The Dark Knight Rises Review

What was undoubtedly the biggest movie of the year released for public viewing on July 20th, today. Fans of esteemed director Christopher Nolan, and film and comic book nerds alike were waiting with anticipation for what would be the final chapter of the trilogy. Nolan’s reputation of genius (one which he rightfully earned) hyped up the movie even more, breaking all records imaginable.

This is an impartial review, a review of someone who is among the Nolan lovers but who also has the capability of viewing films purely based on what they contain. So all biases aside, here is the most impartial review you can get, with all facts laid down for you to decide. I shall not give a final score or anything. And there shall obviously be minor spoilers, but none that should ruin the movie for you if you have been following the promotional materials with vigilance.

The film is set 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight. Batman has gone into hiding, and a physically crippled Bruce Wayne is living a self imposed exile in Wayne Manor. But pretty soon, he is forced out of retirement by the new villain in town, Bane, along with the mysterious cat burglar Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Meanwhile Gotham City’s criminals have all been locked up due to the Harvey Dent act which denies anyone parole, thus allowing for clean streets and making Batman’s sacrifice in the previous film worthwhile. Commissioner Gordon still has to live with the lie that he was forced to tell, and is disturbed from the start of the film, while his second in command, Foley, is waiting for the mayor to announce a new commissioner. Foley waits for an opportunity to outshine Gordon. The series regulars, Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox as Bruce’s butler and CEO of Wayne Enterprises respectively reprise their roles, both donning their father figure status for Bruce. New to the cast Joseph Gordon Lewitt as rookie cop John Blake, and Marion Cotillard as millionaire Miranda Tate who has an interest in saving Wayne Enterprises and funding their new energy project which would rid the world of fossil fuel dependency. As far as characters go, almost every single one of them were written badly. Many of them suffered from lack of motivation (such as John Blake, Gordon and Foley), lack of balanced screen time (such as Gordon, Fox and Alfred), along with a less than satisfactory ending to their arcs (in the case of Bane and Miranda Tate).

In detail about the characters and the story. Gordon and Foley are two cops who ultimately fight on the same side, but they are not shown to emote. You can never connect to them (unlike in The Dark Knight where you could see Gordon’s desperation). Foley’s initially trying to outshine Gordon but then sees the clear light of day and comes around. Again, his arc was not satisfying in the least bit.

John Blake had more screen time than any of the individual characters, including Bane himself. He is a beat cop, an orphan who is dedicated to doing right. He is brave, and has a soft corner for the Boy’s Home where he was raised. However throughout the film, while his loyalty to Batman and Gotham City is clear, his actions involving the children from the Boy’s Home don’t fit in one bit. Sure he was raised there, but the character’s motivation is not conveyed.

One glaring issue I had was that one too many people knew the identity of Batman, and it’s never explained how. Bane knew the identity (which was evident in the trailers themselves), and so did a certain other character who’s name I shall not take for fear of spoiling things.

Alfred and Fox have been fan favourites, for their sense of humour, for their mature dialogue, for their father like relationship with Bruce Wayne. But both of them receive VERY little screen time. Alfred is there only for the first twenty minutes of the movie or so before he disappears completely and returns only at the end of the film, and in that brief time he gives in all the emotion that he could give, expressing his worries to Bruce. Sir Michael Caine’s performance would move even the hardest of hearts, his tears have real love in them. Fox, on the other hand, is back to inventing new gadgets for Bruce, this time with the Bat, which Fox stressed, “does come in black”. But aside from that, Fox’s role is merely the scientific head of Wayne Industries, one that barely has screen time.

Miranda Tate is the millionaire who only wants to do good. She is also Bruce’s love interest. Marion gives a really nuanced performance, and the end twist in Tate’s arc is something many fanboys had already predicted, but to the uninitiated, the twist could prove one really powerful punch in the gut. Miranda Tate’s character was one of the few who was written in perfectly fine.

The villain of this epic finale, Bane, is as majestic and perfect as could be. It has always been Nolan’s vision to humanize his characters. Hence Bane doesn’t wear his menacing mask to pump in a chemical to enhance his strength, he uses the mask to keep his pain under control. Bane’s voice is his greatest weapon. It has so much conviction in it. Bane’s backstory is pure genius. Tom Hardy, while certainly not Heath Ledger’s joker, gives one of the best performances in the film. His voice, eyes and body language speak volumes about the character’s inner animal nature. Bane is a brute force, one who is quick and calculating. There are scenes where Bane is giving a speech, and you can see the rage in Hardy’s eyes. There was one particular scene where Bane, in a moment of weakness, cries (I shall not reveal why). Real pain and sadness emanates from Hardy’s eyes, and it just goes to show that a great performance doesn’t mean one has a lot of screen time or one has many dialogues, raw emotion is taken to a whole new level. However Bane’s end is one of THE MOST dissatisfying aspects of the whole movie, it had no closure at all. Towards the end you start feeling for the character and he is just written off like a bug being flicked off the hand. But his fight sequences, his speeches, his raw brutality and power, they were a sight to behold, and Hardy’s Bane is another memorable villain in Nolan’s trilogy.

