No Pain No Gain: A Review of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Anticipated grade: 10/10
Let me start by honoring the lives lost in the tragedy in Colorado.  I am saddened and sickened by this horrific act: the movies are supposed to be a safe haven where we can go as a community to witness all aspects of human life -- including violence -- and return to the real world afterwards safe and whole.



My expectations could not have been higher going into THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.  With BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT, Christopher Nolan had already proved that he was crafting not only one of the greatest superhero sagas, but one of the greatest trilogies of all time, and this was it: the grand finale.  So let me get it out of the way early and say that this film does not quite measure up to the epic standard set by THE DARK KNIGHT, but is still one of the most satisfying conclusions to a trilogy outside of LORD OF THE RINGS.  Nolan has effectively sidestepped the dreaded third-film curse made famous by the SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN franchises and has instead delivered a pulse-pounding, grandiose, complex, and satisfying conclusion.

Nolan has been quoted as saying that each film in his trilogy has a specific theme that can be summed up in one word.  In BEGINS, it was "fear."  In DARK KNIGHT, it was "chaos."  Here, the theme is "pain."  For the final chapter, Nolan puts each and every character through the wringer, both emotionally and physically.  The bad guys are bigger, the battles rougher, and the stakes higher than ever.

In RISES, Christian Bale turns in his best performance as the Caped Crusader.  Eight years have passed since the end of THE DARK KNIGHT, and Bruce Wayne is a broken man in both mind and body.  Bale has said that he was attracted to the character because he has three personalities: the angry young man whose parents were taken from him; the playboy billionaire he pretends to be to the rest of the world; and of course, Batman.  At the beginning of RISES, Bruce Wayne is so defeated, he has been stripped of two of his three masks: not only has he hung up his cowl, he has retreated from the public eye, stewing in his own bitterness over Rachel's death and his role in Harvey Dent's downfall.  Bale's characterization of this broken man, and his epic journey through pain is truly remarkable.  Of course, as the title suggests, he is ultimately able to rise above the pain, and is a stronger and better man for it.  It's a compelling arc and a tour-de-force performance.

Bale is joined by an immense cast full of other actors all at the top of their game.  The old standards are all here: Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox gets perhaps the least screen time of all the returning players, but still naturally exudes his reassuring Morgan-Freeman-ian presence; Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon is a man tortured by the truth that he helped cover-up about Harvey Dent and compelled to rectify his mistakes; and Michael Caine as Alfred delivers what is assuredly the most heartbreaking performance of all three films.

Then there's the new additions, which are a veritable who's-who of INCEPTION cast-members: Tom Hardy as Bane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate.  Do not expect Hardy's Bane to measure up to the menacingly charismatic turn by Heath Ledger as the Joker.  That performance will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest villains of all time, and lightning that good rarely strikes twice.  But Bane is a much different villain than the Joker, so such comparisons are pointless anyway.  Where the Joker was all about chaos, Bane is all about a master plan.  Where the Joker was a master of mind games, Bane is a master of brute physical force.  Where the Joker reveled in people decaying into their baser instincts, Bane wants to (in his own diabolical way) help the citizens of Gotham return to their natural order (in other words, he wants to abolish the aristocracy -- a very prescient theme in this political climate.)  Hardy's performance is thus appropriately cold and measured, where Ledger's was heated and wild.  Gordon-Levitt and Cotillard both deliver typically solid performances that are at times overshadowed by the more showy characters surrounding them -- but rest assured that both of their characters will become essential before the end of the film's 165-minute running time.

And finally, there's Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (never once referred to by the name "Catwoman"). Every person out there who doubted her capability should be eating crow right about now.  Not only does she play an effective Catwoman, she steals nearly every scene she's in and will undoubtedly be one of the characters people are talking about most after the credits roll.  She doesn't try to compete with Michelle Pfeiffer's classic portrayal of the same character in Tim Burton's BATMAN RETURNS -- that would be both impossible and fruitless.  But in the way that Bane and the Joker are two completely different villains, these two Catwomans (Catwomen?) are like apples and oranges: where Pfeiffer's was unhinged and bent on revenge, Hathaway's is wholly sane and looking out for her own best interests.  (Both however, are sassy and seductive.)  This is probably a career-best performance for Hathaway, even better than her Oscar-nominated turn in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, in my opinion, because it is so far out of type for her and she succeeds at it brilliantly.

The film is predictably stunning to look at, especially in IMAX.  Over 50 minutes of the film's footage were shot with IMAX cameras -- the film with the previous record for most minutes of IMAX footage was MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL with just under 30.  This makes the film essential to see in a real IMAX theater, if at all possible -- the eye-popping opening sequence, the sweeping shots of Gotham, bone-breaking fights, the battles in the streets, are all rendered on an epic and breathtaking scale.

The one place RISES falters a bit in comparison with DARK KNIGHT is in its plotting.  The plot of THE DARK KNIGHT was so tightly constructed that the whole film unspooled like a well-oiled machine.  In RISES, there are couple moments that will require the viewer to suspend disbelief, something Nolan had been largely successful at avoiding to this point in the franchise.  A piece of technology is converted into a weapon with remarkable ease and speed; characters heal from debilitating injuries with similar ease and speed.  And as plot twists emerge in the final hour, character motivations become a bit murky.  However, these are small flaws in what is otherwise a solid film.

Perhaps the best thing about RISES is the way it brings the entire franchise full circle.  I can't say much without spoiling some significant plot points, but RISES actually has more in common with BATMAN BEGINS than it does with THE DARK KNIGHT.  This reflection of the franchise's first film imbues RISES with the sense that there was always a master plan (whether or not that's true is another matter), and it will give the viewer a nice sense of finality.

While a few elements of what made THE DARK KNIGHT such a mega-success are missing here -- namely the tight plotting, the iconic villain, and the gleeful sense of chaos -- there are just as many elements that work beautifully, including the stellar performances, Nolan's trademark tension and gritty realism, and the stunning cinematography.  All of these combine to make RISES if not the best of the three Dark Knight films, at the least the best closing chapter of a franchise in recent memory, and a film event not to be missed by any lover of cinema.

Actual grade: 9/10

What did you think of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES?