As I sat in the theatre last night with the lights dimming, I could not help but look around at faceless audience members and feel a twinge of fear. In light of the mass shooting in Colorado I felt uneasy surrounding myself with people excited to see the conclusion of a trilogy that exalts the villains as much as it does the hero. Heath Ledger's Joker character spawned a small movement of young men glorifying a nameless psychopath who believed anarchy was the purest form of human nature --the killer even called himself "The Joker". Not long after hearing about the massacre I spoke about an article I read a few months ago about gangs of young boys who modeled themselves after Alex and his droogs, committing petty crimes after seeing "A Clockwork Orange" when it first premiered which I drew a connection to. It is both awe-inspiring and deeply frightening that the minds of artists have the ability to incite social trends and even violence, and that power is one of the reasons I love the cinema. Christopher Nolan's final chapter to the best superhero saga ever may not be perfect, but his ability to inspire--for good or ill--is something to be revered.
It has been eight years since the death of Harvey Dent, the city is at peace, and Batman and Bruce Wayne have disappeared. Dent is a hero for his work at eradicating crime and the mob bosses no longer own the city. In the sewers, however, a movement is growing. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening and an unsettling tremor is rising from the depths. A masked man has emerged in a fashion not unlike the Joker, and he is bringing Gotham's reckoning. The time for Bruce to don his cape may at last have come again.
The first hour of the film is a muddy mess of names, places and ideas, with no clear objectives being established and no sense of direction emerging. We meet our villain and our anti-hero, Bane and Selina Kyle, a.k.a Catwoman, both of whom prepare for and encourage the storm, as Selina puts it, where the masses will rise and tear down the rich and powerful to restore order. What purpose they have more than simply their revolutionary spirit is hidden and we simply spend the first third of the film piecing together clues, keeping track of characters and watching the internal conflict of Bruce Wayne vs. Batman which threatens to tear apart a dear friendship.
When we have our clues and a path is revealed, a film that hiccuped along suddenly becomes a majestic, sprawling epic that ferociously captures all of the hatred and anxiety of our current world. Bane is a monolith of a man. Born in darkness with a metal mask over his mouth, his strength, speed and oddly hypnotic voice inspires terror with a look or the gentle touch of his fingers. Speaking in near poetry with ideals that could have been penned by Hugo or Dickens, Bane towers over his minions in both stature and presence, leading the revolution to topple the greatest city in the world. Wealth and decadence are attacked in equal measure and in one fell swoop he holds the city in the palm of his enormous hand. How he does this I won't reveal, but if want a clue I would suggest watching "Spiderman 2".
There is an enormous amount more to the plot, but it is unnecessary to discuss. A physical and spiritual reawakening must be undergone by Bruce before he can destroy what appears to be an unstoppable force. This force is the 99% gone insane and the implications of this are stunning.
Nolan is one of the most intelligent filmmakers currently working and this film takes nothing for granted. One of the smartest things that he has done is assemble an outstanding cast, more than capable of presenting the spectacularly grand ideas to their audience. Joining the ever-good Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman is Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as the master jewel thief Catwoman, Marion Cotillard as a wealthy philanthropist and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an upstart police officer. This is masterclass acting from all actors with surprising moments from everyone. The most important thing is that all of them understand Nolan's point of view and don't fight against him; the symbiotic relationship between performers and director makes for a complete vision.
What is possibly even more outstanding is the technical aspects of the film. The movie's predecessors surely gave the indication that nothing would go amiss in this final part and we weren't wrong in guessing that. Oscar-worthy cinematography, sets, music and FX compliment and enhance the moods navigated throughout the script. Although some of the action sequences are not exactly novel, they are impeccably choreographed with some very interesting touches thrown in.
As I've said, the first hour is a bit of a struggle to get through, but the last half, especially the last 30 minutes, are perfect in every way. There is a moment of chaos when all of the escaped convicts let loose on the city brawl with 1200 officers released from a subterranean prison which for a moment made me angry. Hand to hand combat seems like something of a letdown of a film of this magnitude, but there is a quality to how it is done that made me forgive it. The film comes full circle to "Batman Begins" and has a brilliantly hidden twist towards the end. I should have recognized it, but only somebody with a good knowledge of Batman or somebody not completely invested in the story would have been able to see it coming. The final five minutes of the film give such a perfect sendoff to Batman that I could not imagine how it could be improved.
"The Dark Knight Rises" is a blockbuster in every sense of the word. We look to Nolan to deliver something that is new and inventive, that doesn't talk down to its audience but doesn't assume that it can't handle the material thrown at them. He succeeds. Batman is the most realistic of all superheros in that he has no powers and--excepting the fact that he is an incredibly smart billionaire--he could be anyone. This series, more than any other Batman or superhero film in general, delves into the man behind the mask and has created something timeless, ambitious and wonderfully executed. Batman is a person to me now, not simply a caped crusader. Especially on the backdrop of this last film I can justify the existence of this man. Nolan has taken something outlandish which in the past has been looked at cartoonishly, and has wiped the smirk off of Batman's face. He may not have topped his own masterpiece, but he has set the bar so high, not only for superhero films but crime films in general, that I expect it will be a very long time before something bests his Dark Knight.
3.5/4
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