The Dark Knight Rises

"Peace has cost you your strength. Victory has defeated you!" - Bane

RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!

After an adrenaline fueled, intense sudden cliffhanger The Dark Knight left us on four years back, director Christopher Nolan and his wonderful toys are back in the saddle again with The Dark Knight... RISES! Sorry. Anyway, I should have anticipated how deeply it would polarize amongst audiences. I've been pretty much convinced of Nolan's genius since I first watched Memento, and his Batman movies, The Prestige, and Inception did nothing but strengthen that belief. But, like we've seen happen to many a great series, movie or television or book: you start out with so promising and you are very taken with it, then it just keeps building and evolving and you keep loving it more and more, then it either tries too hard and fails to live up to your expectations or something happens that completely throws you for a loop in a way that makes perfect sense to some and seem like straight bullshit to others. Wow, that was a long sentence. Anyway, it shames me to say this, but an ending somewhat like this has befallen this entire movie. But before I get into that a bit of the plot.

Eight years have passed since The Joker nearly burnt Gotham to the ground and Batman went on run after taking the fall for Harvey Dent/Two Face's tragic crimes. Batman has apparently been in exile in all of this time and, to my surprise, Gotham has never experienced a more peaceful era. This is due to the charitable nature of a reclusive and partially crippled Bruce Wayne. When a terrorist group enters the picture led by the physically powerful and viciously intimidating criminal mastermind Bane, Bruce starts to realize that Commissioner Gordon and the police won't be able to hold the line alone, so he dawns the role of Batman once again. At the same time, there are people close to him who try to persuade him to makes choices in life that are either more pragmatic or infinitely more healthy than fighting trained killers to make a point. This includes Alfred, who sees Master Bruce is going over the edge and wants him to save himself; Lucius Fox, who still seems nobly adamant about helping Bruce be the best Batman he can be; Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises exec who seems to want to help Bruce gain some stability not only in his business affairs but his personal ones too; and Selina Kyle, a cunning thief and femme fatale who supplies him with some much needed realism about Gotham's impending situation. Facing immovable enemies and ghosts from the past all sides, Bruce has to find the strength not only of the body, but of the heart and mind, to be Batman one last time, save the people he swore to protect, and fulfill the legacy he has been building all along. Also there are lots of explosions.

I will get through my thoughts on the actors and the people behind the movie. Christian Bale, of course, always does a good job. These Batman films, however, are not the place to go for a great Bale performance, though. I mean throughout all of them, he's mostly just somber and regretful; not bad, because Batman is a very somber and regretful character. He still manages to supply plenty of classic Batman moments. I mean, I thought he was great in all three of his roles: as sad true Bruce Wayne, reckless playboy Bruce Wayne, and as the symbol of justice Batman. I'm pretty sure he's Batman throughout Rises, even though he is often not in the suit; there might be one genuine scene where he's Bruce Wayne. Even so, that means there is a lot of the quiet gloom that, while fitting, can get tiresome.
Gary Oldman again plays Commissioner Gordon, and he's still a perfect Gordon. He's also left tragically gloomy in the film's dour atmosphere. But it's Oldman, and it's Commissioner Gordon. It's still good that he takes an active role in the movies, as opposed to the Burton/Schumacher films where his role was basically just to look up dramatically at whatever Batman is doing.
And adding another notch to their awesome villain's stick, Nolan and his brother and co-writer Jonathan do not disappoint in making a villain who is just as memorable and menacing as their previous Joker. Musclebound Tom Hardy as Bane is, of course, one of the delights to watching this movie. While the comic counterpart was usually a super steroid-pumping genius Spanish mercenary, Hardy's Bane is more of an astute and freakishly relaxed fellow. This is especially unnerving considering all that he does in the film, up to and including breaking The Bat and cratering a football field, and all while collected and eloquent. He's pretty bad ass.
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (better known as Catwoman but not in this world). I thought Hathaway would be a good choice for this character, and I wasn't wrong. While not nearly as dark and edgy as Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman (yeah, that shit was crazy), Hathaway does make it seem like how you would imagine a character like Catwoman might actually be. Devious, dangerous, and damn fine. She doesn't have as many scenes or as big a role as she might appear, but I still thought she was one of my favorite parts of the movie. So good job, Princess Diaries.
Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate is convincingly altruistic and sympathetic to her mysterious business partner's emotional plight, but it's hard not to forget her appearing out of a crowd and gutting Ellen Page in that other Nolan flick. I don't know, maybe I'm crazy. She is pretty and she has a sweet voice. Who am I to question that?
Last but certainly not least is Joseph Gordon Levitt as a new character John Blake, a Gotham police officer who finds himself as the man of action in regards to battling the terrorists and protecting the city. Levitt is probably one of my favorite modern actors. He does a solid job of being the guy who was inspired by Batman, perhaps more than anybody else ever was. You can tell early on, Blake is some kind of singular version of the last movie's three heroes: Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and Harvey Dent. His role is pretty prominent in the movie and I was kind of anxious to see how his story would turn out and it didn't disappoint.
There is another list of cool supporting cast members that are sprinkled throughout the movie. A lot of familiar faces, and I mean aside from the regular supporting cast members. Of course there is Michael Caine as our beloved Alfred Pennyworth, and by god this is probably his best acting in this role; Caine's always been terrific as Alfred. As short as Alfred's role is, it still manages to tug at your heartstrings. Then Morgan Freeman returns as the badass Wayne Enterprises figurehead and inventor of all things badass and Bat. I need not explain more, Freeman sells it and has always just seemed to fit right into these Batman movies. Cillian Murphy returns as Scarecrow. Matthew Modine plays one of Jim Gordon's detective buddies (so we got at least one Joker in there). A thing that strikes me is how Nolan must love American TV shows, because this movie is just full of TV actors I've seen here and there. At some point I was just making a mental checklist of all the shows I've seen every time some new small character was introduced.

