The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Review by George Elcombe
‘So that’s what it feels like’
Well here it is. Advertised as
‘the epic conclusion to the Dark Knight trilogy’ and my most anticipated film
of the year. Does it live up to my expectations? Yes.
This is a fine film and overall I
am very
happy with how they ended the trilogy. The performances are fantastic, the
action and story are great, it closes Bruce’s story and all gets a bit
emotional at times.
But this is a fantastic film so go and see it.
Still here? Ok, we have a SPOILER ALERT!!! Consider
yourself warned for the rest of this review.
Plot: 8 years after the death of Harvey Dent, Gotham city is at peace as all the major criminals are
locked away. Bruce Wayne has become a recluse locked up in his mansion with the
guilt of the death of Rachel Dawes. But a mercenary called Bane is coming to Gotham and building an army. It’s time for Batman to rise
up once again to save the city.
Ever since The Dark Knight (2008) I have been really looking forward to
this film! As an avid reader of sites such as Aint it Cool News, I’m afraid
that I spoilt some bits of this film for myself and as such closed myself off a
year ago from all gossip and news besides the fantastic posters and trailers.
But having been a fan of the comics and Batman: The Animated Series (1992 -
1995) I knew what to expect and foresaw the plot twist where Maranda was
actually Talia al Ghul. But this film had a few surprises for me and I’m glad
the trailers didn’t spoil this (unlike Prometheus (2012)).
I’m glad they didn’t mention The Joker as Heath
Ledger’s performance is iconic and should not be repeated within the Nolan
universe. When I heard that Tom Hardy was cast as Bane I was excited as he was
a brute in Bronson (2008), and fully expected the film to recreate the iconic
image of Bane breaking Batman’s back over his knee. But this was slightly
ruined for me with Bane saying “your body” as he done this. Personally I would
have had him say it after he broke his back as it would have been colder, and
Bane wears a mask so it’s not like they would have a problem lip syncing it!
So it appears I start this review talking about
Bane, but he is a standout. But what’s with his accent? I’ve never heard
anything like it before and I found it distracting to start with. I thought
Heath Ledger’s Joker voice was unique until I saw Shoot Em Up (2007) and heard
that film’s villain with the same creepy accent. But the mask is sinister and I
like the design. But it wasn’t explained enough why he has it. Apparently he
was injured in a cool underground prison and the morphine addicted prison
doctor (Alien 3 (1992) anyone?!) caused this. But when the mask is broken it
hisses out some gas that Bane needs. He mentions earlier on in the film that if
he takes it off it would cause him great discomfort, but it isn’t explained!
Also, I would have liked to have seen him without it and was disappointed when
this didn’t happen.
However Bane is revealed to be part of the League of
Shadows and the whole film is about his quest to finish Ra’s al Ghul’s work
from Batman Begins (2005) and wipe out Gotham
and its corruption. Thus we have this films subtext: capitalism and power. This
is summed up by Bane saying something along the lines of “just because you’ve
paid me doesn’t mean that you have power over me” just before crushing a greedy
corporate directors skull in. Nice.
The global recession has hit us all and if it hadn’t
happened then I would be working in a Soho
editing house which went bust. Yet we glamorise people who are rich (see The
Only Way is Essex . Actually, don’t) and see
them as happy because they can buy the right clothes and things. But everyone
else has to work for a living and have little to show for it. Poverty is writhe
and you just have to look at last summers riots to see that what should have
been the lower classes rising up against injustice and being trapped by poverty
quickly descend into idiots stealing trainers and phones to increase their
social status.
Which brings me to Catwoman. Some have said that
casting Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle was a mistake, but the girl can act and
was very professional when I worked with her on One Day (2011). Catwoman only
steals from the rich for herself and never stands on the shoulders of the poor.
She warns Bruce that “a storm is coming” and the lower classes will rise. But
when this happens the party ends quite quickly and she sees that the class
system is needed. But her performance is great and she is the best Catwoman
seen on screen to date. She’s cheeky, possibly a lesbian with her blonde
friend, smart and very sexy. Call me a perve but she looks great in her cat
suit with her knife edged high heels.
Her chemistry with Batman is great and has some
great lines when disagreeing with Batman’s ‘no guns’ policy.
