Review of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) by Rameshwar I — 20 Apr 2016

In my first viewing, I hated it, rated it poorly and my only conclusion of its success was just mass hysteria. But then I re-watched. Everything transformed. Suddenly there is awe, there is a connect and there is loads of entertainment. I stopped comparing which happened to be the folly the first time around. While Sam Raimi induced emotional depth and a little darkness to the superhero genre, Nolan took it to whole different level by producing an epic trilogy with a satisfying conclusion.

Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has secluded himself to his manor after Batman takes the fall for Harvey Dent's death. Gotham with its revised and strict laws has brought organized crime to its knees. Wayne Enterprises is in the verge of bankruptcy hurting even more with Bruce's nonexistence and not taking help from an able backer in Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard). When a cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) steals Bruce's fingerprints, he pursues her back to the real world leading him to the knowledge of an underground army headed by Bane (Tom Hardy), who is trained by none other than Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson).

It was meant to be a spectacle from the word go but where it fails is it tries to do the impossible to go one better than its supreme predecessor in every frame instead of carving its own path. While Joker is unpredictable, manipulative and extremely entertaining, Bane is the exact opposite. Anne Hathaway does a fantastic Catwoman being sexy, stylish and smart. No special addition to gadgets except for the Bat on which I had mixed feelings. The background score is full of impact and strong as the rest of the trilogy. Story is good in parts but it spawns too many threads that deviate the overlong climax many a times. Joseph Gordon-Lewitt is a resourceful and a bankable actor on any role he chooses, does no mistake here too as a determined and intense cop. I have been a fan of Nolan long before his Batman ventures and really looking forward to his future work.

A satisfying finale that does all the right things to stay afloat of the expectations.