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The Dark Knight rises is a very ambitious film from director
Christopher Nolen which is filled with Batman symbolism (courtesy of the
comics Knightfall and No Man's Land) and even some social
commentary. It is also the third movie by Nolan and takes place 8 years
after the previous film (The Dark Knight - 2008) which has seen Batman
(Christian Bale) vanish from the streets of Gotham.
With a deal brokered between Batman and
police officer Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) who is now the commissioner,
Batman agreed to take the rap for Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) aka Two
Face in order to pass a new crime legislation to keep the streets
of Gotham safe.
However with crime at an all time low, the
nefarious business man Roland Dagget (Australia's Ben Mendelsohn)
unleashes the villain known as Bane (Tom Hardy) on Gotham in order to
take over Wayne Enterprises which ultimately backfires for this ruthless
man. Unbeknown to Dagget, Bane has ulterior motives and his goal is to
seize control of Gotham in order to ignite the downfall of modern
civilization. (See Batman Begins 2005)
Meanwhile a broken (both physically and
mentally) Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) comes out retirement in order to
don the Batsuit once more. His soul purpose is to take down Bane who is
ironically aligned with his old teacher Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson) and
the deadly League of Shadows. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose on
the streets of Gotham. Let the action commence!
Ironically for a film about Batman, there
is very little of Batman compared to the previous film. Rather, the
story is about Bruce Wayne and his journey to become Batman again who
makes the ultimate sacrifice for the people of Gotham. Unfortunately the
over complicated plot, including some scenes which you must try hard to
suspend belief get in the way of the story. Without spoiling the
story... there are a little too many "why's".
Then you have some casting problems or a
lack substance for certain actors. For example, Alfred (Michael Caine)
leaves early on in the story as he refuses to watch Bruce risk his life
and Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, although perfectly cast is wasted on plot
advancement. Fortunately Bale excels as the brooding hero, Tom Hardy's
Bane is truly terrifying and Morgan Freeman is perfect as the Q-like
(James Bond) Lucius Fox. Another highlight is Joseph Gordon-Levitt who
plays the "everyman" and serves as an important link for the audience
into the world of Batman with a very impressive connection to both Bruce
Wayne and Batman.
Finally you have the amazing action scenes,
especially of the "Bat Wing" flying through the streets of Gotham or
when Batman first appears in the film and the entire Gotham PD are
chasing him through the streets. Very cool. My favourite scene was
seeing our caped crusader fighting side by side with Gotham's finest
which is quite a powerful scene. It's also great how Nolan and linked
the third film to the original, Batman Begins. This means if you watch
the original film again, it will enhance the story of the final chapter
of Batman.
Batman on IMAX. Okay... some of the scenes
on IMAX were spectacular and bigger is definitely better. Thankfully
Nolan didn't try to capitalise on the 3D phenomenon but rather focused
on IMAX to deliver his story. Unfortunately the whole movie was not
filmed in IMAX and the transition from normal film to IMAX was at times
noticeable and a tad distracting. However the IMAX sound system blows
normal cinemas out of the water and added to this spectacular.
Final Thoughts?
It may not be in the same league as The
Avengers or the first Christopher Reeves Superman movie which
were two of the best superheroes ever made but The Dark Knight Rises
still has its own positive merits. Bale makes the perfect Bruce
Wayne/Batman and the entire story is littered with some very cool comic
book Easter eggs. We just needed more Batman! Nonetheless, get drawn
into the hype and enjoy the last ever Christopher Nolan Batman film
before Warner Bros reboots the franchise with a hip new Batman. |