Selina Kyle is the selfish catwoman who always has her own priorities first, but her character too was written in brilliantly, with a stellar performance by Anne Hathaway. Catwoman’s arc is really satisfying, and she has ample screen time for us to care about her.

Now comes the hero of the story, Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. While the movie is called The Dark Knight Rises, Batman barely has any importance here. In all aspects, this felt like a movie about terror in Gotham, not about Batman’s struggle. Not just comic book fans, but viewers in general will feel that Bruce Wayne is very underwritten. One minute he is brooding, next he is ready to get back into the suit, the story goes on. However the ending, while clichéd and predictable, really and superbly does justice to Bruce’s character, with his story coming full circle. It is worth mentioning that the action scenes involving The Batman were SPECTACTUIAR. Especially Batman’s entry, which occurs not too soon into the movie. Another highlight of Bruce Wayne is of him learning to conquer his inner ailment and break out of the pit prison where he is imprisoned by Bane. While this film tackles the same issues about Bruce Wayne’s character that Batman Begins did, this movie failed to actually convey to us what Bruce’s problem really was. But it plays out well nonetheless, and his escape and return to Gotham were sure crowdpleasers.

The pacing of the movie is something of a serious issue, it is crawling at times, jogging the next, racing before you know it, and crawling back again. The ending to the Bane arc was utterly disappointing, while the ending to Batman’s arc was very very clichéd yet pure gold in what it conveyed, and added so much more depth into the already heavy words uttered by Alfred. It adds so much more depth into both characters, that you just forgive all the inconsistent characterisation and unbalanced screen time. The ending was that golden. But you know what? Through the previous movies, we have been made to care so much for Alfred and Bruce that you would seriously be praying for them to not have a dark ending, and Nolan gives us just that, a not so dark ending. As clichéd as it may be, it was what would give every bat fan full closure.

The film’s scale is just too huge. Hijacking a plane using another plane on top, blowing up a football field and many bridges, ruining the stock exchange, all out brawls between each and every cop and criminal, you name it. This film leaves no stone unturned in scale, but this where it was evident that even someone as good as Nolan could lose focus, because while we as intelligent audience are aware of the stakes, the real menace is never always felt, the narrative never always lays focus on the dire consequences that await failure. Perhaps if the scale were a little less and a little more focus was laid on the few underdeveloped characters, this movie would have been picture perfect, because with this scale it is purely human to lose out on character development, especially when things are blowing up a lot. Also, Bane blowing up the bridges and threatening to blow every citizen up if anybody attempted to escape or any resistance came in was too similar to what the Joker did with the ferries at the end of The Dark Knight. However, the cinematography is brilliant, the shots are crystal clear. The chase and fight sequences are spot on, with more than atleast 10 moments where the audience is sure to hoot and clap.

Special mention must be given to Hans Zimmer for the score of this film. The strong drum beats, the slight hint of electronic bass, the elements from previous films’ score, they were all nothing short of perfect, and if Zimmer doesn’t receive an Oscar for this, then I doubt if he ever will because a score like this one is too tough to outdo. The music complemented each scene beautifully. I saw the movie in IMAX, and I experienced the visual and audio spectacle the way it was meant to be experienced, and not a single moment was I dissatisfied. If you can help it, watch this movie in IMAX.

 
But here is the final question. How does TDKR stand among the two predecessors, and should you watch this film at all. To answer the first question, TDKR is undoubtedly the weakest of the trilogy. While it undoubtedly has the highest stakes, it fails on the brilliant characterisations of Batman Begins and the soul which made it a Batman movie, and also the slow escalating brilliance and perfection of The Dark Knight. That said, it certainly is not a bad movie, it just has its share of plot holes and bad characterisation. And it is indeed unfair to say which film is the better one in the trilogy, because each film tackled an entirely different theme and story, but to those of you who still can’t understand why it is unfair to do so and still ask which is better and which is worse, you have your answer, with a heavy heart. Now if you ask me whether you should watch this film at all, then I say by all means, yes. However, don’t expect an all out Batman movie because this is more about Gotham than Batman (except for the ending of course, which, as I’ve already said, does wonders to Batman’s character). Don’t expect the same magic which Nolan has weaved so far. Nolan’s not a one trick pony, and each of his films is different, respect that. This film has its own magic which will certainly shine through the few problems which are inevitable in a film of such stakes. Expect to be vowed by the spectacle, expect pure closure at the end. If you are one of the few who have no idea about the movie, then all the more better because many of the crucial plot points which have been leaked or revealed as part of marketing are unknown to you, thus making the movie all the more potent. So putting aside all the coherence issues, the underwritten characters and the lack of satisfying ending to the villain’s own arc, do go watch the grand conclusion to the Batman trilogy, for it brings everything back in full circle, including the little tid bits which were present in Batman Begins which you never thought would be referenced to in TDKR. Watch this movie for the set pieces, for the ferocious villain, for the epic scale, for a closure on Bruce Wayne and Alfred and every other character you’ve come to love throughout the trilogy. Watch this for Nolan, and for his devotion to the stories he tells. Just go watch it.

-Achyuth Sankar