The Dark Knight Rises
***SPOILERS BELOW***
The end of a perfect trilogy, start to finish. Nolan’s Batman is to comic book movies, what the Godfather is to gangster/mob films and what Star Wars is to Sci Fi/Fantasy. As such I don’t think you can look at The Dark Knight Rises in a vacuum, but rather as the final chapter of a larger saga.
Batman Begins set the tone of the trilogy with one of the better origin stories ever told; Full of comic geek references, brought to life in a real-world setting with a very dark mood, fitting for batman.
The formula Nolan created in Batman Begins, is what allowed The Dark Knight to be the iconic film it was. It was the perfect foundation that set audience expectations for a darker ride than the previous batman films, which allowed for character exploration instead of exploitation (which is often over done in the previous batman movies, think about Mr. Freeze/Two Face/The Penguin, exploiting their comical characteristics not exploring their motivations and character).
The Dark Night. This will forever be Nolan’s masterpiece. There wasn’t a wasted second in that film, from the dynamic performances, the beautiful shots of urban car chases and battle scenes in Chicago, and the expanded character development of Chief Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Lucius Fox, & Alfred. And of course, Heath Ledger’s Joker – Legendary. We know about the performance, but beyond Ledger is the development of that character. We explored his motivations; Nolan gave us alternatives to why his face was scarred, leaving us wondering and creating our own thoughts on which story was real; he constantly challenged Batman for the pure reason to see how Batman would react. We saw his disappointment when at the end neither of the boats blew up, and people’s nature wasn’t what he expected. That is one of the greater character explorations you will ever see on screen, in one of the better movies you will ever see.
Those two films set the stage for The Dark Knight Rises. Batman Begins set the tone and introduced us to a brooding and deeply troubled, Batman that Nolan so wonderfully crafted. The Dark Knight was just a perfect film, and elevated this Batman beyond just a comic book movie.
And now to The Dark Knight Rises.....
In many ways this was the perfect ending to the trilogy. An over the top, wonderfully directed end cap. The magnificent set pieces, the introduction to some of the favorite mainstream characters in the Batman universe (Cat Woman/Robin), as well as some geeky comic nerd characters (Talia Al Guhl/Bane). For the first time we have a villain that matches Batman’s wit, but also outmatches him physically.
Set in a Gotham without a need for Batman as a result of the Harvey Dent act, we are allowed to explore Bruce Wayne a bit more than the past films, and in my opinion this is Bale’s best Bruce Wayne performance. We also get to see a bit more emotion and development with Alfred and Lucius Fox.
Pittsburgh proved to be a great backdrop for this film, and Nolan once again proved he is one of the industry’s best at technically shaping scenes and large, grandeous production shots. All of the scenes with the flying Bat were excellent, the sound mixing was impeccable, and the large sweeping cityscape shots were magnificent. Nolan has become the gold standard for creating the experiences IMAX was intended for. If you don’t see this movie in IMAX you will never understand, you have to see this in IMAX.
Anne Hathaway did a great job with Selina Kyle, and Nolan plays it right by never referring to her as Catwoman. The common fan can easily deduce what role she is playing, and the comic nerds can appreciate the authenticity that her name carries. Batman and Catwoman have a notoriously love-hate relationship, and I wish we could have seen more of the hate side of things. She is one of the great villains in the batman universe, and it seems she flipped to be on his side really quick. But given all the characters that needed to be covered in this movie, I can give Nolan a pass for this.
Joseph Gordon Levitt. This guy has sure grown up since Angels in the Outfield. He was the star of this film. He owned every scene he was in. I loved that throughout the movie you could get a sense that he was going to be the one to carry the torch after Batman. It wasn’t too hard to predict that he would end up as Robin. This brings me to a catch-22 I have with my feelings.
On one hand I liked that even though it was fairly obvious he was going to be Robin, I like that you never got the sense that he was or will be serving as Batman’s side kick. Rather, it appears he will be taking up the mantle Bruce Wayne left behind. On the other hand I wish they wouldn’t have been so obvious with saying his real name is Robin. Since this revelation was made at the very end of the movie, I think Nolan could have given a tip of the cap to the comic nerds on this one. In the comics Dick Grayson is the real name of Robin, and he eventually takes on his own superhero identity as Nightwing to assert his independence. I would have liked them to use this name, to add some credence to JGL’s independence following the absence left by Batman. (Nightwing also plays a role in the Superman Universe, which would have been a great piece of nerdy speculation and/or connection to Man of Steel produced/written by Nolan on the horizon).
Once again Michael Cain is excellent as Alfred, however I’m not a fan of what Nolan did with him. Alfred stands by Bruce Wayne, he doesn’t leave him. “Endure, Mr. Wayne” he says in the Dark Knight. Alfred is the constant that keeps the Bruce Wayne/Batman dynamic in check. He is the one who cared for Bruce as a child, he is the one that helped Bruce understand the power and role batman must play for the citizens of Gotham. In Begins, Bruce asks Alfred “you haven’t given up on me?” and Alfred replies “Never”. He is the rock, he is not going to leave Bruce. EVER. It’s a minor complaint, but one that I wish wouldn’t have been written into the story.
