Review – The Dark Knight Rises

Review – The Dark Knight Rises

2012, 164 mins, 12A, Dir. Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman

The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was one of the director’s finest achievements, a seminal film of technical brilliance and, as the Joker would see to it, terrifying villainy. With that milestone to surpass, with Joss Whedon’s The Avengers taking $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office, and with critics doubting the audibility of the main villain after seeing the first few minutes of footage, The Dark Knight Rises faced a number of obstacles. But Christopher Nolan is not to be distrusted. In fact, he has made a film that not only puts doubters to shame, but acts as a perfect end to what has already been a supremely exciting series.

We open eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, where the ‘Batman’ has been disgraced and his alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, lives alone, limping around his mansion with nothing to do. Thanks to the Dent Act following the death of Gotham’s former DA, the city is seemingly at peace, although Commissioner Jim Gordon cannot shake off his past. However, there is an entirely new force which threatens Gotham in ways no-one could have anticipated, as the unbelievably strong Bane arrives to wreak havoc. And if that wasn’t enough, Wayne becomes embroiled with a mysterious woman named Selina Kyle who has a lot of things hiding up her leathery sleeve…

Plot twists are a-plenty, and there are a larger number of characters than ever that contribute to the flow of the narrative, but everything is controlled and each of the actors is allowed to shine. Anne Hathaway gives us one of the best performances in the film as Selina Kyle. Although the Nolan trilogy of Batman movies is more grounded in reality (the term ‘Catwoman’ is never mentioned in the script, and the costume is less fantastical than in Tim Burton’s imagining) the sly, rebellious attitude is still there, and Hathaway pulls it off with ease. At the Wayne Mansion in one of the early scenes in the movie, the sudden change from shy, innocent maid to sexy, artful jewel thief is made with one word and a slick change in facial expression. She also drives a Batpod really well.

Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises

The role of Bane is comfortably filled out by British actor Tom Hardy, and you do gain a sense of the physicality of the character – every knuckle-pounding punch that he plants on Batman is really felt by the audience. He brings something new to the caped crusader, both a physical and a mental threat, and is a truly formidable villain. Christian Bale, meanwhile, turns up the ante as the main character. In the epic finale, when he sports the Bat-shaped cowl, Batman’s passion for driving out crime and delivering Gotham from evil is more effervescent than ever.

The supporting cast is, as always, phenomenal, although the notch has been turned up considerably. Michael Caine gives his most heart-wrenching performance of the series, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a delight as John Blake – or is it… no, never mind. One of the most memorable performances is one of the shortest, as a character from a previous film (who I refuse to mention) shows up as a judge, sentencing Gotham’s rich and famous as Bane restores ‘power to the people’.

There’s so much to praise about the acting, but my goodness you could never forget the visuals. The Dark Knight Rises is a sheer spectacle from beginning to end. Whether you see it in IMAX or not, no-one can deny the jaw-dropping nature of the opening plane stunt (which was performed for real, over Inverness), or of the many other action sequences in the film. Nolan pulls out all his impressive stops and in terms of scale this is certainly the largest Batman film, with nearly an hour of the film shot using IMAX cameras (and a bladder-threatening running time of nearly 3 hours). Mercifully resisting shooting in 3D, the director shows his love for the audience, and with his tendency for using practical effects whenever possible over CGI (as well as shooting and editing on film strips, a fact proudly proclaimed in the end credits) he further reveals his tendency for traditional-style filmmaking and heart-stopping theatricality.

Batman faces a moment of panic as the cops close in.

However, we musn’t just thank Nolan for the experience that it is. Hans Zimmer’s score adds to the atmosphere immeasurably, with every pulse-pounding beat making you tremble in your seat. The sound design guys show the true ferocity of Bane’s punches, and mix the film so that in the final hour you have no time to relax as Batman makes his return.

There is so much to pack in to The Dark Knight Rises that at times it can seem a little chaotic. But ultimately the story holds strong, constantly alternating to another round of surprises, and serving well each of the characters. In fact, the running time of the film is never hard-pressing – the time seems to fly by, in fact. It is so impeccably paced and well-edited. But the ending could be the best part of the film. Everyone knew that Nolan is a master of film endings, as we witnessed from the ambiguity of Inception‘s spinning top, but he ends his trilogy here in truly spectacular fashion. We are treated to a series of alternating images that lead us into beguilement and expectation. When the end credits roll, applause is absolutely mandatory, as the jaws of the audience simultaneously drop once more.

