Like many of you, July 20th at 12:01 AM, I was in my theater seat waiting to see how the legend that is The Dark Knight comes to end. I am no critic, but I read a comment that said, “to real people, praise or pans from a friend carry more weight than a dozen prominent critic reviews.” Being that I consider most of you friends, I hope you all can appreciate my opinions.
WARNING: for those who have yet to see the movie, this post is revealing and does contain some spoilers, so read at your own risk.
During the first 30-45 minutes, the movie proceeds at an elevated speed. Which after viewing the entire film was necessary to set the stage for the phenomenal second half. The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after the Joker unleashes havoc upon Gotham City and it’s officials. In present day, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.
The plot has the villain, Bane (Tom Hardy), armed with a nuclear weapon that could destroy all of Gotham as well a massive transfer of wealth using the stock exchange. Simply put, Bane is a relentless demon that utterly and convincingly destroys Batman, and pushes Bruce to new limits. While his character was undoubtedly a more than formidable foe, he wasn’t the virtually unstoppable juggernaut we know him to be, which proved evident in his second/final encounter with the Bat. Although he is as evil as they come, he has a one-note personality, without humor or nuance, which I did not particularly enjoy. At no point did Bane lose his calm and allow himself to be overcome with rage. Not to mention, the absence of his overuse of venom, but we won’t get into that. Many stated that Bane is not Bane without breaking the Bat, and I agree. I was relieved to see that Nolan gave the fans what they wanted, as an epic first showdown between Bane and Batman culminated with Bruce’s back shattering on the knee of the physically superior juggernaut.
Character motivations shift on a dime, and if you understand even half of what’s specifically going on, you’ll be doing better than many. For long stretches, there’s little that is compelling and holds little interest beyond a general concern for the fate of Gotham City. In my personal opinion, it was too easy to get Bruce back in the game. For someone who’s vowed never to don the cape and cowl again, all it took was a sufficient threat and a headstrong beat cop who’s figured out Bruce’s secret, to coax him out of retirement. Maybe it was the injury Commission Gordon suffered from his first encounter with Bane, but Bruce was quick to suit up, even against the adamant wishes of Alfred.
CHARACTER PERFORMANCES:
Christian Bale does a great job reprising his role Bruce Wayne/Batman. I applaud his ability to get into the space of a retired, overly confident, yet somewhat broken hero, as he struggles to come to grips with certain realities. Unlike in past films we don’t see Bruce putting on the facade of a billionaire playboy to allude citizens of his secret identity, as a handful of characters in this film are aware.
Michael Caine has another fine performance as Alfred Pennyworth and to some might be deserving of a Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination. However, it was slightly distracting that Alfred is so worried about Bruce that he couldn’t seem to converse with him without getting choked up. After the first time where he shares a cherished vision of his future for Bruce, this becomes a bit humorous.
Morgan Freeman is the same beloved charismatic Lucius Fox, and Gary Oldman has yet another strong performance as Commissioner Gordon who is shouldering extreme guilt about the cover-up of Harvey Dent‘s crimes.
Marion Cotillard has a solid performance as businesswoman (and Bruce’s part-time lover) Miranda Tate, whom Bruce announces CEO of Wayne Enterprises. To anyone who knew anything about the film, it came to no surprise when she reveals herself to be Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, the main antagonist of the first film. However, I was stumped on her connection to Bane, especially when she explains that she was the child (as opposed to Bane) who escaped the underground prison to which Bruce Wayne is exiled for a lengthy and dreary stretch of the film.
Anne Hathaway has a refreshing performance as Selina Kyle. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t thunder a whip, purr, or have feline themed one-liners (outside of her one-time “cat got your tongue?”), but it never really feels like she’s Catwoman, rather just an exceptional thief. The entire film she’s thieving as a means to a promised way out of the life she’s found herself leading. However, I would have like to have seen a little more of a back story as to why she’s suddenly in Gotham, or how she became to be so good at what she does.
One of the finest performance of the newcomers, for me, was officer John Blake portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I (along with many fans) guessed is actually Robin (but perhaps not the one we suspected). In the film, his name is “Robin John Blake”, a change I heavily disliked. His name should have, at least, been Richard alluding that he was indeed Dick Grayson (the original Robin). However, that conflicts the story Robin John Blake told earlier about the origins of his parents death which retained no circus involvement. I also found it intriguing that his younger orphan friend’s name was Tim, hinting that he was Time Drake, the third Robin. Back in December, a friend of mine said “if we are truly lucky enough to see our most famed sidekick, I’m sure it will be nothing but a brief but powerful moment that leaves us in our theater seats, yearning in the dark for more.” He could not have been more right. Although it wasn’t until the end, it was such an awesome and powerful moment to see “Robin” in the Batcave gazing upon his destiny as the next masked protector of Gotham. The closing scene leaves the audience at peace knowing Alfred’s vision for Bruce, which I won’t share, actually comes true.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
A central weakness of The Dark Knight Rises, when compared to the other films is the absence of a compelling, complicated villain. Do not misunderstand me, Tom Hardy was sensational as Bane, however there’s no topping the second movie; and Heath Ledger saw to that with his unforgettable portrayal of the psychopathic clown prince of crime. However, I try not to compare films within a trilogy because like with every first film, there’s a story that has to be told, and with every final film, there must be closure to any loose ends. Middle movies allow for certain freedoms that the others don’t get the luxury of having. All in all The Dark Knight Rises was a superb film providing moments of jaw-dropping spectacle, and is a more than fitting end of what will, for quite some time to come, be the definitive superhero film trilogy. It was not only the superhero movie we deserved, but also the one we needed. I give The Dark Knight Rises 4.5/5 stars.
