Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR) is a worthy conclusion to one of the most acclaimed and entertaining superhero franchisee of our times.
TDKR succeeds in the rare feat of achieving 3 things at the same time; offering something more to the audience, doing justice to the comic series and last but not the least, lead the legend of Dark Knight to a logical and convincing conclusion.
This movie is set 8 years after TDK ends and Batman takes the fall for Harvey Dent's death. The city of Gotham is now governed by the popular Harvey Dent Act which has succeeded in putting behind bars almost all of it's criminals. The crime and civil unrest is at an all time low without the need of Batman. The city of Gotham is just as calm as before the big storm.
On the other hand, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is torn between his inability to either leave behind Batman or the death of Rachel Dawes. He keeps to himself and refrains from ever going out of Wayne manor. Enter Bane (Tom Hardy), a man who the legend says was born in hell and is on a mission to destroy Gotham. Add to it the fact that Bane is lot more faster and physically stronger than Batman.The Dark Knight is forced to come back from exile and confront his biggest nemesis till date. What follows is an action adventure to save the city of Gotham. However, that's just for the uninitiated (In Nolan's own words).
Deep down, this movie is lot more of something else altogether. It's not really about the battle for Gotham. The first two movies of the series followed Bruce Wayne becoming more than just a man; a symbol of uncompromising values and a silent guardian. TDKR is about the epic conclusion to the legend; unbecoming of both Bruce Wayne and Batman.
Batman stood by certain uncompromising ideals and Bruce Wayne had to make personal sacrifices. Both endured pain for reasons beyond their control. Eventually, either one of them had to break. This movie is really about this journey of the protagonist.
This movie is set 8 years after TDK ends and Batman takes the fall for Harvey Dent's death. The city of Gotham is now governed by the popular Harvey Dent Act which has succeeded in putting behind bars almost all of it's criminals. The crime and civil unrest is at an all time low without the need of Batman. The city of Gotham is just as calm as before the big storm.
On the other hand, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is torn between his inability to either leave behind Batman or the death of Rachel Dawes. He keeps to himself and refrains from ever going out of Wayne manor. Enter Bane (Tom Hardy), a man who the legend says was born in hell and is on a mission to destroy Gotham. Add to it the fact that Bane is lot more faster and physically stronger than Batman.The Dark Knight is forced to come back from exile and confront his biggest nemesis till date. What follows is an action adventure to save the city of Gotham. However, that's just for the uninitiated (In Nolan's own words).
Deep down, this movie is lot more of something else altogether. It's not really about the battle for Gotham. The first two movies of the series followed Bruce Wayne becoming more than just a man; a symbol of uncompromising values and a silent guardian. TDKR is about the epic conclusion to the legend; unbecoming of both Bruce Wayne and Batman.
Batman stood by certain uncompromising ideals and Bruce Wayne had to make personal sacrifices. Both endured pain for reasons beyond their control. Eventually, either one of them had to break. This movie is really about this journey of the protagonist.
The movie
ponders over bigger issues. How long can Baman be the silent guardian of
Gotham? Will he ever learn to let go? Will the city ever learn to stand
up and fight the evil within? Will the rich and the oppressed ever make
peace with each other? Can there ever be a Gotham without Batman? What
then becomes of the legend?
TDKR takes you through a roller coaster adventure. One replete with witty one liners, spectacular visual effects and brilliant performances. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine reprise their roles as Commissioner Gordon, Lucius Fox and Alfred. However, the pick of the actors is Christian Bale for a brilliant performance that makes audience relate to Bruce Wayne more than the Dark knight.
Having said all that, TDKR is definitely not without loopholes. There are one-too-many cliches and in fact, last 5 mins is entirely devoted to hootes and whistles. However, one will have to admit, even when Nolan plays to the galleries, it still seems cinematic brilliance.
TDKR takes you through a roller coaster adventure. One replete with witty one liners, spectacular visual effects and brilliant performances. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine reprise their roles as Commissioner Gordon, Lucius Fox and Alfred. However, the pick of the actors is Christian Bale for a brilliant performance that makes audience relate to Bruce Wayne more than the Dark knight.
Having said all that, TDKR is definitely not without loopholes. There are one-too-many cliches and in fact, last 5 mins is entirely devoted to hootes and whistles. However, one will have to admit, even when Nolan plays to the galleries, it still seems cinematic brilliance.
At 2 hours and 44 mins, the movie is long but doesn't really appear so inside the movie hall. Once the Games Begin, there is no slowing down or looking back.
In the end, I can't really choose if TDKR was well made or better concluded. I found both the journey and destination equally entertaining.
My rating:
- As a standalone movie - 8/10
- As a conclusion to the Dark Knight series - 9/10
It’s a very long flick, but I could have honestly gone on longer. There was so many moments of pure epicness (I know it’s not a word, just stay with me here) and total entertainment, that I couldn’t help but keep my eyes glued to the screen at all times, regardless of what was going on with the story. Good review.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan.
DeleteThat's because Nolan blends adventure well with the story.
There you go :) Excellent review! I agree with the way you've concluded. Cheers :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Hari.
DeleteGreat review. Satisfying movie but quite cliched. And yes it dosent come any closer to tdk in terms of either entertainment or deeper questions raised about the society.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, it's because in TDK, Bale was fighting Joker. Here's it's more Bale v/s Bale. Also as someone said, "The HERO is only as good as VILLAIN makes him".
DeleteJoker was clearly a class apart :)
Great analysis and while I happen to agree with it to a great extent, I believe that you have been a bit too generous in your overall estimation of the movie.
ReplyDeleteBtw, you can read my review of The Dark Knight Rises at the following link:
http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-rises-2012-exercise-in.html
Hi Murtaza,
DeleteThanks for dropping by and sharing your opinion. Will definitely read your review.