The Dark Knight set the standard impossibly high with a first-rate villain and the kind of action never glimpsed before in a superhero film, and despite the many things that make this film great, it just isn’t quite as good as its predecessor. But does it need to be? Chris Nolan has provided more-than-satisfying closure for a monumental series of films, an alarming and exciting tour-de-force of premium intensity that really lives up to the hype surrounding it – in fact, I think it’s probably the best film of the year. I am certainly going to miss the Nolan Batmans, the expectation that surrounded them upon release, the gasps of awe at the incredible action sequences. And I know that I am not the only one. 

9/10

The Dark Knight Rises Footage

It was with immensely high expectations that I entered the BFI IMAX this evening to watch six minutes of footage from The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to his 3-part Batman series. Although I wasn’t certain that Nolan could really top The Dark Knight, what I did know was that in the course of his career the London-born director has arguably made not one bad film. That’s right, from the independent Following to the most recent of his dizzying offerings, Inception, Nolan has always maintained a love for his craft and a particular aptitude for great storytelling. I loved The Dark Knight and I loved watching it in IMAX. Yet these high hopes contrasted heavily with a niggling sense of doubt that I had stored deep inside my frenetic brain. I had read a number of articles about the prologue of the upcoming film itself and the main topic of conversation was not the director’s spectacular helicopter shots or IMAX cameras. It was all to do with the voice of the main villain in The Dark Knight Rises, Bane.

Bane was on the way to his orthodontist appointment.

After premiering in America before it came over to British shores, the prologue of the film left a burdening question in the mind of critics and audiences alike – what on earth is Bane saying? His dialogue almost in its entirety consisting of mumbling and unintelligible noises. The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin stated:

“Throughout the sequence, Bane makes clear the details of his nefarious plot – or, rather, he would have done if he didn’t sound like he was chewing on a pair of socks at the same time. Amid all the spluttering, I just about caught that it involves a “Dr Pawel” and something to do with blood.”

Elsewhere, The Guardian’s Ben Child compared it with Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, where allegedly “[in US cinemas it] was screened with subtitles because the locals could not make head nor tale of it. Nolan might have to consider employing the same method whenever Bane says something in The Dark Knight Rises, because it’s the only way we’re going to be able to understand what he’s on about.”

In response to the question of whether Bane would be understood in the theatrical cut of The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan replied: “Probably not. He has the mask on, the apparatus, and he has the accent.” Despite the critical backlash, I think Nolan knows what he’s doing. It’s unlikely that he would get something seriously wrong while in control of the film and will definitely have taken this into account. The gap I must fill in for all those who are worried about Bane and his voice is that the whole scene takes place on a plane. No wonder he’s difficult to understand – you’ve got the noises of the engine and the wind flying past: add that to the muffling of his mask and it’s pretty much explained. Thankfully, the whole film isn’t Flightplan or Red Eye so Bane should hopefully be a little more understandable in later parts of the movie. I personally thought that they did the suction noises and voice distortion of Bane very well – I just think he needs much more exposure perhaps in a trailer or something like that.

Far scarier than the Joel Schumacher version...

That’s been the main source of topic for a number of bloggers and that has been mine. But let’s get down to the prologue itself. It’s exceedingly well-shot with IMAX cameras that capture the action spectacularly (and NOT IN 3D!!!) as Bane performs an ambitious and quite incredible plane stunt that will have audiences everywhere gasping in their seats. It would be terrible to spoil exactly what happens, but if you don’t get out much or don’t have many friends you could always click on this link: http://www.metro.co.uk/film/884867-the-dark-knight-rises-prologue-bane-dominates-but-you-cant-hear-him.

Security was predictably tight and I was unable to take a picture of the hundreds of fans who had turned up for the special screening but I can say that I was thoroughly impressed with what I saw and eagerly anticipate the release of the film in the summer of 2012. Nolan has the potential to outdo himself; whether next year’s much-anticipated finale will top The Dark Knight is something that will have to wait; a painful and long few months, but we must be patient. Bane still has to be sorted out! But thank you anyway, Mr. Nolan, for whetting our appetites with this quite brilliant scene.