Review of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) by Faisal A — 08 Mar 2016

I got back from a screening of this film in London, Uk. It was quite an interesting experience. One way to describe this film, is that, it was not the film that I was expecting to see. It was different than anything Nolan's done before to be honest . His film definitely feels like a blend of what we saw with "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight", with a few new ingredients thrown in. Below, is a spoiler free review, which I will l not go revisit to make changes ever. You will also get to hear my honest and true thoughts.

There are many great things about this film, but there are also quite a few flaws that it has. A few plot holes took my notice (Not Massive ones, mind you), and I have a feeling that the other hour or so of footage that Nolan had to sacrifice or edit out may have actually contained vital information for the story that could have saved or at least rectify some of the errors accompanying these holes. The pacing is quite different than what we were previously accustomed to, and I do feel like the balance between fast paced action and slow moving drama was not as well done as it was in the previous batman film. Another thing that some critics (IGN in particular) have noted is that you do not always get to see the regular citizens of Gotham City like you did in "The Dark Knight". Since the film is about the working people, it seems only fair to get to see them more often. Also, a few issues and loose ends stay unresolved, but really I think one can just assume this, and understand the implications of these actions.

Now, a big issue alot of people have been complaining about....BANE. Yes, he is not the Joker. NO VILLAIN IS LIKE THE JOKER FOR THAT MATTER. Yes, he has a mask that muffles his voice. You know what though? He is a damn good character. Tom Hardy also does a great job making the character work without even seeing his mouth move, by utilizing the effectiveness of his eyes, body movement, speech patterns etc. Bane is a memorable character in my eyes, and while The Joker from "The Dark Knight" (as well as Heath Ledger's performance) will always top the list of Batman villains on film, Bane is still a brutal, scary character, and he is not undeveloped. Also, Ledger's death may have changed plans for the third film (theres no denying the speculation that he was to appear in this one if he was still with us), and while I missed him, him not being here, did not affect the film that I watched. So get over it people.

Anne Hathaway was incredible and I liked Catwoman in this film. The rest of the cast were great, particularly Michael Caine, who gave this moving performance in one scene that really made me feel kind of sad.

Christopher Nolan joins a very large group of filmmakers who released their most prominent films post 2000 AD (these include Darren Aronofsky, Duncan Jones, David Fincher and a whole barrel of others), who have managed to gain major respect and admiration for what they do. None of them are perfect and all of them have their fanboys and haters. I think Nolan is brilliant director, who understands his characters and themes, and how to have the action service the story. He and his brother Jonathan and Writer David S. Goyer, have worked on the narrative arc of this amazing story in the trilogy. I definitely think that this film should end as it is. Batman should be rebooted for another franchise (not in the same way that "The Amazing Spiderman did I hope). Amazing Cinematography by Wally Pfister (as always), a brilliant and very memorable score by Hans Zimmer,great stunt work, excellent special effects, good editing, a thoughtful and (for the most part) well written screenplay and wonderfully acted by the cast of actors make this film one of the best films of this decade (so far).

As for where I rank it in the trilogy...Probably on par with "The Dark Knight" but maybe a bit less in the future.

EDIT:

After months of leaving the film hanging in my thoughts, I actually think it is not as good as I remember, but I still like it very much.