely bizarre was that the sequence involving one of the most iconic panels in all of comics history went completely unscored. Perhaps this was to underline the fruitlessness of the fight but it didn’t quite work. Bane’s power compared to Batman also needed a lot more consistency; both times they threw down fisticuffs were too one sided, and it seemed unrealistic for one character to overtake the other in terms of combat skill and power in such a small window of time. But perhaps asking for realism in a film where Batman flies around in a big black Pringle is a little too much to ask for.
I’ve been quite hard on The Dark Knight Rises but a lot of these things are easily ignored once the viewer is invested in the story. It is definitely a very enjoyable movie that miraculously doesn’t outstay its welcome (even though it lasts just under three hours long). Performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, and Tom Hardy prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the least interesting character in these Batman films is Batman himself.
The narrative takes some very intriguing twists and turns and a cameo from a frequently returning Arkham inmate was fun to bear witness to. So for returning viewers, this is a solid addition to the Batman franchise; but for those unfamiliar with the films, they might need some background information beforehand.
Author Biography
Matt Cazwell has studied film for a number of years now, He grew up watching The Lion King endlessly on repeat and branched out from there. He wants to prove that silly comedies and tacky horrors are just as emotionally valid as tragic dramas and Oscar winning thrillers.
Film Details
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
USA
Director Christopher Nolan
Runtime 164 minutes
