The Dark Knight Rises

Well...this is it. The Rath's Review for what might be one of the most anticipated movies of all time, The Dark Knight Rises. This film is the third and final installment in Christopher Nolan's historic Dark Knight trilogy and is a near-perfect, beautifully orchestrated send off to what is now everybody's favorite superhero. Buckle in. This is a long one. 

An aged Bruce Wayne and Alfred ponder how to handle the situation

You know you can always count on Rath's Reviews for a spoiler free article, and this is no different. So my plot summary will go as such:


Bruce Wayne has not been Batman for 8 years now. Why? Because there is no need for it due to the Harvey Dent Act that doesnt allow convicted criminals to have parole. A new villain is on the rise however, and he has a very calculated set of plans for the city. He wants to give it back to the 99% and tear down the 1%. But there is another hidden motive...and that's all I'll say. Suffice to say that as with most Nolan films, there are plot holes, but there always are with movies this epic in scale. In addition, you have to be paying attention. Going to a Nolan movie with your mind not fully committed is a bad idea and you are just asking for a headache.  

"If I bite down hard enough, my jaw looks like it has
awesome muscles" 

Anne Hathaway in skin tight leather often bent over on
the Batbike? I think Michael Bay had some input with
that decision...but who's complaining?

The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most epic movies ever made. Epic in scale, epic in sequences, and epic in just how much there is to lose. This is not a fun, full-of-wise-cracks Avenger movie. This is not a relationship expose a la The Amazing Spider-Man. This is an end-times movie. This is where Gotham undergoes so much heartache and loss that it makes what the Joker did look like the first slice of a very large cake.  


But despite the epicness, the movie still played out the way I thought it would. Somewhere between the beginning of this trilogy and now, I have learned a decent amount of the Batman universe and history and once all of the players were announced for The Dark Knight Rises, I had a very strong feeling how it would play out, and I was pretty much right. That might be one of my only complaints about the movie...I think Nolan played it too safe. Now that doesnt spoil anything for anyone (trust me, there are still plenty of twists and turns to be had), but personally, I felt like what I expected is exactly what I got and with Christopher Nolan, that is never the case. Does this mean that I was disappointed? No. Not really. I wouldnt say disappointed so much as I would say surprised that I called most of it. But that is neither here nor there...

One of the most brutal fight scenes I have
or ever will see.

What is here, rather than there, is a discussion of how fantastic this movie is. Nearly every aspect of this movie shows that Nolan took his time. The camera angles, the actor and actress choices, the set pieces, the dialogue: all of them show the TLCG (tender love care and genius) that the currently-best-director-in-Hollywood uses to direct all of his movies. There were times in The Dark Knight where I would get confused by the action and exactly what was happening because of the scene transitions. That is not the case in The Dark Knight Rises. It is easy to follow what is going on and what people are trying to do, and I applaud Nolan for addressing one of the complaints that people had about the last film and fixing it (Michael Bay, are you taking notes?). The Dark Knight's most memorable action scene was easily the Joker-trying-to-kill-Harvey-Dent-semi-truck-flipping-awesomeness one. It's an action scene that is burned into everyone's mind. So what about The Dark Knight Rises? It's a simple brawl between Batman and Bane in the sewers of Gotham. No soundtrack, hardly any dialogue, and a confined area. Just gut-wrenching, ear-shattering, punch after punch after punch after punch. It's relentless violence, but that's the point. Bane only knows violence and he has perfected it. I hardly ever get squirmy or uncomfortable in fight scenes, but I was almost at the point of hiding my eyes at this one. This scene will be burned in my mind forever. The rest of the action in the movie pales in comparison, but only by the slightest of shades. Another brutal fight between Batman and Bane on snow-covered steps comes to mind instantly. 

