The Dark Knight Rises

In the eight years since Batman took the fall for Harvey Dent’s vigilante murders, crime in Gotham City plummeted, and the Caped Crusader’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), has lived as a nearly crippled recluse. But when a mysterious masked terrorist called Bane (Tom Hardy) sets his sights on Gotham, Bruce feels compelled to don the cape once more. He is assisted, reluctantly, by his butler/surrogate father, Alfred (Michael Caine), armorer Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), police commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and a hard-charging rookie cop, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). He also finds himself drawn to two women: influential investor Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and savvy cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway).

Director Christopher Nolan really put himself in a tough position. So impressive, memorable, and acclaimed was 2008’s The Dark Knight that its sequel seemed destined to suffer in comparison. And while 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises is a step down, it is also arguably as good a film as could have been made given the burden of expectations.

Much like its predecessors, The Dark Knight Rises looks and sounds great. Pittsburgh, not Chicago, doubles for Gotham this go-around, but that’s hardly a strike against it. Wally Pfister’s cinematography, whether in the city or in a hellish third-world prison, is as striking as ever. Hans Zimmer (working without previous collaborator James Newton Howard) churns out another score with gravitas although this one can’t help but feel slightly subdued.

Also like the other entries in the series, there is a lot more to this movie than gadgetry and action sequences. The theme, this time, is pain. Everyone in this movie suffers, often both spiritually as well as physically and frequently, unpleasantly. It is the reaction to that pain that sets the heroes apart from the villains. One man’s excuse is another man’s cross to bear.

Given Heath Ledger’s virtuoso rendition of the Joker, this film was destined to suffer from a less memorable villain, but this isn’t due to Hardy’s lack of trying. His portrayal of Bane distills what made the comic book version a great foe: he is both a physical (anyone familiar with the “Knightfall” arc should know what to expect here) and intellectual (cunning, manipulative, and tactically brilliant, unlike the mindless thug of Batman and Robin) threat. His booming, somewhat distorted, very British voice is a bit of a distraction, though.

Among secondary antagonists, the film tips its hat to the animated series and gives us corrupt executive/Wayne rival Dagget. He's oddly Europeanized here and given the first name of John. Like her comic book counterpart, Selina straddles the line between hero and villain. She isn’t given the name Catwoman here (nor even a token cat to own – they could have at least done this much), but otherwise, it’s hard to find fault with her performance. She’s tough, sassy, seductive, and, underneath the criminal veneer, not a bad person. Michelle Pfeiffer will always be Catwoman for me, but Hathaway is a worthy successor for the role. There are additional allies and enemies, but to reveal them would spoil some major plot twists. Let’s just say some people involved in the production were less than honest about who would and would not appear in this film.

Where the film suffers most is in its pacing and plotting. Whereas The Dark Knight never missed a beat, The Dark Knight Rises is a longer, more drawn out affair. The plot is complex and relies heavily on misdirection (as well as a prior knowledge of Batman Begins, not that they don’t give you plenty of flashbacks to remind you). While the conclusion it builds toward justifies a lot of the maneuvering, one couldn’t help but wonder if Nolan and his associates couldn’t have tightened things up a bit. Nevertheless, the last half-hour or so is wickedly intense and gripping. True to form for Nolan, the film throws us a (somewhat predictable but still satisfying) curveball at the end.

Supposedly, The Dark Knight Rises is the last Batman film Nolan will make. Given his penchant for pulling the rug out from under us, I don’t fully believe that. However, if this is truly it, then it’s a fitting conclusion: it cements (quite literally) Batman’s legacy as Gotham’s protector, allows Bruce to pacify some inner demons, and opens some doors in the process. It may not be the ending we want, but it’s the ending we need.

8.5/10