The Dark Knight Rises - Blog Posts

The Dark Knight Rises Review

    The final film of a trilogy is the most difficult one to pull off.  Everyone involved feels like they have to increase the scope of the story, but the trick is to maintain the spirit of the series without giving into excess.  Some trilogies, like Byran Singer's X-Men series and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man series, have a third film that almost everyone would like to forget ever existed.  Some third films, like Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Pixar's Toy Story 3, stand as masterworks in their own right and help transcend their representative series.  And then there are third films like Return of the Jedi and The Godfather Part III that are excellent in moments and forgettable in others.     Christopher Nolan started a new Batman trilogy with Batman Begins, one of the finest origin stories told in the comic-book superhero genre, and then continued with The Dark Knight, a film that expanded beyound genre limits and became not only a classic crime drama about anarchy and heroism but also one of the best films of its decade.     With The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan concludes his fantastic series with a third film that may not be entirely of the same level of its predecessor but is a prime example of how to complete a series in style and quality.     It's been eight years since the reign of terror by The Joker and the death of District Attorney and "white knight" Harvey Dent.  Batman has taken the blame for his death and other deaths at the hands of Dent, causing Batman to become an outcast but paving the way for a more peaceful Gotham City.  Commissioner Jim Gordon, knowing the truth about the night Dent died, keeps the lie up to keep the peace in the city.  One of the few people that believe in Batman's innocence is idealist cop John Blake, a man who is taken under Gordon's wing.  Bruce Wayne has retired Batman and become the Howard Hughes of Gotham City, much to the concern of his butler Alfred and his armorer Lucius Fox.      However, two threats arrive to destabilize the city and necessitate the return of Batman.  The main threat is Bane, a masked brute who, forged by a foreign prison and saved by The League of Shadows, plans to take control of Gotham City, leave it in mob rule, and let it rot from the inside out.  The other is a cat burglar named Selina Kyle who acts as a "Robin Hood" for her self-interest, taking advantage of any and every situation, such as stealing a valuable pearl necklace from Wayne Manor during a fundraiser, kidnapping a congressman for leverage on a deal with shady businessmen, and working with and against Batman at the turn of a dime.     This is a lot of information to take in, which leads to the film's main flaw - it takes an hour or so for the film to truly start, and that hour is filled with too many false starts and exposition to get pulled into it.  The story, developed by Chris Nolan and David S. Goyer, and the script, written by Chris Nolan and his brother Jonathan, is ambitious in scope and content, and the meandering is an unavoidable consequence.  Unlike Chris Nolan's previous film, Inception, the meandering doesn't mean that the film is too long - just that the structure needed to be refined.      Case in point - the first meeting between John Blake and Bruce Wayne.  Blake implores Wayne to bring back Batman for the sake of an injured Gordon.  During this discussion, Blake goes into exposition about his past, how he first met Batman and Bruce Wayne, and hints that he knows Batman's identity.  It's a well-acted scene that doesn't move because of its necessity to relay as much information as possible to the audience.  It's a necessary scene that needs rearranging to improve the flow.     The overall thread of the idealist John Blake is wonderfully done.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines as the orphan turned cop who sees the world in an optimistic light in spite of the world devolving around him.  He exudes a determination and strength as Gotham's last light.  He starts out wanting to be the white knight but slowly realizes that even the whitest knight has a touch of grey.  He represents the struggle of, as Gordon put it, structures becoming shackles, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt carries that burden superbly.     Gary Oldman, as the other important part of this thread, does an amazing job as Commissioner Gordon.  Gordon started out as that idealist cop, became affected by how the world came down around him, was given a spark of hope by the arrival of Batman, and eventually became the "grey knight," the man who did was was necessary to preserve the peace, even if sacrificing the truth destroyed his marriage and faith in humanity.  He has been long recognized as one of the finest character actors of his generation, and Gary Oldman shows more and more why he deserves the accolades he has still yet to receive.     The thread involving Selina Kyle is the self-contained thread, not requiring any knowledge of the prior films, and it is the best thread of the bunch.  Anne Hathaway steals every scene she is in, vamping it up and having as much fun as possible as the expert thief who does what is necessary and is working toward getting a clean slate.  Selina Kyle is known in the comic-book world as Catwoman, but she is never called that moniker in this film, and the role and the film is all the better for it.  She's smart, sexy, strong, and soulful, and Anne Hathaway does the role justice and almost steals the film with it.     The antagonist thread of the film, all involving Bane and references to the League of Shadows, is the weakest part of the film, but it does have its moments.  Bane's introduction, an in-flight infiltration and escape, is a spectacular set piece that feels inert, not providing the ignition the film needs.  Even Bane's stock exchange takeover seems too small an explosion for the film's lift-off.  It isn't until the city takeover when the audience is pulled into the action, with Bane's menacing visage and stature commandeering the screen with purpose.  His fights with Batman are tense, brutal, and exhilarating.  His backstory, although underdeveloped, provides just enough brushstrokes to give Bane some color.     Tom Hardy, bulking up for the role, fully involves himself as Bane.  His physicality is something of a first in the series - Batman has always been the dominating physical presence, but Bane easily takes control in this film.  