Review of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) by Bmoreravens — 19 Jul 2012

The Dark Knight Rises is an opus of a much different flavor than the previous installments in The Dark Knight Trilogy. Uniting the atmospheric tone of Begins and the noir, crime saga execution of TDK, Rises sets forth to entertain the audience while developing Bruce Wayne's story into an arc of considerable emotional progression, and ultimately delivers one of the best endings to a trilogy in cinema history. The focus in this outing is on Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight was a Batman movie in every sense, where as The Dark Knight Rises can be accurately described as a Bruce Wayne story. The man behind the mask coming out of retirement to face villains the likes of which he has never experienced. Bruce's personal life and trials as a newly motivated Batman coalesce into obstacles that bring out the most human sides of him. Anger, stubbornness, hope and raw determination seep out of the character, and belie the ambiguity behind the symbol of the Batman. When Bruce is wearing the mask, it feels like Bruce Wayne wearing a mask. Doing a job. A civic duty that serves as the only thing he knows will give him purpose. Batman becomes a human being, and yet the symbol grows stronger because of it. I'll stop here to avoid spoiling anything.

As far as the surrounding cast goes: Bane is the most dangerous villain in the trilogy. He's an absolute menace. He's shameless, efficient, brave and extremely good at wrecking things. His presence is electrifying. Alfred is dishing out his usual wisdom, but we see a side of him we haven't seen yet and it's beautiful. John Blake is too easy to root for. A pure hearted, inspired cop who earns his stripes in more ways than one. Gordon is a relentless warrior who shows a good old fashioned hands dirty approach to everything. A man out of place in this new Gotham, who's old style becomes necessary to bring it back from the brink, and Catwoman is a dazzling, sexy, antihero whose character development is as smooth as Bruce Wayne's. She's an absolute tour de force in this film, and one of the best characters in Nolan's Batman Universe.

This review means only to set up the expectations of tone for The Dark Knight Rises, and to excite viewers who are looking forward to seeing it. It's a masterpiece. Arguably the best Batman film ever made, and a beautiful ending to a trilogy that has set a new standard in cinema.