Based upon the DC comic series and characters created by Bob Kane
Screenplay Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Produced and Directed by Christopher Nolan
**** (four stars)
In memory of and solidarity with the victims and families of the Aurora, Colorado tragedy.
I just do not know or understand how he does it.
The filmmaking career of Writer/Director Christopher Nolan is a true cinematic rarity as the quality of his output is of such consistently and uncommonly high artistic quality. Time and again, he has proven how to weave rich and deeply complex tales while also fusing the artistry of film storytelling and raking in beyond hefty commercial profits together seamlessly and thrillingly. There has not been even one film that has displeased me in the least and I have to say that while I have loved all of his films so far, his re-invention of the Batman legend has been my personal favorite by a long shot. I loved how he doesn't treat his subject matter as mere "comic book movies" but more as literary adaptations. Such is the heft and gravitas he has delivered, starting with "Batman Begins" (2005) and continuing with the superlative second chapter, "The Dark Knight" (2008), a film I loved so much that not only did it rank near the peak of my Top Ten Favorite Films of 2008, it has also earned a high ranking within my Top Ten Films from the previous decade of 2000-2009!
In my original review of "The Dark Knight," I questioned if a certainly inevitable third installment should even be made because I feared that any new chapter could not possibly ever be that good again, even with someone as supremely talented as Nolan at the helm. Now, that inevitable third installment, "The Dark Knight Rises," has arrived and with this final chapter, does it indeed scale the exact same heights or even surpass what Nolan achieved with "The Dark Knight"? Well...not quite as I did notice a few unprecedented signs of storytelling strain on Nolan's part this time around that presented to me minor flaws, which I will explain--SPOILER FREE--very shortly. But, all of that being said, "The Dark Knight Rises" is an explosively exhausting emotional experience. A boldly grim film that completely and unapologetically ignores all of the traits of the happy-go-lucky summer film going experience in favor of presenting a ferociously dark vision that resonates so powerfully that Nolan nearly re-defines what and how awesome a motion picture can actually be. "The Dark Knight Rises" is nothing less than a Herculean piece of filmmaking that stands triumphantly on its own terms while also illuminating the mighty accomplishment Nolan has achieved throughout this entire trilogy as a whole.
Set eight years after the events of "The Dark Knight," we rejoin the inhabitants of Gotham City during a lengthy spell of peace as the major crime element has all but been eradicated. Unfortunately, all is not well underneath the surface of the top two key players of Gotham's newfound resurgence. Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), whose guilt over allowing Batman to take the fall over Harvey Dent's crimes is near all consuming and of course, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) himself, whose own level of guilt has taken such a physical and psychological toll, that it has lead him to hang up his cape and cowl for good and become a recluse from Gotham society.
Further still, the arrival of Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a sexy thief and the building presence of the hulking (and face obscured) domestic terrorist only known as Bane (Tom Hardy) spring forth a chain of events which spiral towards Gotham's horrific day of reckoning, compelling Bruce Wayne to re-enter society as Batman, to protect the city from complete destruction once and for all. And dear readers, that is all that i feel comfortable sharing with you as to not accidentally produce those nasty spoilers!
Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" is a spectacular presentation filled with flawless cinematography, set design, editing as well as an innovative and nerve rattling "war drum" fueled score from Composer Hans Zimmer. All of the action sequences are expertly designed, staged and executed and the film's extended climax, spotlighting the war in Gotham City is outstanding to say the least. Additionally, and concerning the close contact battles between Batman and Bane, I cannot remember the last time I have seen fist fights conducted with such pummeling forcefulness and rage, so much so that it is truly bone crushing. But, "The Dark Knight Rises" is not mindless sound and fury by any means, certainly a style of vacuousness that we would not ever expect from Christopher Nolan in the first place anyway.
Utilizing musical terms, I once referred to "Batman Begins" as an "overture," and "The Dark Knight" as "opera." To that end, "The Dark Knight Rises" to me, functions as a requiem. Booming, brazen, brutal and bombastic, but a requiem nonetheless. With this third chapter, Christopher Nolan has beautifully crafted a most effective finale, one that is elegiac and feels definitive, mostly in regards to the story and arc of Bruce Wayne. For instance, during much of the film's first third or so, we see Wayne in a state of dilapidation, crippling regret and physical deterioration as witnessed through his usage of a walking cane to move around as well as hearing the results of an eye opening doctor's visit. I enjoyed how Nolan gave Bruce Wayne a Howard Hughes/"Citizen Kane" vibe as he skulks around his massive manor, wracked with feelings of failure and mourning. Because of this element in particular, along with many elements that he has introduced throughout the trilogy, I have to stand up and applaud Nolan greatly for presenting the legend of Batman by giving me sights and emotions in a way that I had never imagined them before. Witnessing Bruce Wayne's emotional paralysis plus his eventual economic downfall gave this installment an even more provocative level of humanity to cling to in a genre that rarely acknowledges it.
All of the performances are pitch perfect throughout "The Dark Knight Rises." Christian Bale again shows that he is the finest Caped Crusader to ever take on the role and Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and especially Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne's trusty butler Alfred, all reach new dramatic and soulful heights which anchor and broaden their respective characters and the emotional landscape of the film tremendously. Marion Cotilliard and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, graduates from Nolan's "Inception" (2010) and newcomers to this trilogy, both accommodate themselves handsomely through mystery, allure, strength and steadfast determination.