His speech, somewhat muffled by the mask, is hard to understand at times, and is inconsistent in the accent - for a brief moment, Hardy inadvertently performs a Sean Connery impersonation.  Nevertheless, Bane is an intimidating figure, and Tom Hardy is more than up to the task to portray Bane as the menace he is meant to be.     The protagonist thread, the one dovetailing not only the threads within the film but the entire series, is wholly fulfilling if structured oddly at the beginning of the film.  Having Bruce Wayne be a recluse, then become Batman again, then be forced to stop, and then become Batman again, at least in the way the film does it, is tonally awkward, but it gives all of the actors the moments they deserve.  The theme of this thread - what it takes for a dark knight to save himself from the darkness - is expressed expertly, and the conclusion is almost perfect.     Morgan Freeman, having a more diminished role this time around, still provides levity to these serious proceedings as Lucius Fox, and his repartee with Bruce Wayne is still electrifying.  Marion Cotillard, as potential Bruce Wayne love interest and Wayne Enterprises board member Miranda Tate, doesn't have the greatest chemistry with Bruce Wayne, but she has a tenderness that balances her calculating nature, and although Miranda Tate is not developed enough, Marion Cotillard is a captivating presence.     Michael Caine, as Batman's and Bruce Wayne's batman Alfred, is the legend he is known to be.  As the heart of the series, Alfred is the sole reason the Wayne name still gives hope, still remains viable.  His role is given several monologues, and while some of them come off as unnecessary, Caine's delivery is nothing short of extraordinary.  He is more than a servant to Bruce Wayne and Batman - he is the last father figure he has.  The final moments of the film with Alfred are the most moving of the entire series, and it is all due to subtle care that Michael Caine has taken to develop Alfred.     It takes a bold and daring actor to give a comic-book superhero some gravitas, and throughout all three films, Christian Bale has evolved as Bruce Wayne and Batman, with his work in this film being the finest in the series.  From the first film on, Bruce Wayne has been a shell of his former self, and his dedication to being Batman is as much out of a desire to do good as it is out of a need to give himself purpose.  Bale grounds and centers the film with a man who cannot let go of his anger, seeing himself as the man Gotham needs him to be while eventually realizing the man Alfred and the deceased Wayne family would have wanted him to be.  Throughout the struggles he faces, he finds solace in a woman who is looking for the clean slate he so desperately needs.  Christian Bale brings the series-long arc full circle, becoming the actor everyone will identify with Bruce Wayne and Batman above all others, and giving the film world one of the finest performances in the genre.     Cinematographer Wally Pfister paints the screen with Oscar-caliber imagery.  The opening shot of Bane's introduction in an open field is something straight out of an epic film.  The browns of the pit the bore Bane, the whites and greys of a Gotham under siege, the blacks and blues of the city at night and the Batcave, and the varying colors of Wayne Manor all leave an indelible mark.  He won an Oscar for his work on Inception, but Wally Pfister tops himself with the work done in this film.     Composer Hans Zimmer comes back alone this time, effectively using the themes developed with James Newton-Howard in the previous two films, and creating a couple of new ideas that work to varying degrees on their own but are ingrained in the film successfully.  The simple piano-based motif of Selina Kyle is beautiful, capturing the sly yet longing nature of the character, and the percussive chant of Bane's motif stays in the mind and eventually turns from an ominous chant to a motivating positive force, showing how Hans Zimmer can turn preconceived notions on their head.     With the flaws and strengths, it all falls on the shoulders of director Christopher Nolan.  His work with the actors is still surprisingly impressive, his eye for set pieces continues to astonish, and his ambition serves him well for the most part.  However, his ambition causes the series to take a turn from the realism and believeability of The Dark Knight to expected comic-book superhero fare.  Nolan tries to make grand statements about the world at large, but the statements don't cut through like they did in the previous film, especially when trying to make reference to class struggles.     However, what the film lacks in biting commentary is made up by the scope of the story of Batman and the world around him.  The thrills are more blunt than before, but therein lies the charm of this film - it may be the most fun a story as dark as this could be.  The realism is gone, but the craftsmanship is undeniable, and the story, once it gets going, is a true roller-coaster ride.  Christopher Nolan may have changed the trajectory of the series away from what it could have been, but he relishes in the destination he has created, and the joy he had creating this universe is felt in every frame.  He even perfectly caps the series arc of Bruce Wayne with a quote from A Tale of Two Cities - "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."      The end result is a conclusion of a series that is crying for a different set-up.  The difficulty in judging this film is in the expectations - had The Dark Knight not existed or at least been a different film, this film could have been the standard-bearer for all comic-book superhero films to follow.  However, The Dark Knight does exist, and paraphrasing the Joker in that film, it changed things forever.  The Dark Knight Rises will always pale in comparison to its predecessor because it lacks transcendence, but it stands as one of the finest films of the genre and a wholly satisfying conclusion to one of the best film trilogies, and that is all for which one could hope. Movie Rating: 9/10 A meandering and start-stop first hour gives way to a thrilling, emotional, and fun conclusion. Film Rating: 8/10 It pales next to The Dark Knight, and its commentary is toothless, but how it concludes the main series arc is excellent. Comic-Book Superhero Film Rating: 9/10 It may not be the deepest, but it is one of the best, and it may be the definition of "serious fun." Batman Film Rating: 8.5/10 On par with Batman Begins, but following The Dark Knight means that it could have been more.

