The Dark Knight Rises
Go! Relentless, intelligent, absorbing, thumping epic.
Batman climbs out a hole.
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Batmaaaan is dead. By completing a three-part cinematic epic with The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan has raised the heights of not merely his trilogy, but of all comic book movies, summer blockbusters and even my eyebrows. Batman has earned his wings.
The previous instalment, The Dark Knight, was Heath Ledger's tragic farewell. He alone made the film huge with his misty and scintillating performance that made Jack Nicholson's lauded Joker look like a Vegas cabaret act. The Dark Knight Rises, on the other hand, doesn't rely on any single performance to ensure its status. Here, the director makes this movie, and his experienced ensemble cast brings his vision to life with punch and passion.
The previous instalment, The Dark Knight, was Heath Ledger's tragic farewell. He alone made the film huge with his misty and scintillating performance that made Jack Nicholson's lauded Joker look like a Vegas cabaret act. The Dark Knight Rises, on the other hand, doesn't rely on any single performance to ensure its status. Here, the director makes this movie, and his experienced ensemble cast brings his vision to life with punch and passion.
Leading the line is Christian Bale, reprising his role as Batman for the third and perhaps final time. For a particular generation of film-goers he is Batman. It is almost inconceivable that it could be played by anyone else - not even Val Kilmer. From movie to movie, Bale's Batman has been a soul-searching playboy and a love-struck martyr, but now, he embodies a crumbling recluse with busted knees and David Beckham facial hair. Like a boxer coming out of retirement for one last hurrah, he is beaten down, but Rises back up again (yes, fine, I went there).
Two complex and powerful women join the story to confuse Batman with mixed signals of affection and competition. As Catwoman, Anne Hathaway tiptoes along the titillating line between sexy and selfish, delivering a rebellious presence that sits well in contrast to the ever-honourable hero. Also challenging for the winged-rodent's attention is the ever-excellent Marion Cotillard. Elegant and French (as if the two were not inherently synonymous), she brings a soupçon of fine dining to what could otherwise have been a less subtle, purely American dish.
After Ledger's Joker, the villain of the piece needed to be both well-crafted and expertly delivered, but also sufficiently different. In the ginormous, muzzled Bane (Tom Hardy); Batman faces a brutal, heaving and uncompromising enemy who batters our caped crusader in every way conceivable. His chilling mechanical voice resonates around the cinema like an evil tuning fork finding its booming harmonic, adding a wonderful element of theatre to each of his scenes.
Two complex and powerful women join the story to confuse Batman with mixed signals of affection and competition. As Catwoman, Anne Hathaway tiptoes along the titillating line between sexy and selfish, delivering a rebellious presence that sits well in contrast to the ever-honourable hero. Also challenging for the winged-rodent's attention is the ever-excellent Marion Cotillard. Elegant and French (as if the two were not inherently synonymous), she brings a soupçon of fine dining to what could otherwise have been a less subtle, purely American dish.
After Ledger's Joker, the villain of the piece needed to be both well-crafted and expertly delivered, but also sufficiently different. In the ginormous, muzzled Bane (Tom Hardy); Batman faces a brutal, heaving and uncompromising enemy who batters our caped crusader in every way conceivable. His chilling mechanical voice resonates around the cinema like an evil tuning fork finding its booming harmonic, adding a wonderful element of theatre to each of his scenes.
Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine all return, alongside the welcome new addition of Joseph-Gordon Levitt (500 Days of Summer) as a trustworthy police officer. This illustrious supporting cast all are unsurprisingly solid and engaging when called upon.
Without revealing too much about the story, Bane attempts to take over Gotham with populist, anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian rhetoric (and various forms of destruction and violence). It is both complex and topical, adding a very interesting angle to the dynamic of a wealthy Bruce Wayne and his relationship with an impoverished city. Played out over two and a half hours, the only interruption to your enjoyment will be the likelihood of an enforced trip to the loo. Otherwise, fear not the length. The expansive cinematography, tidy pace and energetic action will keep you involved throughout. Try to vacate yourself beforehand, but if not, you may be so completely engrossed and clamped to your seat that you’ll be willing to hold out.
Go, and go quickly. Kablam! Biff! Kerpow! You'll have a blast.
Without revealing too much about the story, Bane attempts to take over Gotham with populist, anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian rhetoric (and various forms of destruction and violence). It is both complex and topical, adding a very interesting angle to the dynamic of a wealthy Bruce Wayne and his relationship with an impoverished city. Played out over two and a half hours, the only interruption to your enjoyment will be the likelihood of an enforced trip to the loo. Otherwise, fear not the length. The expansive cinematography, tidy pace and energetic action will keep you involved throughout. Try to vacate yourself beforehand, but if not, you may be so completely engrossed and clamped to your seat that you’ll be willing to hold out.
Go, and go quickly. Kablam! Biff! Kerpow! You'll have a blast.
#thedarkknightrises #dccomics #batman #cinema #moviereview #filmreview #movies #films #godontgo