"Um yes...Batman? This is Rath's Reviews. I would like to purchase that vehicle from you...ASAP"

Before I go into the discussion of performances, I want to talk about one aspect that often gets overlooked in movies: sound. Quite honestly, if The Dark Knight Rises doesn't win an Oscar this year for sound editing, then they should just cancel the award forever. I saw the movie in IMAX, (which, let's be honest here, if you aren't seeing The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX, then you haven't really seen the movie) and the sound was assaulting. Gunfire sounded eerily present, every little press on the gas pedal of any vehicle was instantly transported through the speakers, and the punches...oh my, the punches. Disgusting, bone-crunching sound erupted every time a punch landed on someone. You can almost feel the pain that the character is feeling on screen. But the absolute star of the show? The genius of Nolan shining through? Bane's voice. Louder than anything on screen and in an IMAX theater it rings from behind where you are sitting. It's one of the coolest and most uncomfortable things I have ever experienced in a movie. Whenever he talked I just wanted to turn around and check over my shoulder. But yet, it sounded like he was in front of me as well. His voice FILLS the theater. It's villainous, it's scary, and it's pure genius. 

And as always, Hans Zimmer's score is phenomenal and drives nearly every scene. With that being said, it is nowhere near his best work. His masterpiece is the Inception soundtrack, specifically the piece called "Time". But I also think that his score for The Dark Knight was better as well. It had long, stressful, orchestral high-pitched notes that gave the film a ridiculous stress of urgency and dread. Those types of tracks are mostly removed from The Dark Knight Rises and instead replaced with thunderous drums and constant chanting. But that makes sense because the Joker was a proponent of stress and anxiety while Bane is a more calculated, ordered villain. The scores reflect that change, but I liked The Dark Knight's better. 

"Oh and Batman? Could you throw one of these
puppies into my shopping cart as well? Thanks."

Now to the most important part of The Dark Knight Rises: the performances. I'll come right out of the gate and say that Heath Ledger is missed here. More than I would have initially guessed. His performance was the epitome of timeless and may never be matched. If you don't believe me, just re-watch The Dark Knight. But where that movie has Heath Ledger, this movie has Christian Bale. The Dark Knight Rises is much more of a character analysis of Bruce Wayne than any of the other two movies, and Bale rises to the challenge. He watches his city burning and you can feel the pain in his heart. You can sense that although he is a recluse, he wants to get back to living, but he knows the pain that is associated with doing so. It is a really powerful performance and it should get him an Oscar nomination. In second place, we have Michael Caine. He delivers Alfred's cautionary and caring sentiments with perfection and I got teary eyed whenever he did. In third place, we have a tie between Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy. They play Selina Kyle and Bane, respectively. Anne Hathaway brings an appropriate amount of sexuality to her character, but yet, you sense that underneath her criminal record, there is a good heart. Not to mention she looks damn fine in all of the that leather. And Tom Hardy has the most difficult role by far where he has to wear a mask over his mouth the entire time. But if there was an award for physical acting and eye-acting, he would win hands down. His demeanor and his swagger is threatening and every time he widens his eyes you get the sense that this guy is one of the most brutal villain ever. And he is. The rest of the cast are about equal, but that's not saying that they are bad. There is really no such thing as a bad performance in a Nolan film. They just didnt stand out to me as much as the others. 

And the Oscar for Best Eye-Acting goes to...
Tom Hardy!!

So I guess I should address the biggest question: is The Dark Knight Rises better than The Dark Knight? My answer?


No.


I would say if anything it is its equal. I know this may anger some people, but watch The Dark Knight again. It truly is Nolan's masterpiece out of this trilogy and the credit for that award goes entirely to Heath Ledger. The Dark Knight is so captivating because every time he is on screen you are sucked in completely. It's something that The Dark Knight Rises could have never duplicated, and I don't think we will honestly ever see that type of acting power again in our lifetime. 


But the fact of the matter is that The Dark Knight Rises, while it may be no better than its predecessor, is still better than nearly every non-Nolan movie I have ever seen. 


And I've seen a lot of movies people.