christian bale as bruce wayne || batman in the dark knight triology

Update

Okay so, a big update for everyone, whether you follow me, just seeing this, just seeing my page for the first time, for whoever has my notifications on, whatever other situation.

Any ways this is an update for you all that will be about all of the stories that I will be posting soon. I am sorry for who have put in a request and haven’t gotten it yet, I have been going through a lot recently and I took a time off of social media to work out everything. I have gotten better and I am in a better writing state of mind so I am going to work on all of the requests that I have gotten, plus stories that I have been thinking about making.

First Meet | Alfie Solonoms | Head-canon (request)

Plot: The reader (you) are on your way to work when situations happen that lead you in the direction of the one and only Alfie Solonoms. You’ve heard about him, not good things though. But when you finally get to meet the man, everything that you have heard, doesn’t compare to what you think now.

Forsaken Love | Alie Solonoms |Long One Shot (request)

Update: part one is up now

Plot: Alfie is a adult college sponsor and meets the reader (you). He falls in love with you at first sight. You are a college teacher who teaches all different languages, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Icelandic, Irish, Greek, even Sign Language. But he doesn’t know how to win your heart, yet. 

Light Into Darkness | Bane | Series

Plot: You and Bane are long lost childhood friends, you to lost touch and haven’t seen each other for years. But that all changes when Batman finds out about you and your relationship, so he captures you to get to Bane.

If you want a request of your own or just and idea, please message me, my messages are always open and my request box is now open for more requests. I appreciate all of the comments, notes, reposts, messages, and requests I have gotten since I started. Love you all <3