Flick Flak: The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises
Director: Christopher Nolan
With: Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
12A, 165mins
As soon as The Dark Knight was finished, Christopher Nolan told the world he wouldn't do a third unless he was sure he could top it. So the decision to attempt The Dark Knight Rises was in itself a bold one, given that The Dark Knight was not only a fantastic superhero film, but a genuinely brilliant film in any genre. What a relief then that TDKR is a fitting end to the trilogy and a great movie, even if it doesn't quite top TDK.
The action picks up eight years after Batman took the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes as Two-Face, with Bruce Wayne a recluse in his mansion, mourning the death of Rachel Dawes. It's been eight years of peace for Gotham, but something wicked is coming their way in the form of Bane.
The final part of Nolan's trilogy is all about Batman - forced out of retirement, out of practice, he isn't the force he once was. Without dropping spoilers, the comic storylines surrounding Bane are well implemented within Nolan's world, where he becomes a mercenary with flawless planning and frightening strength. Bruce Wayne must effectively learn to become Batman all over again, and in the meantime, Bane has his day in the sun.
As has been the case with every role in these Batman films, Nolan cast and wrote perfect parts. Tom Hardy as Bane is brilliant - I was a little worried Bane could turn out as a plot device more than a character, chosen because of his complete opposition to the Joker. But in fact he is scary, charismatic and has some great lines (while assaulting Gotham's stock exchange, his retort to a terrified banker who claims, “This is a stock exchange, there's no money to steal!” is a bemused, “Then why are you here?”).
After the film I was left wondering; who's the scarier villain? The Joker is chaos, unpredictability, while Bane is calculated to the extreme. One you can't predict, and the other is one step ahead of you - talk about a rock and a hard place.
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle is also spot-on. Her first scene, in which she tricks her way into Wayne Manor as a waitress, features a goosebumps moment as, caught in the act, she transforms into the Catwoman we expected. This is the character from the videogame Arkham City brought to life; sexy, dangerous, intelligent and morally dubious, I couldn't have imagined her better.
The supporting crew of Gary Oldman and Michael Caine are as good as ever, the latter providing the emotional heart and soul of the film. Tears will be shed (roughly half way through the film!).
In his role as police officer John Blake, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is reliably good. Is an actor of that quality really just playing a cop? You do need to see for yourself, but let me reassure you that his character has an interesting story.
It's not a perfect film. Oddly, for such an important film, the sound quality is not good. There were fears with the advanced prologue screenings that Bane couldn't be heard under his mask, but that seems largely cleared up - you catch about 90% of his lines. However, in more than one scene Hans Zimmer's score drowns out lines being uttered in a storm of drama and confusion. I do have to add to these points though that the score is fantastic - in his chanted beat, I feel Zimmer has created a riff to rival Terminator 2's “bum-bum bum bum-bum” - and that prologue is stunning. It doesn't quite beat the bank job from TDK, but as I watched Bane's aeroplane hijack another mid-air I realised 'this is being done for real. No special effects, that's actually happening so Nolan can film it. He's a genius.'
I thought that my other issue with TDKR would be the ending. While I will reveal nothing, I initially felt the film had foregone the subtlety and cleverness that has marked the whole trilogy in order to have a slightly predictable and 'big' ending. But the more I think about it, the more I actually quite like it. It's right, and subtler than I first gave it credit for.
Does TDKR match TDK? I would say not quite. The Dark Knight has the double whammy of Heath Ledger's Joker, one of the finest villains ever, and some unforgettable set-pieces: the bank job, the 'pencil trick', the truck chase, the two cruise ships... for me, TDKR doesn't quite have that barrage of incredible scenes. But these points shouldn't detract from the fact that TDKR is one hell of a movie.
So the Dark Knight Trilogy takes its place up there with some of the greatest ever. Don't miss the final part, or the trilogy, whether you're a fan of comic book movies or not.
Related Article: Review: Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC)
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