Possibly the coolest poster ever

Pros:

• Absolutely epic. A fitting conclusion to what is one of the best trilogies of all time
• The acting, as expected, is off the charts. All performances are memorable with 3 or 4 being border-line mesmerizing. Very memorable characters that fit nicely into the Nolan universe
• The story is dire and the stakes are high. An interesting analysis of the current state of America and the 99% vs. 1% argument
• The action set pieces, terrorism pieces, and brawls are expertly done. Christopher Nolan addressed his critics from the last film and came back with some easy-to-follow and awesome action
• The sound. Plain and simple, the best sound editing I have ever heard in a movie
• The score. Hans Zimmer is just as much of a genius as Nolan, and although this isn't his masterpiece, it's still leagues above the other composers that are out there
• Now that Nolan is done with Batman, hopefully he can take over another franchise (fingers crossed for a Chris Nolan-Christian Bale James Bond trilogy! Epic!)
• IMAX. Simply put, if you are not seeing this movie in IMAX, you aren't seeing it correctly. I mean for Heaven's sake it has over 70 minutes of IMAX footage! That's a Hollywood record!
• The production values all around. Cinematography, writing, special effects, etc. Everything is at its A-game

Cons:

• Nolan played it relatively safe. I might have just been lucky pretty much guessing the ending, but I'm not used to not being surprised by a Nolan-ending
• I wanted Hans Zimmer's score for this film to be his masterpiece
• Each Batman flick has some pretty serious talks about society. If there is one area where The Dark Knight blows this movie out of the water, it is with these discussions. The Joker's discussion of chaos, rules, and anarchy were some of the most compelling dialogue ever delivered. Bane's discussion about the 1% taking back the city because they are the city? Not as much
• I strongly disagree with Nolan's decision to not even mention the Joker in this film. Personally, I dont think it would have been disrespectful to Heath Ledger at all; I think it's more disrespectful to not mention him. It just makes the beginning scenes, when they are talking about the past film, super awkward because they don't acknowledge the most influential character in the series
• I want more Batman movies by Nolan. 

Rath's Review Score: 10/10 -- Instant Classic

Unfortunately, this film has been marred by an absolutely disgusting tragedy. I feel that it needs to be addressed. 

As a movie reviewer, I was deeply shaken by this event. I cherish the movies -- they are one of my favorite things in life. And to think that this could have happened to me a hundred times over in the last couple of years troubles me severely. The person that did this absolutely ruined going to the movies for hundreds, if not thousands of individuals. And he completely stole the gift from 12 souls. Recently, I have called this person a bastard, a piece of shit, a sick human, and a sad excuse for a human being. Those are all wrong. This man is NOTHING. He is absolutely nothing. Don't credit him with anything more than calling him that. 

I commented on a website the other day and here is what I wrote:

"I understand if people are uncomfortable going to see the Dark Knight Rises this weekend, but Ive been thinking about it and I urge you to reconsider. The victims of this tragedy clearly loved the movies enough to go at a midnight showing. Let pieces of utter scum like James Holmes know that they cant get to us. I for one will be seeing the movie tonight obviously because I want to, but now more so in honor of the victims. Let's make The Dark Knight Rises more than just a movie this weekend. Let's make it a symbol that senseless violence has no place in this country."

It was met with a comment that stated: "Noble, but isn't the movie about violence?". I thought about it. I saw the film. And that comment couldn't be further from the truth. The film is about living. Living even if there is pain. Living even if you are afraid. I'll admit. I was afraid last night at our IMAX theater. Every time I saw a shadow by the exits, I checked to see who it was. And I imagine a lot of people will be doing that for a long time. And that's OK. What's not OK is to not ever go to a movie theater again out of fear. Or not go somewhere with crowds. Or to not go see this movie. A cousin of mine and I were discussing the situation and she put it perfectly, "At this point, it is almost a statement to go and see the movie." I agree wholeheartedly. I urge my readers worldwide to go and see this movie. Not because I gave it a 10 out of 10, but to make that statement. The war on terrorism, whether international or home-grown, is no longer just a fight for the soldiers. It's a fight where the population needs to take a stand and make a statement. I can think of no better way to make a statement to the NOTHING that is sitting in a jail cell in Colorado and to any other NOTHINGS that are planning something to fill the theaters for this movie this weekend. 

We can rise and be our own heroes.

We can rise and be our own Batman.