Batman faces his greatest challenge yet
in
The Dark Knight Rises, in which Gotham city is threatened
by potential nuclear Armageddon at the whim of a coldly calculatory
and brawny terrorist, forcing the reclusive billionaire to dust off
his batsuit after eight years out of the saddle. How to move on from
the emotional and physical scars incurred from that fateful clash
with The Joker and Two-Face, unaware of the even greater emotional
and physical hurdles to come? As it proves the greatest challenge yet
for Batman, so too does
The Dark Knight Rises
prove the greatest challenge yet for the trilogy's
writer-director-producer Christopher Nolan. How to follow up the
unprecedented commercial and critical success of his 2008 hit The
Dark Knight with a third and
final chapter that can satisfy geeks, general audiences, and critics
alike? Well, he may have stumbled across that finish line somewhat,
but cross it he has, giving his franchise the epic and stirring
conclusion it deserves.
Compositing
numerous character arcs and plot threads with which Batman
aficionados will already be familiar, The Dark Knight Rises
takes off with Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) been shaken from
vigilante retirement upon the appearance of a new villain in town;
the mask-wearing international master criminal Bane (Tom
Hardy) who enacts an ambiguous plot which Wayne's concerned butler
Alfred (Michael Caine) suggests might be connected to foes from
Batman's past. It doesn't help matters that the Caped Crusader's list
of allies is as flimsy as his injured right leg. The city wrongfully
holds him responsible for the death of Harvey Dent eight years
earlier, but he still has friends in GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon
(Gary Oldman), Wayne Enterprises CEO Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a
young cop named John Blake (Joseph Gordon Levitt), and wealthy
socialite Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) whose investment in Wayne's
company have yielded a clean energy source which could be weaponized
if allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Also along for the ride is
anti-heroine Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a slick cat burglar whose allegiances are
in question and flux as she tries to steal and slink her way out of
an increasingly dangerous Gotham.
With such a wealth of Batman mythos
serving as their inspiration, Nolan and his co-writers (brother
Jonathan and David S. Goyer) have made
The Dark Knight Rises a
series capper of thematic density, but unfortunately not quite one of
thematic finesse. While
The Dark Knight
focused its subtextual eye on the spectrum of morality and its
relation to anarchy vs. order, the motifs explored here are a
sprawling mix that shift in and out of prominence depending on the
progression of the narrative – the strength required to move on
from grief, the cost of redemption, drawing strength from fear,
self-preservation vs. fighting for societal good, capitalism and
inequality, courage and cowardice, and more are all blended into the
ambitious screenplay. But what Nolan's cerebral undertones boast in
complexity they sacrifice in precision, making it difficult for any
one theme to resonate much beyond the scene(s) of its examination.
That certainly doesn't mean that they don't resonate at all, just in
fits and starts, but there's still a lot of food for thought
simmering beneath the surface of this movie.
But
even if you couldn't care less about what's simmering beneath it, the
surface of The Dark Knight Rises
something to behold. The structure of this three-hour epic is not,
has some allege it to be, unsound, but it is oddly paced at times.
Such is the case with a three-hour movie, to which a tight and tidy
three-act structure cannot always be applied. Mostly, those 164
minutes just fly by, thanks in part to Lee Smith's editing, in part
to the spectacle of the action, and in part to the compelling
performances which keep us perpetually engaged. Bale is once again a
rock solid centre, evoking more of Wayne's tortured psyche than we've
yet seen in a Batman film. Standouts among the other returning cast
members are Gary Oldman, arguably the franchise MVP for his utterly
convincing performance across the three films as Commissioner Gordon,
and Michael Caine, who in a brief but unforgettable masterclass of
acting delivers the single most moving scene of the entire trilogy.
Anne Hathaway is a sultry delight as Catwoman, channeling some
previous incarnations while still making the character her own, and
Tom Hardy is mesmerizing as Bane, whose already commanding physical
presence is made all the more threatening by the obscurement of his
mouth (his voice is a bit like Sean Connery doing Darth Vader, which
is easier to get used to than it sounds).
As
we've come to expect, Nolan's craft is immaculate. Chris Corbould's
dazzling practical effects captured by Wally Pfister's immersive
photography makes a strong case for the film to viewed in IMAX
wherever/whenever possible. Additional incentive to seek out an IMAX
theatre is a heightened appreciation of the thunderous soundscape.
Richard King's sound design here equals his career best, especially
the extensive adr work on Bane's dialogue dubbing. And Hans Zimmer's mighty,
bass-driven score (buttressed by compositions from the
previous two films) can never sound more powerful than when heard
through a formidable IMAX sub-woofer. The action is beautifully
staged and executed, the fight choreography improving vastly upon the
somewhat confusing fisticuffs seen in The Dark Knight,
particularly in the centrepiece bout between hero and villain, which
will surely satisfy any fanboy's need for that one iconic moment.
We can
(and in all likelihood will) debate the relative quality of The
Dark Knight Rises against its
predecessors Batman Begins
and The Dark Knight,
but we can't debate the lasting influence of Christopher Nolan's
achievement on modern pop culture. By infusing the pulpiest of comic
book legend in a hyper-realistic setting, eschewing the Gothic
stylistics of Burton or the campy gleefulness of Schoomaker, Nolan
forged a bold contemporary fantasy of social relevance, artistically
legitimizing an entire genre. Superheroes and supervillains do not
exist in our real world, but as The Dark Knight
trilogy makes vividly clear, the values that they stand for do exist,
and the battle they wage against each other is real and ongoing.
Where evil and chaos persist, so do goodness and hope. Too deliver
such a meaningful message from a pile of old comics with such
pertinence and intelligence, is indeed a significant cinematic
achievement.
***1/2 out of ****