Now I want to know what YOU think!
Do you agree/disagree? What do you think they should have done differently? Let’s chop it up in the comment section below.
- Batman Beyond: The Dark Knight Reborn (movie) anyone??
Very nice review my friend. You gave just enough to hopefully get those "skeptical viewers" into the theater without giving away too much of the film's essence as some reviews have.
However if you will allow, I'd like to comment on one or two points. You said "It was too easy to get Bruce back in the game", I did a little research prior to the movie and this is what I came up with. Nolan & other actors said in previous interviews that Bruce never truly let go of Batman even when he swore not to don the cape & cowl again. This was shown in trailers & the first 45 minutes or so of the movie that he was held up in the mansion refusing to resume a "normal" life. I believe that's why all it took was a pep talk from a determined member of law enforcement and a need to be filled to bring the Caped Crusader out of the shadows. The same pretty much happens in the paperback version of The Dark Knight Returns the comic book.
The only other part of the movie I felt could have been done better, as you touched on, was Robin. I would've been a little happier hearing his real name be "Richard Grayson" or "Timothy Drake", at least then only real fans who know the names would have gotten it without having to be told so obviously. I mean come on, how many people name their sons Robin??
Other than that the movie was phenomenal. Cant wait to see it a few more times to fully absorb everything it had to offer. Hopefully I can convince a certain highly requested graphics design artist to make a trip to view it in the company of friends and family. Another great posting sir and always good to hear how things are viewed though your eyes.
A very good review sir.
As far as Batman films go, it was right up there with TDK. Many people will scoff at me when I say this was as good. As you mentioned, Bane was not enjoyable, but Nolan has altered many characters for his films. However, he did it in great fashion and the story, as always, came together neatly at the end. I wish he had adopted the Bane who went crazy and was dependent on the Venom, but that would have been too comical for this movie. I am glad he at least kept the character's defining moment (breaking The Bat's back) in the film.
The one thing that really made this movie enjoyable was the ending. To save spoilers for the rest of the readers who have not seen the film yet, I will just say that he closed the book on him very well. If there was a fitting end to my favorite superhero, this would be the one I would have chosen. It was sensational.
As far as another movie goes, maybe we will all be lucky enough to see Batman Beyond on the silver screen someday. For now, I can rest with the story I have.
Well done. Great to read how you see the film.
Great review! You are quite talented at the journalism aspect of subjects like this. To get straight to the point, the movie got a little too grim for me within the middle chunk of the film. I feel Bane needed to have more to him (if not the vemom, then maybe a gas version of the venom). There was no other aspect to balance the darkness of the film out and it left me feelong grim overall, overshadowing some of the very heroic portions that were in the film. Though it was the ending of a trilogy and needed to be taken to certain depths to even be considered anywhere near as successful as TDK, I think what separates the two was that though TDK was much darker than the origional (Batman Begins), it had balance. We saw a side of Joker we had never seen before and also got to get great heroism from Batman, but it still left you excited, overwhelmed with anticipation of what the Joker would do next! We laughed, we cheered and were left with our mouths on the floor! This movie was much more one dementional…it was just threatening the entire movie and didn’t allow the emotional jump into a character like bain, that -if we’re honest we all wanted to see juiced up on some kind of drug or loose control! U pretty much summed it up with the robin thing. I would have like to see the hint more at them possibly teaming up and closing it out, leavin it to our imagination…All in all great ending. Im tired of typing lol
Thanks! I agree in the sense of if not doing actual liquid venom it would have been cool to see it in a gas form dispensed through his mask. But yes, between Bruce fixing the auto-pilot, passing the torch to “Robin”, fixing the Bat signal, and fulfilling Alfred’s vision, it was a phenomenal ending. Any new thoughts after seeing it again?
Great Review! I would have to say the greatest trilogy of all time, yes even better than Star Wars. It was not as good as the second movie, but like you said a movie in the middle has freedom that the conclusion do not on top of the greatest performance by a comic book villian ever you can’t top it, even Nolan knew it. I wish Bane had his venom but at the same time I kind of liked how he never lost his cool like you would expect him to, kind of refreshing to see a smarter more focused Bane. I loved how he would tell his minions to do something and then would be like after you do that I will kill you lol. AS for Alfred i found it a little corny when he teared up everytime he talked as well, but couldn’t of picked a better Alfred. So much edge of your seat drama, i love it. Nolan did an amazing job getting down to the core or what Batman was all about. I give it 4.5/5 as well just because The Dark Knight is perfect 5/5 stars and its not quite on that level. BUT I will give it 5/5 as a trilogy
Thanks dude! I agree with your thoughts as well. Ha and that was the very reason I gave it 4.5/5 too. What are your thoughts on how they did “Robin”?
The name thing didn't really bother me. I actually like Joseph Gordon-Levitt a lot as an actor but I don't know about him as Robin. It's hard for me to see him dominating bad guys after watching him on Third Rock from the Sun all those years lol. As for the acting he did an awesome job. It was epic at the end when it was just him rising up into the bat cave staying consistent w the title and theme of the whole movie. Batman Rising from the prison, Bruce Wayne rising from his past into a "normal" life, Gotham rising above sure destruction
.