The Dark Knight Rises

After my second viewing of The Dark Knight Rises it's time for a review! I've held off so it's more fresh in my mind, and also because I know a few folks who haven't seen it yet but might read the review anyway...

WARNING - SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW!

ADDITIONAL WARNING - IT'S LONG!















That seems like a big enough space...

No doubt you've noticed, but I've been dropping bits of the soundtrack into Blips the past couple of weeks once it came out, all of which had (for me, at least) increased the anticipation tenfold and I will admit I was actually a little nervous (and sleep-deprived) when going into see it for the first time last Friday. However, I needn't have worried, for this is truly the epic conclusion that Chris Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy (as it shall henceforth and forever be known) has been waiting for.

The film is set eight years after conclusion of 'The Dark Knight' saw Batman flee into the shadows, taking the blame for Harvey Dent's killing spree and his murder, giving Gotham the white knight that it needed (but didn't necessarily deserve). With the resulting Dent Act putting the mob behind bars, Bruce Wayne has become a shut-in and Batman is becoming an urban myth - until the theft of a necklace by cat burgular Selina Kyle and the occupation of Gotham by Bane and his mercenaries mean the Dark Knight must rise once again...

And I know that's vague, only the first few minutes of the film (excluding the actual first few minutes of the film, but that's a brilliant set piece I don't want to ruin) and the gist of what Tom Hardy's villain is out to do, but if I go much further I'd be giving away too much!

I'll begin with the one and only Batman, Christian Bale, donning the cape, the armour and the boots that the costume designer still doesn't like (can't say I noticed) once more. At the start of the movie he's been reduced to a limping shut-in, unable to let out his anger and constantly reminded of his losses - unable to move on. It's been my opinion that Bale always does a better Wayne than Batman (not true this time around, less funny shouting) and it's here that he's at his best again, changing from a man stopped by grief into one obsessed with unleashing his inner rage once more, pushing out instead of trying to move on in what ultimately becomes one of the key conflicts - between Bruce Wayne and Alfred.

Yes, while Bane may be the villain of the piece it's up to Michael Caine's Alfred to produce the proper conflicting moments, as he watches on while the crippled man (effectively his son) he cares for once again starts putting his life at risk in a quest to escape the darkness - a darkness that only Alfred seems to realise won't be lifted. It's this revelation that leads to arguably the best scene in the movie between Bale and Caine, reminding everyone that they're not just (well, in Bale's case more than Caine's) actors who can mutter a line and throw a punch, but can also show true emotional pain and by god they do*.

There's one more legend to talk about of course and that's Gary Oldman (see here for comedy gold proof of this). Reclaiming the role of Jim Gordon once more we're treated to another man in conflict - having covered up the Harvey Dent killings to get the streets of Gotham clean he knows it's almost a false peace that has landed - a point neatly made early on when he still has daily crime stats delivered to him. It's a conflict that rises to the surface in one scene with John Blake (Joseph Gordon Levitt) when Oldman delivers a cracking speech on how the Batman earned the peace for Gotham by plunging himself into the darkness and filth - only for the older man to be completely rebuffed when it's pointed out that his hands are still filthy anyway.

And that brings me nicely onto the new cast, so we'll start with JGL as Officer/Detective John Blake. A beat cop raised in an orphanage (ooh, parallel) he's one of the few people in Gotham who still thinks it needs a Batman (watch his reaction when Batman arrives in the nick of time, it's brilliant). It's a nice new role and JGL does it well - he's a more earnest cop than Oldman's Gordon at times, perhaps harking back to the Commissioner as a younger and more idealistic man - and it's these ideals that help Blake to fight with Batman in their attempt to save Gotham...

...From Bane! Good old Tom Hardy - finally gets the recognition he deserves (thanks to Nolan's Inception for that) and then goes and dons a mask that shrouds his entire face - but happily not the rage/ferocity/cunning in his eyes. A lot of complaints have been made about the mask cutting out his voice, but I really had no trouble with it - I lost a few words here and there but as it was in the Bane/Batman fight (well, the first one...) I really wasn't paying attention to be honest. For the first time Batman's opponent is both physically and mentally tougher than him and Hardy brings both to the fore - while he's busy 'breaking' the Dark Knight's mind he's also steadily taking him to pieces in a fight, not falling for any of Batman's tricks and even welcoming the darkness the fight is plunged into at one point.

One final addition to mention and that's Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (never directly mentioned as Catwoman in the film), a master thief and cat burgular who is also looking to escape her past and move on. Unlike Bruce Wayne though she's doing it by aiding corrupt businesman John Daggett in his attempt to take over Wayne Enterprises - which is actually the first part of Bane's plan to occupy Gotham (not just Wall Street then...). Anne Hathaway takes the part and makes it her own, very aptly steals a few scenes, her opening confrontation with Wayne in his manor (transforming from scared maid to confident burgular in a sultry look) is great and when it comes to the fights she's just as deadly as Batman - with sharpened heels to boot (kick, gouge and otherwise cause pain!).

The rest of the cast is made up of old faces (Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Nestor Carbonell as the Mayor, Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane without his Scarecrow mask) and new (Marion Cotillard as love interest Miranda Tate, Matthew Modine as Deputy Commissioner Foley, cameos from Aiden Gillen, William Devane, Tomas Arana and Josh Pence) who all do their jobs well - Freeman and Cotillard in particular as they struggle to keep Wayne Enterprises going in the wake of Bane's uprising, though I do love Murphy's turn as the harshest judge in history. Oh, and there's one more cameo (that also uses some deleted footage from Batman Begins) which is a great bit of theatricality... (that's a clue, I'm saying no more...)

A quick bit about the technical stuff and such - basically the work of Christopher Nolan as the writer (with nods to his brother Jonah and David Goyer too) and director of a properly epic conclusion. He's not one for too much CGI, 3D (in any form) or doing things by halves (I need to see this in an IMAX!) and it shows in this. Some people may (and have) called it bloated - but I honestly find it refreshing to have such a large scale of reality involved. Also, he finished 10 days early and under budget - you want bloated go look at some James Cameron movies (that'll get some people angry...). Take one of the biggest set pieces ever, the scene in the Pittsburg Steeler's stadium where the ground swallows up most of the teams - they actually made a fake pitch to go over the real one - laced it with pits and explosives and got players (and stuntmen) to run across it as they blew it up! Final technical nod goes to Nolan's long time director of photography - Wally Pfister - who has once again made Gotham both beautiful and grimy, added light to darkness, darkness to light and made a great visual experience for us all. I'd mentioned the music, but I think the past couple of weeks entries tells you that it's awesome :-D

So, in conclusion, The Dark Knight Rises was everything I wanted from the final film of what is now the greatest comic trilogy in history (step up the Avengers II & III, this is your challenge!). Taking the fantastic and grounding it for the most part in reality has produced an edgy, gritty series of films that also embrace the ideals and darkness behind the character of Batman - a tortured hero for a tortured city - ending with a satisfying epic, which make lack the thrill of the second entry, but makes up with sheer spectacle, a challenging villain and an ending that rises all on its own.


*And there's also a part where Christoper Nolan has clearly told Michael Caine "this is your moment to make grown men weep!" because he came bloody close there I tell you!



Finally, here are some back-Blips for the last couple of days:

Clean(ish) - green fingers on Sunday.
Commuting - stuck on a bus on Monday.