Another subtext is her desire to have a clean slate
and have all records of her past removed. In this digital age, he who controls
and edits information has power. We can read up on anything online about
anyone, and I like how this film addressed this.
As in the comics she is independent and aligns
herself to anyone she can benefit from, thus leading Batman into the trap where
he fights Bane. But Batman and herself make a great team and she unexpectedly comes
around to help him save the city.
And save the city he does. As I knew this would be
the last film I was honestly expecting Gotham
to be doomed and for Bruce Wayne to die. However Batman is an immortal symbol
which would live on. I heard of a new character called John Blake who is an
honest and resourceful cop, so I instantly presumed that he would take on
Batman’s mantle. He is also an orphan and inherits Wayne
Yes folks, Robin is in this film contrary to what
Christian Bale said ("If
Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I'll be chaining myself up
somewhere and refusing to go to work”) a few years ago, and I’m glad
of this ‘in joke / sequel fodder’. I did also like Robin’s line about searching
the sewers and being asked “did you find any giant alligators down there”. He
quits the force after being effected by the rules of the law so it makes sense
that he will become a vigilante and become Nightwing. I also liked the fact he
doesn’t like guns after shooting two suspects and throwing his gun away. But I’m
confused of how he knew Bruce’s secret identity, did I miss something?
But Christian Bale puts in his best performance of
his career as the mentally and physically broken Bruce Wayne. He was under
credited with his performance in The Dark Knight (2008) but shines in this, my
standout moment being when he says goodbye to Alfred. Yes this film gets
emotional and so did I especially when Alfred was crying over the Wayne
But it was touching during one of the last shots
where Alfred fantasy of seeing Bruce with a lady, hopefully starting a family,
as Alfred got closure as Bruce has hung up the cape and truly moved on to live
his life without pain and guilt.
But this wouldn’t be a Batman film without some
excellent action set pieces. The opening mid air plane rescue was stunning and
reminded me of my skydive. I want to see this film again in Imax just for those
shots. But the film truly kicks off when Batman returns (no pun intended) after
8 years on the Batpod outrunning most of Gotham ’s
police force. And the Bat is so much cooler than the Batwing seen in Tim
Burtons Batman (1989) and I want one! We see a lot of these vehicles and the
special effects used are un-noticeable. The end action set piece actually
amazed me with all the tumblers, Catwoman on the Batpod, the Bat swooping in at
the right moments, the bit with the bridge being blown up, and the nuclear
explosion which had me think that it was the end for Bruce. But I’m glad he
survived.
The Batman / Bane fight midway through the film was
brilliant but I was expecting it to be a bit more brutal. But these films are
not in my opinion all about the action. Director Christopher Nolan skilfully
uses action to progress the story, which is what these films are all about: how
and why a man dresses up as a bat to fight injustice.
Now for some nitpicky bits: it took 8 or 9 minutes
for the programme to be uploaded at the stock exchange, but it changed from
sunlight to total darkness during that short time. How did Bruce get back into Gotham undetected when all the bridges were down? And who
told him that the bomb would detonate the next day? Where was Bane born and
raised?
But I unintentional cracked up when Batman was
asking Bane where the detonator was. Just watch ‘The Dark Knight Kills
Christmas’ on YouTube.
But you should ignore those things as the film is
stunning. The cinematography is excellent. Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman are
great and I loved Liam Neeson’s cameo, but I would have liked him to be more
than a dream and a flashback. Cillian Murphy has a cameo as the sentencer, but
I felt he was underused.
The dialogue is memorable and each character has a
chance to shine. The story line was great and I felt it brought great closure
to all the characters. It is a long film but never dragged and I was engrossed
with every minute.
So in conclusion this film is as excellent as the
last two. I will watch it again but the question is: is it up there with the
Bourne trilogy (2002 - 2007) as a perfect trilogy: where each sequel is better
than its predecessor and it wraps up the protagonists story whilst leaving the
audience satisfied?
Is it a perfect trilogy? Yes. Thank you to
Christopher Nolan and everyone involved with these films. And lets hope that
the next reboot of Batman will be just as good.
9 out of 10
If you like this try:
Batman Begins (2005)
The Dark Knight (2008)
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