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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Tdkr
Oct 23, 2021
The Dark Knight Rises provides a suitable story to raise the level of isolated chaos and anarchy presented in the second film to bigger stage of takeover and societal control. Where the Joker tested and called out the rules of both Batman and the public he serves, Bane battles the system above the rules and beyond the city's social boundaries.
Those raised stakes fit the grounded-yet-still-grim fantasy world Christopher Nolan has created and operated within throughout this trilogy. Remember, you're still watching a comic book movie. You're going to get villainous monologues and over-the-top circumstances requiring the necessary suspension of disbelief for the genre. If one critic calls these factors flaws, I'm going to call them par for the course. Tom Hardy's speechifying here is no different than Liam Neeson's ominous doctrines from Batman Begins or Heath Ledger's warped psychological hubris from The Dark Knight. What Bane does bigger than those two previous enemies is back it up with brute force and a true physical challenge for Batman. The mood is as dark as the title and there is plenty of symbolism, theology, and morality to discuss in a spoiler-friendly setting afterwards. Those calculated strengths, shared by its predecessors, elevates The Dark Knight Rises's story and meaning atmospheres higher than any other comic book franchise, The Avengers and Spider-Man included.
I mean to paint with a broad brush when I say this next statement. Every technical element of The Dark Knight Rises's filmmaking is as close to perfect as possible, with an emphasis on "film." The epic scope of quality matches the hype. Nolan and his trusty cinematographer Wally Pfister made it a point to shoot entirely on film (some IMAX and no digital photography or 3D) and use as few digital effects as possible. The result is some of the year's best imagery, lighting, camera movement, and stunt work. Composer Hans Zimmer also returns for another arduous score of infused chanted voices and familiar booming themes. All of those elements together ratchet up the realism and scale of one eye-popping set piece after another. The "wow" moments here might outnumber those of The Avengers. It might have to go to the judge's scorecard for a decision.
Even with all of that backing of technical prowess and perfection, none of those moments would be possible without this coup of a cast assembled for the finale. Christian Bale, in this writer's opinion, has put to bed the petty British and method acting doubts of how good or bad his Bruce Wayne/Batman would be. I'll say it now. He's the truest and best Batman we've ever had. Michael Caine's masterful emotional anchor and continued devotion to Bruce as Alfred may have you wiping tears away during some moments. While the deep masked voice of Bane is occasionally difficult to interpret (as was feared), Tom Hardy conveys a physical performance with his eyes and presence that's better than some actors' entire arsenals. No one can match the raw sizzle of Michelle Pfieffer's iconic take on Catwoman from Batman Returns, but, to my surprise, Anne Hathaway more than matches the character's moral flexibility, ambiguity to good and evil, and inner torment between right and wrong. Out of everyone, Joseph Gordon-Levitt might just steal the show in The Dark Knight Rises. He's the closest this movie has to a moral narrator and emotional lens and his character's growth matches ours as an audience.
In talking about the performances from the cast, I'll end with what I think has always been the strongest element to this trilogy, the thing that separates it from the rest of its genre: CHARACTERIZATION. In so many comic book films, our heroes and villains end up one-dimensional and single-minded. That's never been the case here with Christopher Nolan's new and challenging interpretations on 70+ year old characters of American literary fiction. Those who know the comic roots of Batman, know that Nolan and his team have added so much positive characterization to each role. Every character is beyond three-dimensional and fleshed out with dynamic emotions, origins, strengths, flaws, victories, losses, goals, and fates. All of our original core characters and our new entries each have their culminating moments for their characterization that makes The Dark Knight Rises a fitting and deserving conclusion to this now-historic and classic trilogy. As Richard Roeper will tell you (and I concur with), the last five minutes of The Dark Knight Rises are best five minutes you will see in a movie all year. We are truly privileged for getting to see this vision of an American legend played out in three extremely excellent and rewarding films. Finally, please, Warner Brothers, what ever you do, do not reboot this character in again in our lifetimes. Let this trilogy be the iconic vision for generations to come. Come back in fifty years, not five.