Taking place eight years after the events of 'The Dark Knight', Gotham City has become a much safer place. Thanks to the Harvey Dent Act, most of the mafia is behind bars, leaving law enforcement to deal mostly with small petty crimes. With the city having no need for Batman, Bruce Wayne has become a recluse, never leaving his mansion where he mourns the death of Rachel Dawes. All this changes after the arrival of Bane, a criminal mastermind who is intent on bringing Gotham to its knees. The final film in Christopher Nolan's batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, is a worthy finale film in this remarkable trilogy. Personally, I feel like all the comparisons between this film and the first two films in the trilogy are asinine because a trilogy of films like this should never be about one film versus the other, rather the whole story arch of these characters and what Nolan has done with the character of Bruce Wayne, the journey he goes through in these three films, is masterfully told. The Dark Knight Rises does not have the constant unease and tension of its predecessor but the stakes are absolutely risen by what happens to the City of Gotham when Bane enacts his plan. It also isnt nearly as well paced, as early in the film I found myself a bit worried as it felt sorta disjointed, as if it may collapse under Nolan's ambition - luckily it doesn't. Another nitpicky negative was that this is the worst script of the three films, albeit not bad, just too much expositional dialogue a few times, which always bothers me. It is completely unfair to compare Hardy's Bane to Ledger's Joker, as much more can be done with the later. Tom Hardy is a phenomenal actor in his own right, maybe even better than Ledger, though Bane is much more a physical-cold presence, in which Hardy does bring a nice physicality to the role. His performance is much more nuanced and subtle, and while not nearly as fun, it is still a great performance. The other new additions of Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake, seamlessly fit into this world, both providing added depth to this epic story, and in Levitt's case, a ton of humanity. Just like its predecessors, The Dark Knight Rises has a social commentary, which could be completely ignored if desired. It touches on the problems with bureaucracy but also has something to say about this whole poignant issue of the the economic class structure. Personally I believe that Nolan concludes that there is always injustice between these economic classes, but ultimately the theme of the film is people's ability to truly let go of their pre-concieved notions or biases. Without going into spoilers, whether it be a mistake or circumstance which haunts their lives, every character from Bruce Wayne to Commissioner Gordon is scared to truly let go. In a way, this is why I would argue that Bane is a great villain, he is a truly frightening character for sure, but he is the only character in the film who wears his feelings and emotions on his sleeve, unafraid to let go. 8.25/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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