Nolan's filmmaking skills are extraordinary. This is a very well made movie and a good looking one. He and his brother always manage to put together some pretty astonishing labyrinthine plots, fascinating (even endearing characters), and strong, smart dialogue. The world he has created is very unique and something totally different while still staying true to the Batman universe. Wally Pfister's cinematography is sharp and gorgeous. While the pace and editing don't allow much time to enjoy scenery, when I was able to, everything looked great. And of course, Hanz Zimmer's score is once again epic and alive within the film. We all love it. I think Nolan might love his music just a little bit more, though, since its practically a character of its own in the film. That is while you are trying to hear what the characters are saying (often in low voices), you are more likely to find a studio full of singers chanting and the horns roaring over the majority of the dialogue. This is a problem Nolan has with many of his movies: thanks to whispery lines and the highly audible score YOU CAN BARELY UNDERSTAND ANYTHING, EVEN WHEN THE CAST IS SHOUTING. It's a minor complaint but still.

Okay, this is one of the film franchises that will always draw crowds. Batman is an iconic character, maybe one of the most iconic characters of contemporary fiction. For your toddler grandpa in the 1940s he was that Shadow knock off who dressed up as a bat, jumping from rooftops, and shooting people (yeah, originally, Batman used a gun). For your parents in the '60s and '70s, he had a live-action comedy show with Adam West and many other hokey, fun loving characters. For people like me, there were two exciting WB animated series' that I tuned into as a kid, and I watched the Burton and Schumacher movies just as much.
When I found out they were making an origin story for Batman, I was hyped as hell, and this was before I knew who Christopher Nolan was. His Batman Begins really clicked with me; it seemed exactly like a beginning for Batman should be, from the moment he fell into the cave full of bats to the moment he defeated his first nemesis in the black suit. And come on, that Batmobile, The fuckin' Tumbler, yeah I'll have one in black too. That left us on a fun note, hinting at The Joker, which peaked my interest naturally.
When The Dark Knight rolled around, changing the way I looked at super hero movies and blowing away all the off feelings I had about Heath Ledger playing The Joker. Many, many people fell head over heels for The Dark Knight and, strangely enough, The Joker. The Dark Knight so well because it is so well realized and layered and well acted and directed, and most importantly because it still felt true to Batman. Plenty of perfect moments between Batman and The Joker, Batman and Harvey Dent, Batman and Gordon, Gordon and Dent, Dent and Joker, even the minor characters like the other cops, Lucius Fox, and Alfred remain relevant. It all worked for me.
Heath Ledger's sudden accidental death shocked a lot of us before the film was even released. It made his spectacular method acting all the more memorable. Hell, it won him a posthumous Oscar and most everyone was on board with that. His passing was felt even more strongly because of all the praise he received and many who just remembered him as the guy from Patriot and A Knight's Tale finally recognized him as a promising young actor. The death of Ledger also convinced me of something that proved to be very, very false. And that is that after watching The Dark Knight, I thought, if anything would be wrong with the sequel it would be that Heath Ledger would not be around to reprise his role as The Joker. Because that is the least of my concerns.

(A FEW MINOR SPOILERS)

There was a lot I liked. I thought Bane was very entertaining. I loved every scene with Batman and Selina Kyle. I liked the early plot basically centered around Batman's deterioration and Bane's invasion of Gotham. I liked all of the corporate espionage and nods to the modern class warfare in America. I freaking loved all of Lucius Fox's Wayne Tech, especially the latest addition, The Bat. There are a few set pieces and scenes that will be hard to forget. I can think of the opening with a unique plane sequence, the football stadium collapse, the bridge explosions, and many tumbler tanks rolling down the streets of Gotham. I even enjoyed the ending, I really enjoyed it. I know some had their gripes over it, but I think that it wrapped up the trilogy nicely considering the themes Nolan had been going for.

As for what I didn't like? More than anything, this movie just feels too big. The story it is telling cannot be properly illustrated in a movie that's under three hours. That's what it is: this movie, in my opinion, needed to be a two parter. Like there should have been an entire movie centered on Batman being broken, and an entire movie centered around him putting himself back together and taking down the bad guys. Yeah, that might work. You can tell too while watching the movie. Everything happens so, so fast and most of it is just characters out right explaining their plans and thoughts and laying out foreshadowing and exposition; oh yeah, Wayne's super powerful fusion reactor and whatnot, I'm sure that won't play a roll in the plot. Don't get me wrong, I like most of the scenes in this movie. What I saw of them. Surely if there was more than a minute and half or three minutes to every scene, I would enjoy them all much more. Instead, we are mostly just having the movie explain how we getting from one plot point to the next so as to keep the movie going. The problem with that is that the emotion of the story is often lost due to the hasty pace. I didn't feel engrossed by what everyone was doing like I was in the last two movies.
The other thing I'm not impressed is how far from form Batman is in this movie. I know Nolan is taking his own artistic liberties with the character, but Batman doesn't let himself get out of shape. Not for long. Certainly not for eight years. Certainly not when he is anything but ninety with a heart condition. When the big "Knightfall" fight with Bane comes around, it doesn't look right. Batman goes out entirely too easily. That's not a problem, the problem is he goes out easily but doesn't seem to utilize his skills like you think he would. Yeah, sorry for all of you MMA fans, the martial arts in this film is not the greatest. In fact, the most we get is a lot of Batman and Bane throwing punches at each other like drunken Irish stereotypes. The fighting might actually be the only thing in this movie that is slow. One could argue that it is because Wayne hasn't been Batman and he was still fucked up from the last film. But no, how do you explain the scene before the Bane fight where Batman and Catwoman are taking down multiple trained mooks together on a roof? Don't make Batman a bitch just because you wanted that PG-13 rating. It just feels in a lot of ways like this is Bane's movie and not Batman's. Maybe that's the point, I don't know.
Also Batman is apparently bipolar when it comes to injuries. At the start of the movie Bruce Wayne's a cripple, walking with a cane due to a leg injury. The leg injury he got EIGHT YEARS AGO when he and Harvey Dent went over the ledge. Making this even more implausible was the fact that Batman only fell like a fourth of the distance he fell earlier in that movie. Remember, when he jumped out of that skyscraper, grabbed Rachel, and landed back first on top of a car. He was fine and dandy after that. And in this he overcomes a broken back through pushups, pull ups, sit ups, and a chiropractor after about two months. Then a knife is too much. Then he can survive anything. And the only argument for any of it is that long held creed: "He's the goddamn Batman!"
Also, it has been pointed out to me by many, that the villain's motivation is a little foggy. It's no secret in the movie that Bane is, like Batman, a former disciple of Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson) and member of The League of Shadows from Batman Begins. This ties into the plot in many ways. Mostly in that Bane wants to finish what Ra's Al Ghul, and The Joker coincidentally, wanted to do previously: destroy Gotham to send a message to the world. What message this sends, I'm not sure. I rationalized it by remembering the League is essentially an organization of crazed pseudo-religous terrorists. Yeah, that doesn't make much sense, but that is not their true motivation. Their true motivation makes a bit more sense. Not much, but a bit.
I also would liked to have a seen a new arc instead of an arc reconstructed from the first film. The League of Shadows is interesting and did have a lot to do with Batman in this world, but as I have realized, it makes the second film look almost out of place. If Batman's true dilemma has been overcoming this gang of foils to his character, then his battle with The Joker might as well have been some random isolated incident (like a comic book Joker battle). I just think maybe Bane and his entourage should have had their own thing going on and represent a new challenge for Batman to overcome.
I'm just looking forward to the director's cut.

Alright, so even though there are things that might have you gnashing your teeth, The Dark Knight Rises is still a pretty impressive movie and highly entertaining. Keep up with it and don't think too deeply on what you see, and you will probably have a very good time. Maybe I think too much. Maybe this is the Batman movie I deserve, but not the one I need I right now.

Three out of four Batmen.

Thanks for reading.