I wish there was a little more Gary Oldman, a little more Morgan Freeman, but I didn’t find anything wrong with how their story lines and character arcs were portrayed. I could have done without Matthew Modine though, that was a waste of screen time if you ask me. I wish everyone in the movie didn’t make the Bruce Wayne is Batman connection so easily,that’s privileged information and shouldn’t be easier than tying your shoes to figure out. I also could have used more explanation around how the Scarecrow ended up in the judges seat, connect the dots for me Nolan.
Talia Al Guhl. I Love Marion Cotillard (Inception, Public Enemies, Midnight in Paris), and her performance didn’t disappoint here either. I went into the movie, knowing she was playing Talia, so the fact that she was Ras Al Guhl’s daughter wasn’t as much of a plot twist to me as it was to the majority of viewers. However, I feel her role in this movie was entirely as a plot device rather than a character to add to the story. Talia is a complicated character in the comics, with a constant internal struggle between siding with her father’s criminal enterprises and her love interest in Batman. I think Nolan could have explored her motivations a bit more in this film, rather than have her just serve as the plot twist. However, when I watch this movie again, I will definitely be looking out for more subtle hints at this dynamic that I might have missed in the first viewing.
Tom Hardy is a beast. Physically, he fits the mold for Bane perfectly. It’s a tough role to play with that mask, his performance is largely physical and through his eyes, and he does it flawlessly. There is a lot of talk about his voice, but I think the raspy sometimes hard to understand tone of the voice is a perfect contrast to his mental superiority and physical make up. As I mentioned earlier, I love that Batman has a villain equal mentally and superior physically, at a time where Bruce Wayne/Batman is at his weakest emotionally and physically. However, I never truly felt that Bane exerted all of that physical force.
Sure, he broke Batman’s back and gave him a true beat down. But, that fight scene could have felt more powerful. I wanted Bane to deliver some blows that felt like they would go right through any human. I also felt like we needed more Batman in that fight, give me a grappling hook or some other “wonderful toy” to at least try to escape that beating, but instead Batman pretty much just took the beating. His only attempt at using a bat toy was to turn off the lights, and just like Bane, I laugh that off as a legitimate move Batman would make. Again, a picky complaint but an area I’d like to have seen a bit more out of from Nolan.
My biggest complaint, one that I think is the most legitimate outside of the nit-picky concerns I’ve already listed is how Nolan disposed of Bane. This is a BATMAN movie, and not just a movie, but a three part saga that will be the barometer for all future superhero films. Batman needs to take down the main villain, especially in the final installment of the trilogy. When you get to the last level in Mario does the princess take down King Koopa? HELL NO! Does Luigi warp down from a tube to sack Koopa with the shell from a green turtle? HELL NO!! Batman should’ve taken down Bane, and that’s my biggest complaint.
Finally, I feel like the movie had too many endings, and any one of them could have sufficed…the explosion (did Nolan Nuke the Fridge? Maybe not, but it was close), the reveal of Robin, Lucius Fox discovering Bruce fixed the auto pilot, The Italian patio scene. Nolan made it clear this was his last installment, there would be no sequel, so he could have done so many things to end this, but he just couldn’t leave the story without leaving it open ended. Sure batman and cat woman live on, Robin is taking over, etc. But what if Nolan actually killed off Batman? Wouldn’t that be a more epic ending, than the ambiguous open ended one we got? Would that not be the perfect way to cap a trilogy that redefined how superhero stories are told? Maybe he didn’t need to kill him off necessarily, but I would have liked it if he left me wondering.
I hope my myriad of concerns above doesn’t give the idea that I didn’t like this movie. I loved this movie. I loved this trilogy. I loved this universe. I loved all the characters. The Dark Knight Rises is probably a better superhero movie than any of the Spidermans, Avengers, Supermans, or any other comic movie. However, to me it was also probably the worst movie in the Nolan trilogy. That should tell you how much I appreciate this saga. To me the worst movie in this trilogy is still better than almost all other superhero movies I’ve seen. My concerns and complaints are minor and nit-picky, because I love this series so much I want more out of it, so I create more in my criticisms.
At the same time, I accept what Nolan put in front of me as his vision and I love him for it. Bane could have been speaking Portuguese and broke Batman’s back with a badminton racket and I would have sat in that theater with a smile on my face. In Nolan I trust. He gave us the best watchful protector we’ll ever see, he created the most dynamic caped crusader ever put on film, he uncovered for us the origin and motivation behind the silent guardian we all love. He gave us THE DARK KNIGHT.
