Produced by: EMMA THOMAS, CHARLES ROVEN, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Screenplay by: JONATHAN NOLAN & CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Story by: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN & DAVID S. GOYER
Based on: Characters appearing in comic books published by DC COMICS
"Batman" created by BOB KANE
Starring: CHRISTIAN BALE, MICHAEL CAINE, GARY OLDMAN, ANNE HATHAWAY, TOM HARDY, MARION COTILLARD, JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, MORGAN FREEMAN
Box office: $1, 012, 264, 293 (and counting)
Critical reception: ROTTEN TOMATOES - 87/100
IMDB - 8.9/10
METACRITIC - 78/100
Synopsis: It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda and the emergence of Bane, a masked and dangerous terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile to don the cape and cowl once again.
(WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!)
Four years back (in the real world), we last saw our favourite Caped Crusader riding off into the shadows at the end of The Dark Knight, having just taken the blame for the crimes of Harvey Dent to prevent the Joker from winning "the war for Gotham's soul". Anticipation for a third installment was at an all-time high ever since it was announced to be in development.
In line with his previous films, The Dark Knight Rises is filled with an all-star cast, led by Christian Bale as a now-reclusive and disillusioned Bruce Wayne, having retired his alter-ego the Batman eight years ago when Harvey Dent fell and broke his neck. Out of the three films, this is the one in which Bale truly shows-off his acting chops, in favour of his somewhat bland performances in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight; that being said, Bale still hasn't improved his gravelly 'Batman-voice'. Likewise, Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers a stolid performance as rookie detective John Blake who forms a bond with Wayne. Blake is one of the few citizens who still believe in Batman and is responsible for convincing him that Gotham City needs the Dark Knight to return.
The real stand-out in this film, though, is Anne Hathaway. Her sultry and coy performance as the morally ambiguous Selina Kyle, professionally known as 'the Cat burglar', is a scene-stealer- not to mention having some much needed chemistry with Bruce Wayne and Batman; a flaw that most Christopher Nolan's films share is a lack in charismatic females that are only present to function as a device to move the plot forward (notable examples include Rachel Dawes (the first two Batman films), Mal Cobb and Ariadne (Inception) and Olivia Wenscombe (The Prestige)- I'm betting you don't even remember the last name, do you?).
With consideration to the film's villain, this time around Tom Hardy steps up to the plate as the masked terrorist, Bane. While he is no Joker (the hauntingly and award-winning final performance by the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight) and may not be quite as compelling, Tom Hardy more than makes up for it by being not only an intelligent but a brutish and physical threat to Batman, something sorely lacking in the previous films. He makes the character his own, though by the end feels a little wasted as a villain. As Bane, he oozes with charisma and menace as he delivers his lines while his mouth is covered by a mask, sometimes making what he says a little difficult to understand. It's a very small slight in a commendable performance that required three-quarters of Tom Hardy's face to be obscured throughout the entirety of the movie, leaving him to commute his emotions with only his eyes. Should you find this hard to believe, take just one shot of Bane in the movie and you will realise that this single frame contains more facial expressions than Kirsten Stewart's entire career.
If there is any fault with the casting, it would be that Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Marion Cotillard are under-utilised in their roles. Granted, a whopping amount was required to be crammed into this movie to wrap up everything; nonetheless, it's disappointing to see such fine actors of their calibre and standard (one's an Oscar nominee and the other two are Oscar winners) not given much more to work with. Similarly, Michael Caine's Alfred was given an abrupt send-off following an emotional speech that felt somewhat out of character in line with the butler that we've come to know, reappearing once more only during the last five minutes of the movie.
Audiences have grown to expect one thing with any film by Christopher Nolan: one that is not merely a piece of escapist entertainment but also thematically-filled and thought-provoking. The Dark Knight Rises is no exception. This time, the story draws strong parallels to Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Mix in a few political allusions of the world's current situation and the result is a largely grounded action-oriented film with a comic-book tone that is not only entertaining but makes the threat in the movie feel all the more possible. The idea of a city and its powerful and wealthy people being overthrown by the ordinary citizens has happened before (hint: it's called The French Revolution).
Unfortunately, compared with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, this story suffered from a number of small plot holes that sometimes distracted the viewer and required a strong suspension of belief: why would Commissioner Gordon carry a speech with him revealing the truth about Harvey Dent without destroying it immediately that would thus have prevented Bane from releasing the inmates of Blackgate Prison? Why would Gordon (again- guilty on two counts!) send the entire police force underground without just sending a small group? It goes against his character to be that foolish. How did Bane know to build his underground base beneath Applied Sciences housing Batman's arsenal when Lucius Fox was the only person aware of its existence (outside Batman) and said that the division was off the books? How did Bruce Wayne recover from a broken back by merely standing for some time (that is just not medically possible) and how did he return to Gotham without any money, without his false identities and the help of his trusty butler? However, while these may prove to be perplexing, they're not too large a problem to distract from the overall film. The pacing of the film also tended to drag- especially during the first hour or so- as it attempted to set-up the various story-threads for the film to navigate, resulting in a somewhat vague plot that nonetheless works its way up through with some truly sensational set pieces and pulsing action sequences that are far superior (though not entirely as ingenious) to the ones in its predecessors that come together in a spectacular and emotional climax, a fitting and honourable conclusion to not only this film but to the the Dark Knight trilogy as a whole.