But, the question that I am certain is on most potential viewers' minds in regards to this final installment is how the villainous presence of Bane, and the performance of Tom Hardy in particular stacks up, especially after Heath Ledger's hypnotically unhinged performance as The Joker rightly awarded Ledger with a posthumous Oscar award. While some may quibble, I shall not as I felt that Hardy made for a formidable foe. With his muscular frame, imposing physicality, unforgiving violence combined with his elegant diction and nihilistic philosophy, Bane struck me as the nightmarish "love child" of Darth Vader and Hannibal Lector and his every appearance and vocal utterances sent chills up and down my spine. Hardy's performance wisely does not even attempt to compete with what Ledger accomplished. But Hardy has indeed created a performance that could easily stand shoulder to shoulder with Ledger's, as his presentation of the nature of unrepentant evil, anarchy and a bizarre world view of creating liberation through cataclysm shook the theater walls and my spirit exhaustively.
With a world of comic book villains in Batman's universe to choose from, it may seem odd to pick a character like Bane as opposed to say, The Penguin but it all felt to be fitting with Nolan's aesthetics for this trilogy. Through Bane, and to a slightly lesser extent with Selina Kyle, Christopher Nolan grandly ensures that all of the story threads introduced in the first film and carried through the second, reach a convincing and effective conclusion and to that, he has succeeded grandly. All of the conceptual themes of what makes a society flourish or flounder and the nature of evil contained therein climbs to a fever pitch in "The Dark Knight Rises" as Nolan continues to treat his version of Gotham City not as a Gothic wonderland but as real as any real world city with its fractured political, social and economic structure. The class divisions Nolan introduced in "Batman Begins" boil to full on class warfare that undeniably made me think of The French Revolution, The Russian Revolution and most obviously, the current Occupy Movement. To this, I don't care how much Nolan sidesteps this issue but when Selina menacingly says to Bruce Wayne that a "storm is coming" and asks angrily how could "those who live so large leave so little for the rest of us," what else am I supposed to think of?! Nolan gives us a topsy turvy, through the looking glass view of the cyclical nature of wealth that proves to be especially riveting as the wealthy are being dragged from their homes and into the streets. And yet, what a crafty move it is for Nolan to give us an "Eat The Rich" mentality while also asking us to sympathize with Bruce Wayne, the ultimate 1 per center. That emotional murkiness also assists the full resonance of "The Dark Knight Rises" masterfully.
And yet, I did say earlier that I felt some flaws with "The Dark Knight Rises." Very, very minor but flaws nonetheless. I suppose, first of all, I felt that some story threads and revelations fit together a tad too forcefully. And in comparison to the knife's edge intensity of "The Dark Knight," this third chapter did meander a taste here and there. But, it was the character of Selina Kyle that gave me the slightest sense of trepidation. Granted, Anne Hathaway gives the role all she's got, and she nails the character's duplicitous and ultimately, conflicted nature perfectly. But, for reasons I just cannot quite put my finger on, her presence did not feel as seamless or as fluid as the collective of villains in the previous two installments. It was certainly nothing that stuck out so greatly as to knock down my four star rating obviously, but it was just a slight nagging feeling that she was a hair shoehorned into the proceedings. Given that all of Nolan's other films have had the blessings of an air tight structure and plot, I wonder if the responsibility of concluding a trilogy as massive as this one provided Nolan with some more visibly noticeable pressure.
But, any of those feelings were wiped clean from my mind as all of the elements eventually snapped into place, making "The Dark Knight Rises" deliver an overwhelming cumulative effect. This film constantly placed me in a state of relentless, mounting dread. A grave threat of annihilation of the geographic as well as the spirit, which resulted in a white knuckle tension that literally left beads of sweat in the palms of my hands and a vice grip intensity that refused to let go. Again, Nolan cranks up the mayhem until it feels as if the screen will fracture in two and he still pushes the adrenaline further and higher while magically never sacrificing character, motivation, or emotion. And I'm telling you, the film's final five minutes or so are downright perfection! "The Dark Knight Rises" is not a film designed to be watched passively. This is truly one of those rare films that leave you exhilarated, slack jawed and completely spent...and you'll want to see it all over again.
What a treasure Christopher Nolan is for all of us who enjoy going to the movies to see something that is entirely transportive. For that is what "The Dark Knight Rises," and the trilogy in its entirety, has been. A full and complete journey into the heart of fear, anger, escalating violence, oblivion, redemption, sacrifice, honor and the undying belief and hope in humanity's better instincts. What Nolan has accomplished so brilliantly is to transcend an entire film genre and create something that feels almost unprecedented. Despite the foreboding nature of this series, I feel that the public's embrace of it proves that when storytelling is at its highest form, an audience will respond positively in turn. "The Dark Knight Rises" is an example of master class filmmaking and storytelling expressed through ingenious craftsmanship, high style and most importantly, supreme emotional and intellectual content and context.
"The Dark Knight Rises" is one of my favorite films of 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment