The film is - as with the director's other work, Inception for instance - sublimely operatic, a marvel of sensation but also of intricate plot-work. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, dark is the title's optimum word. As was established with Batman Begins, gone was the camp POW! and KAZAM! of Adam West's Batman, and, perhaps encouraged by Burton's comparably darker Batman (1989), in was the tortured vigilante and ever-hostile Gotham City.
The Dark Knight Rises commences eight years after Gotham's 'heroic' DA, Harvey two-face Dent's (Aaron Eckhart) death, and we encounter Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) at an uncharacteristic low-point, having all but abandoned his billion dollar company due to injuries and in mourning from Rachel's (Maggie Gyllenhaal) death, which also took place in The Dark Knight. But our bat-loving antihero cannot stay dormant for long, a new villain by the name of Bane (Tom Hardy) has realised an unfortunate ambition to crush Wayne's hometown, to the absolute core.
Speak of the devil, Tom Hardy plays an insatiable villain, whose - literally; the sound effects for his footsteps sound like a bomb exploding - booming presence assaults every scene in which he takes place. The clipped British accent is absurdly juxtaposed with his otherwise thuggish aesthetic, but this somehow works, making his character chilling and memorable. Of course it is inevitable to compare Hardy's Bane to Heath Ledger's (R.I.P.) iconic Joker, but the villains themselves are completely different - Bane has a motivation - and I believe both excelled in their individual performance.
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| Has Batman met his match? |
Anne Hathaway does well as Catwoman, a cat burglar who desires a 'clean slate'. But I still couldn't help feeling that the actress, more renowned for her cute and even awkward roles, was ill suited for this role, miscast in the producers' desire for star power. Someone like the cattish Mila Kunis (less known) may have brought more of an edge to the performance. However, Hathaway is adequate and it is commendable that she broke out of her comfort zone. Other stars include old favourites Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Gary Oldman as Commisioner I-don't-retire Gordon and of course Michael Caine, who breaks your heart as the Wayne butler Alfred; as well as Batman newbie Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
With Nolan, we all expect spectacle. And the man does not disappoint. In Rises we find ourselves witnessing an apocalyptic Gotham, one ripped outlandishly apart by Bane, from its core infrastructure. You'll know what I mean if you've seen that trailer - the collapse of the American football stadium, accompanied by a creepy Welsh boy singing the US National Anthem. Filmed with IMAX cameras, but avoiding the farcical 3D temptation, Rises near takes your breath away at frequent intervals. No one does blockbuster like Nolan.
There's a real sense of unpredictability about this finale, Batman truly hits rock bottom, to an extent you can't possibly forsee how he'll recover from the mess he's in in time to save the day. The plot is full of twists, with a pleasing intertwining of the Batman Begins narrative, from the use of graphic match down to that victorious ascending chord sequence, wrapping this last in a filmic marathon up in no less than a perfect manner.
Throughout the series, you have to wonder why Bruce Wayne constantly and irrevocably risks everything to save ungrateful and by all measures (apart from its notably unusual attraction of comic book heroes and villains) unremarkable Gotham City. Well, take Gotham as an analogy for the world. Yes, it's full of shits, and it may not seem worth it, but there remains a spark of light which The Dark Knight Rises towards.
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