by Nick Growall
Staff writer
As the final chapter of director Christopher Nolan’s take on the Batman mythos, expectations were high for “The Dark Knight Rises” after the success of the series’ previous installment, “The Dark Knight.”
Only something truly grand and epic on a scale rarely seen would please the endless masses of Bat-fans, and Nolan has pulled off the rare feat of an excellent capper to his Dark Knight trilogy.
The film takes place eight years after the events of “The Dark Knight,” with Batman taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s crimes. This allowed for Commissioner Gordon to lock up most of Gotham City’s mob criminals under the new Dent Act.
Having been in hiding since, Batman/Bruce Wayne is forced out of Wayne Manor by the suspicious actions of Selina Kyle, a jewel thief looking for a “clean slate.”
Wayne ventures out into Gotham City after Kyle while Gordon and young cop John Blake discover an underground terrorist group led by the mercenary mastermind Bane.
Bane has resurrected the League of Shadows and plans to finish Ra’s al Ghul’s plan to destroy Gotham, forcing Wayne out of retirement, marking the return of the Dark Knight.
Christian Bale (“American Psycho,” “The Fighter”) returns for his third outing as the Dark Knight, portraying an older Bruce Wayne, who is not in the best shape or spirit at the start of the film.
Bale gives a compelling performance as a man who is trying to overcome the tragedies of his past in hopes of finding a life outside of Batman.
Nolan’s trilogy has always put the focus on Bruce Wayne’s story. It is more evident than ever in this last chapter, with Bale not even donning the cape and cowl until near the end of the first hour of the film.
Some might see this as a problem, not having a lot of Batman in a Batman film, but even though the focus is on the story, there’s more than enough action and grand-scale set pieces to please any comic-book fan.
The opening plane sequence that introduces Bane sets the bar for what we should expect for the rest of the film, and Nolan delivers with one jaw-dropping sequence after another.
As is the norm for most of the rogues’ gallery in Nolan’s Bat-verse, Anne Hathaway (“Love & Other Drugs,” “The Princess Diaries”) brings something fresh to the role of Selina Kyle (better known as Catwoman), grounding her in reality and showing her prowess as a thief and a fighter who can hang with the best of them.
Hathaway shows her range in this role, going from sweet and innocent to sensual and mysterious on a dime, adding some slinky humor along the way, especially in her interactions between Bruce Wayne/Batman.
But while Hathaway has some scene-stealing moments of her own, the show-stopping role belongs to Tom Hardy (“Bronson,” “Inception”) as the intimidating and unpredictable Bane.
A lesser-known actor until his supporting-role in Nolan’s “Inception,” Hardy shows why he should be considered as one of the great young actors of this generation, adding to his palette of diverse characters with this unforgettable performance as one of Batman’s greatest foes.
His hulking physique and enigmatic accent, a contradiction of voice and body, creates an intimidating display of the challenge he brings to Batman in both brains and brawn.
The fact that he emotes all of this with a mask covering most of his face and distorting his voice is outstanding, with everything coming from his eyes and body language.
Many will compare his performance to that of Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight.” The two characters are so different and excellent in their own way that such an argument is foolish.
It should instead be a testament to the creative team of Nolan, his brother Jonathan and writer David S. Goyer in translating these characters from comics to film and possibly creating two of cinema’s greatest villains.
The rest of the supporting cast deserves high grades as well, with an always excellent Gary Oldman returning as a world-weary Commissioner Gordon, and Michael Cain bringing an emotional heft to his scenes as Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler and surrogate father Alfred.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt also shines as the likeable, idealistic young cop John Blake, representing the hope for a better future for Gotham.
With the events of this film stretching over a six-month period, the sense of the passage of time gets lost with so much going on, particularly in the second act of the story.
The cinematography also leaves a little to be desired at some points in the movie, but there are just as many creative and breathtaking shots along the way.
The movie clocks in at almost three hours, but the pacing of the film makes you forget you’ve been there that long. This is a film, however, that requires multiple views to truly grasp everything that’s going on story-wise, which is a plus rather than a negative in this case.
Overall, Nolan does an excellent job tying “The Dark Knight Rises” to the first two films, giving them a very overall cohesive feel, which is impressive considering this was not a planned trilogy in the first place.
Nolan has succeeded at creating the first great superhero trilogy, bringing an exciting and satisfying close to his all-encompassing take on the Caped Crusader.
Courtesy photo from Yahoo! Movies
Bane (left), played by Tom Hardy, struggles with Batman (right), played by Christian Bale, during the epic finale of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.”