This can be viewed as the next installment in my
Dark Knight Trilogy retrospective reviews, but I decided to do something different with this as most people believe it's a bad movie. So this review is going to be much simpler in structure to my previous one, but will still support a clear amount of detail on what I think on specific themes and so on. Let the games begin!
On July the 20th, 2012 it would've been four respective years since the last time Batman was on the big screen in the critically beloved
The Dark Knight and 8 years in Gotham since the apparent
death "murder" of Harvey Dent committed by the Batman. Now a recluse, Bruce Wayne is mourning the death of his childhood friend turned potential lover, Rachel Dawes and the caped crusader is now a long gone vigilante. When put in retrospect, the story can be summed up in a large scale triumph of good against evil and that's really all someone needs to be aware of while attending this finale to the 8 year long trilogy because although there are many sub-plots and devices thrown into the mix, you're essentially seeing a classic story retold in a large scale fashion.
The film is a trilogy in of itself with the first chapter reintroducing characters while inserting a few new additions including our new villain in the shape of physically imposing and mentally taunting Bane. Bruce gets back into action as the Batman with his soul (and body) not really invested as the whole point of him becoming Batman was to use his fear against criminals, but now he faces a problem. He is no longer afraid. The second chapter involves Gotham kept under captivity by Bane after Batman's back is broken in a brutal fight and is now stranded in the middle of nowhere inside a pit that purposely resembles the well in
Begins; Harvey Dent's last acts of violence are revealed to the world. The final chapter is the epic battle between good and evil. Bruce escapes the pit and learns that the fear of death is what will help him survive and it's this fear that helps him defeat Bane, and Tailia Al Ghul inspiring all of Gotham's police force to take on the mercenaries until Batman makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his city.
Like its predecessor, the film is a triumph that relies on it's own goals and achievements rather than the restrictions of the comic-book genre or audiences' expectations. TDK succeeded in bringing Batman into a world that we can recognise and believe as nothing short of our own with crime systems, court cases making the film feel like a wonderful drama/ thriller rather than an interpretation of a 75 year old comic-book hero. Rises surpasses this by making the story flow naturally by itself again without falling into known conventions, and features the least amount of screen time by (suited-up) Batman in the entire Nolan trilogy. The film isn't afraid to have its entire second act Batman-less and this is a testament to Nolan's genius. He doesn't want to make the final chapter in the Batman trilogy, he wants to make the conclusion of Bruce Wayne's journey.
Some have faulted this film for having many plot holes, and while I don't for a second believe how John Blake uncovered Bruce's alter ego, I can ignore most things. How Bruce got back into Gotham after escaping the pit, the CIA letting masked men onto their plane don't really bother me, and strike me more as ways to bend reality for the sake of the story instead of trying to insult the audiences' intelligence. The fact remains that the whole trilogy is set in a buy-able realistic world, and if a few little touches on reality are taken to tell the story you want to tell, then that shouldn't get in the way of anyone's view on this film's merits especially if some of those holes can be left up to personal interpretation.
What will always be great about The Dark Knight Trilogy is that they can be enjoyed as watchable experiences, and analysed even deeper in themes and meanings. Rises is no exception and I'll try to say why I think the Selina & Bruce romance works for the movie as many people think it was just tagged on.
So when things pick up in the opening of the film, Bruce has become a recluse with rumours and myths floating around about his appearance, but what's really going on is he's frozen in a single moment in time. The night Rachel died... He's stuck in the fire and no longer fears anything because he feels he has nothing to lose and is waiting for something to take Batman back into the picture or as Alfred puts it; "Things to go bad again." Enter Selina Kyle: a woman who's learnt to adapt to her environments whether it's a scared girl, shy maid, sexy Catwoman or whoever. Bruce always saw his time as Batman temporary, but still wants the symbol to carry on long after him, and is constantly looking for someone to replace him e.g. Harvey Dent, John Blake and maybe even Selina as Gotham's protector. He wants to see the good in people and even says to Selina after saying how she'll exit after helping; "There's more to you than that." In both BB, and TDK Bruce agreed that "criminals aren't complicated" but after his experience with the Joker, he's come to realise that's not always the case which is why he now views Selina as not just a jewel thief, but a good person in a bad place. So you have a man in frozen in a fire who doesn't view criminals are more than meets the eye clashing with a woman who adapts to wherever she is and views the rich as simple scumbags. At the end of the day, she's the one that brought Bruce back into action and he's the one who convinced her to help save Gotham. Two opposites who form a good alliance and now the fire rises.
