Review of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) by Kof-Drop — 21 Sep 2012

What impressed me the most about The Dark Knight (yes, I mean the previous film) was that it brought some very deep ideas into play, namely morality, but also chaos, motive, madness, monstrosity, and resilience. All are absolutely brilliant in the film. And so, The Dark Knight Rises falls (haha) a little short to me, because it is mainly just a story. I will concede that the film very effectively addresses the fall of an icon and its subsequent return, the heavy toll paid by a hero and his loved ones, and, most of all, faith. All of these elements of the film are exceptionally well done. Christopher Nolan has not yet lost his power to guide, appal, and uplift an audience.

But it is, after all, mainly just a story. It feels like a long 2 hours and 44 minutes, winding through layers of plot to reach an inevitable conclusion. It is a very good story, of course, but it feels as though, in his haste to get it all out, Nolan overlooked the important details. He forgot his strong characters, already thoroughly developed by the previous two films, but falling short here. He forgot the brilliant, anarchic pulse that drives The Dark Knight to make it one of the most captivating films ever. And he welcomed Hollywood. He welcomed meaningless action and cheesy one-liners, while tossing aside the realism that made the first two films so unique as superhero flicks.

The film begins, as The Dark Knight also did, by introducing its villain. Bane's reputation is very quickly established by nothing more than a few comments and glances, which is incredibly efficient. However, Bane's entrance in TDKR does not wholly compare to the Joker's in TDK. The skillful mastermind that is Bane is not truly made evident to me until later in the film. While Hardy's performance in this scene, and the rest of the film, is great, the series of events just do not stack up to the Joker's brilliant (and totally original) bank robbery. The opening scene in TDKR gives me enough a sense of how terrifying Bane is, but it does not adequately display his genius.

As the film moves on from Bane, it introduces quite a few brand new characters, most notably Miranda Tate, John Blake, Selina Kyle, and Deputy Commissioner Foley. This is too many new characters. Of these, only Selina Kyle is sufficiently developed, with Blake a close second, though I feel he could have used a lot more development. These characters end up using a lot of screen time for the sole purpose of plot advancement. They steal the screen from Batman, Alfred, and Bane, and they do not accomplish a whole lot in return.

But let's talk about some good stuff. In this film, we see Bruce Wayne brought all the way down from his high point in The Dark Knight. He is completely broken from the start. We get the sense that he wants to face Bane just so he can end his own misery, and the thought tears Alfred to pieces. We also see Bruce broken even further from this point, which is disheartening, until he finally rises from it all the splendid hero that he deserves to be. The ups and downs are very powerful. There is a broad theme of faith throughout the film:

The common man has faith that the Batman will rise again in a time of dire need. The children of Gotham have heard legends, and their world has darkened since his departure, so they long to see him return. John Blake draws a chalk bat wherever he goes. He's tyring to keep the idea alive - after all, Batman is not a man but an idea, as we have been told time and time again since Batman Begins.

Alfred sees his own faith torn to pieces - faith that he once held in both himself and Bruce, and the power of an ideal. This is the most powerful part of the movie, emotionally. Michael Caine's performance is amazing; he is so, so heartbroken. He considers it a personal failure to have Bruce feeling so alone and miserable.

And Bruce Wayne, once so confident in his symbol and his gadgets, finds himself utterly broken and shackled by fear, the very thing that he taught himself to manipulate in Batman Begins. He has truly come full circle, defeated by his own alter ego.

But despite Bruce Wayne's defeat, it seems that the symbol itself is eternal. This movie, continuing the tradition of the previous two, exercises the idea that a hero can be anyone. That Batman is not the man, but the mask. I think it's a powerful idea, and the film executes it well. In fact, Christian Bale does not even have a lot of screen time (this is both good and bad, but good for now). The movie has quite a few unsung heroes.

For a much more lengthy and in-depth review, see my blog at kofdrops.blogspot.com.