Review: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Bruce Wayne/Batman: Christian Bale
Selina Kyle/Catwoman: Anne Hathaway
Alfred Pennyworth: Michael Caine
Commissioner Gordon: Gary Oldman
Miranda Tate: Marion Cotillard
Det. Blake: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Bane: Tom Hardy
Fox: Morgan Freeman
Ra’s Al Ghul: Liam Neeson

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Written by: David S. Goyer, Jonathan and Christopher Nolan
Running Time: 164 minutes
Rated: PG-13 (for for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language)

When the Avengers came out a few months ago, I was afraid that director Joss Whedon set a bar so high that ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ wouldn’t be able to clear it. Like Star Wars Episode I that got the wind take out of its sails but the original Matrix, I feared the worst. Walking out of the latest and alleged finale of Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, I can clearly testify that this movie not only clears the bar set by the Avengers but is astonishingly satisfying. The film doesn’t leave you frustrated or hanging, but gives you a sense that the journey is over and the story is finished. By actually having an actual ending to this story, you walk out of the theatre knowing that it’s over and can accept it knowing that the story itself is nicely tied up. The ending to this trilogy are not as crucial as the emotions that are always present in Nolan’s previous works. You feel a connection to each character, even the villains and when everything ends you cannot claim that no effort was made to tie all three movies off. If this really is the end of the Dark Knight series then it ended very, very well.

This film is more ambitious than I ever imagined it would be. Despite the fact that the storyline is complex and layered with a series of thick sub-plots, everything seemed to come together nicely in the end and nothing seemed to be left out when it was all said and done. That kind of magic is impossible to accomplish without a script as Goyer and the Nolans all outdid themselves and produced a storyline that took the best out of the biggest storylines from the comics and brought them to the big screen like I never thought was possible. When Bane explodes into the storyline, we believe he is as badass as advertised as he established himself quickly and kept that power as the film progressed. The ‘Knightfall’ like storyline, arced with the League of Shadows storyline from Batman Begins, Bane (played brilliantly by Tom Hardy) is finally brought to the screen properly by Nolan and given the ability to shine as the badass he truly is. I had my doubts walking into this movie that Bane would be handled more appropriately then he was in ‘Batman & Robin’ and the arc used here made the film all it had the potential to be.

The cast was brilliant and made their best showing in this finale, despite the limited screen time many received. Many characters are pushed to their absolute limits and at that edge we see what many of them are made of as they face a nightmare that could and for some did spell the end for them. We look right through each character and see each person’s flaws as previous decisions come back to haunt them in this instalment. Jim Gordon getting tired of defending a man that tried to kill his son eight years ago, letting the blame lie on someone who was innocent and taking a hit for the team. This frustration gives us great insight when all is revealed and we watch how other characters respond to learning the truth, even when Bane discovers it.

One character that stood out in this movie was Catwoman, brought to the screen brilliantly by Anne Hathaway. She’s completely believable as the feline themed cat burglar, and her flirting with Bruce/Batman is also as believable to the point where it’s downright enjoyable. That why when things don’t go the way we hoped it would, it tears at the heart and saddens us when we think things will not work out between them as you can tell they like each other but can’t make things work out. When Hathaway beats up men it looks real and not over the top and the suit is a lot more flattering than a certain movie that gathered a handful of raspberries a few years ago.

When the film reached its conclusion, I found myself moved and mentally exhausted. The film covered so much ground but that is often common when dealing with a finale. It didn’t have ten endings of overkill but tied things off nicely as we felt the story reaching an end, despite the fact that studio left things so open for more chapters should someone wish to move one. Very much like Inception, The Dark Knight Rises left me thinking a great deal about humanity and what I might do when face with similar circumstances or how governments would really respond should something like that happen in real life. It provoked a lot of thought, something all great movies should do.

Then there’s the center of the film, Batman himself. Christian Bale delivered another amazing performance, but we have gotten so used to him being a killer Batman/Bruce Wayne that we almost take his brilliance for granted. Bale has been known to lose himself in his work and in this film things are no different. You feel for Bruce as he is forced to endure so much throughout the film. He carries the film and it wouldn’t have been the same without a killer performance from the Dark Knight himself. Even the dark growling voice is toned down a bit from the second film, a sign that someone is listening to what we have to say. In the end Bale owns this role, setting the bar very high for whatever actor even tries to play the billionaire playboy or his masked alter-ego has a very high bar to clear. I feel for the next guy who even tries to dawn the cowl, Bale has owned this role and right now I can’t imagine anyone doing any better. Ever.

Overall, The Dark Knight Rises not only delivers… it tosses everything at the screen and leaves no rock unturned. No one will ever leave saying why didn’t they cover this or that? Everything is dealt with and closure is provided and then some. In order to provide that closure, the film lasts almost three hours but the film doesn’t seem to drag that much. The suspense in the film is intense and I didn’t catch myself or other people rolling their eyes at any time. The film is a lot of fun, exciting and everything you would want out of a summer film. Now that there are ten nominations, this time out the Dark Knight might finally make the cut for Best Picture at the end of the year, it’s that damn good. Christopher Nolan did more than knock this one out of the park but also slammed a walk off homer that ended the game and left all the fans walking out of the theatre full satisfied. For fans of the series and the Batman comics, I high recommend checking this one out on the big screen and enjoying it to the fullest. You will not regret checking out what I think is one of the best movies of 2012.

RATING: 10 (Out of 10)