I really enjoyed Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane and I think the voice offers a good diversion from this absolute beast of a human being, but at the same time strangely goes well with the appearance. My favourite scene of his is the speech outside Black Gate prison because it makes him come across as a genuine revolutionist that means every word that comes out of his mouth mask. This yet again proves Nolan's creativity and independence. Although I like the idea of Bane falling in love with Tailia and being her protector, and I also like the similarities between how her father was revealed in a twist and so was she; I don't know whether her whole reveal would've changed anything if it was deleted altogether as she dies shortly after her twist intro. And when looking back, it seems that Bane got short-changed as in a matter of minutes he's bunked down from the main terrorist/ revolutionist to a body guard who may or may not of just been doing Tailia's work all along. It would have worked better if "Miranda Tate" was a more memorable character, and had a real something with Bruce, but she was pretty bland and anyone could have played her which doesn't make it difficult for Cotillard to turn in a good performance although that death was bullsh*t. Either way, I like the similarities between how Ra's and Tailia were both close to Bruce then stabbed him in the back, and Bane's still a complete badass and I don't have a problem with his death, just how he decreased from main villain to love-sick bodyguard.
All performances are the best in the trilogy and Bale turns in the most amount of depth since
Begins and
Knight. I say that because people act like Bale is just average in each film, but I think in every installment, he's turned in a solid performance and in
Rises, I can't say anything other than he does it again. His particular shining moments are when he's in the pit desperate to save Gotham with little-to-no idea of how to be the Batman he once was. The emotional scene between Alfred and Bruce is another highlight with him and Michael Caine giving in the most tear-jerking scene of probably all the (live action) Batman films. Anne Hathaway is great and is given several opportunities to be versatile and she nails it as well as the arc/ romance her and Bale share. She goes from someone careless of what people think of her, thinking all the rich are snobs to someone who wants to start a new, clean-slate life with one the wealthiest billionaires on the planet (who happens to be the Batman) also looking to start anew.
From what I remember,
Begins didn't have much on political or social commentary,
Knight had plenty to say about terrorism, unwanted spying, lies to keep people under control, and now
Rises went for a more left field direction. The rich and poor world. At first, I thought this was a bit of a random choice, but then it made more sense in the grand scheme of not just this film, but the first one. In
Begins, a young Bruce learned the hard way that being rich wouldn't buy you your parents back and now it's a little bit of a metaphor that Bruce has gone broke in that he's lost his lover, a potential replacement Gotham can look up to, his Batman reputation has gone up in smoke and financially, he's penny-less. Selina offers a relatable perspective in that "Even the rich don't go poor" or something like that.
I have plenty more to say about this wonderful conclusion, but nobody would want to read a 100ft article, so I'll leave it at this.
Christopher Nolan has managed to create a fitting conclusion to the definitive Bruce Wayne/ Batman/ Gotham story in just under 3 hours. In 8-9 hours, he's made a personal journey that heightened the way we perceive super-hero movies, their meanings, themes, and their characters. It may never ever be topped in DC, Marvel, or the comic-book genre period. The Dark Knight Rises is one of my favourite CBMs and movies period, The DK Trilogy is my favourite CBM and one of my favourite movies. It is simply put glorious.
What do you think of my analysis? Write your thoughts down below... Peace