What's next:
As of this moment, nobody knows. The only rumours that have emerged so far are that the Batman films will be rebooted either through a new franchise or a possible Justice League movie. Irrespective, both will most probably stay away from the Chris Nolan universe.
Writer's rating: 4/5
The real stand-out in this film, though, is Anne Hathaway. Her sultry and coy performance as the morally ambiguous Selina Kyle, professionally known as 'the Cat burglar', is a scene-stealer- not to mention having some much needed chemistry with Bruce Wayne and Batman; a flaw that most Christopher Nolan's films share is a lack in charismatic females that are only present to function as a device to move the plot forward (notable examples include Rachel Dawes (the first two Batman films), Mal Cobb and Ariadne (Inception) and Olivia Wenscombe (The Prestige)- I'm betting you don't even remember the last name, do you?).
With consideration to the film's villain, this time around Tom Hardy steps up to the plate as the masked terrorist, Bane. While he is no Joker (the hauntingly and award-winning final performance by the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight) and may not be quite as compelling, Tom Hardy more than makes up for it by being not only an intelligent but a brutish and physical threat to Batman, something sorely lacking in the previous films. He makes the character his own, though by the end feels a little wasted as a villain. As Bane, he oozes with charisma and menace as he delivers his lines while his mouth is covered by a mask, sometimes making what he says a little difficult to understand. It's a very small slight in a commendable performance that required three-quarters of Tom Hardy's face to be obscured throughout the entirety of the movie, leaving him to commute his emotions with only his eyes. Should you find this hard to believe, take just one shot of Bane in the movie and you will realise that this single frame contains more facial expressions than Kirsten Stewart's entire career.
If there is any fault with the casting, it would be that Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Marion Cotillard are under-utilised in their roles. Granted, a whopping amount was required to be crammed into this movie to wrap up everything; nonetheless, it's disappointing to see such fine actors of their calibre and standard (one's an Oscar nominee and the other two are Oscar winners) not given much more to work with. Similarly, Michael Caine's Alfred was given an abrupt send-off following an emotional speech that felt somewhat out of character in line with the butler that we've come to know, reappearing once more only during the last five minutes of the movie.
Audiences have grown to expect one thing with any film by Christopher Nolan: one that is not merely a piece of escapist entertainment but also thematically-filled and thought-provoking. The Dark Knight Rises is no exception. This time, the story draws strong parallels to Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Mix in a few political allusions of the world's current situation and the result is a largely grounded action-oriented film with a comic-book tone that is not only entertaining but makes the threat in the movie feel all the more possible. The idea of a city and its powerful and wealthy people being overthrown by the ordinary citizens has happened before (hint: it's called The French Revolution).
Unfortunately, compared with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, this story suffered from a number of small plot holes that sometimes distracted the viewer and required a strong suspension of belief: why would Commissioner Gordon carry a speech with him revealing the truth about Harvey Dent without destroying it immediately that would thus have prevented Bane from releasing the inmates of Blackgate Prison? Why would Gordon (again- guilty on two counts!) send the entire police force underground without just sending a small group? It goes against his character to be that foolish. How did Bane know to build his underground base beneath Applied Sciences housing Batman's arsenal when Lucius Fox was the only person aware of its existence (outside Batman) and said that the division was off the books? How did Bruce Wayne recover from a broken back by merely standing for some time (that is just not medically possible) and how did he return to Gotham without any money, without his false identities and the help of his trusty butler? However, while these may prove to be perplexing, they're not too large a problem to distract from the overall film. The pacing of the film also tended to drag- especially during the first hour or so- as it attempted to set-up the various story-threads for the film to navigate, resulting in a somewhat vague plot that nonetheless works its way up through with some truly sensational set pieces and pulsing action sequences that are far superior (though not entirely as ingenious) to the ones in its predecessors that come together in a spectacular and emotional climax, a fitting and honourable conclusion to not only this film but to the the Dark Knight trilogy as a whole.
What's next:
As of this moment, nobody knows. The only rumours that have emerged so far are that the Batman films will be rebooted either through a new franchise or a possible Justice League movie. Irrespective, both will most probably stay away from the Chris Nolan universe.
Writer's rating: 4/5
