The End of an Era

It is only July 22nd, but I think I can happily say that The Dark Knight Rises is my favourite film of 2012, if not the best film of 2012. And yes, I say this remembering that I still have "The Hobbit" to look forward to in Novembr. I just watched "Batman Begins" for the umpteenth time and reminded myself that this trilogy didn't only achieve greatness with "The Dark Knight", this trilogy began and ended with a bang!

In "Batman Begins" we saw the dawning of an intelligent superhero film. What has always made Batman unique and more interesting than almost all other heroes is his total lack of superpowers. We don't have to believe in magic or aliens or science that's so advanced, it's barely even science anymore! Thank you Dan Brown for that inspiring quote. Batman, and indeed all of his enemies and allies, lives in the real world, our world, and Nolan has captured this so perfectly and has reminded us with his franchise what the true essence is of Batman's character, whilst at the same time adapting the hero in a completely new and unique way!

Creating a third and final film which did justice to this legacy was not going to be easy. Only someone as talented and imaginative as Christopher Nolan could achieve it and, boy, did he!

The most appropriate and fitting word to describe this franchise finale I think has to be "epic". Christopher Nolan does epic better than any other director, as we saw with "The Dark Knight" and as he has proved once again with "The Dark Knight Rises". This film isn't without its flaws, there are moments in the plot which may seem somewhat unclear or slightly random, however, these are but small moments in an incredibly thrilling, visually stunning, beautifully performed and almost flawlessly directed film, which will, I believe, go down in history forever as one of the greatest superhero films ever made - a list which "The Dark Knight" could possibly forever top!

(Spoilers coming for "The Dark Knight":) "The Dark Knight Rises" follows on eight years after the end of "The Dark Knight". Gotham City's DA and White Knight, Harvey Dent, aka Two Face is dead and as a tribute to his legacy a law has been enacted, the "Dent Act", which has taken down most of the city's organised crime and created a period of peace or, at the very least, something which seems like peace. To Gotham's misfortune, however, Bane (Tom Hardy) then arrives on the scene to destroy this harmony and bring war back to Gotham. Bruce Wayne, having lived the past eight years in hiding, the ghost of  Wayne Manner, is forced to reemerge as the Batman for one last fight, only this time, it looks like he might not win!

Nolan has created some of the best, most complex and intricate stories of the past decade. This is one of his greatest attributes as a director: "The Dark Knight", "Inception", or even the less well-known "Prestige". He is the master of movie twists and this new superhero triumph is no exception! No character is without motive or depth in this film. This isn't just a comic book romp, but an intelligent, moving film. Furthermore, in all of its 2:44 minutes, I wouldn't name one unnecessary scene or one moment of lull.

So many stories intertwine! The ongoing inner struggle of Bruce Wayne. Most of his loved one's dead, fighting practically alone to save the soul of America's most corrupt city. Such complexity and varied emotions which we experience through Bruce require a skilled actor to portray, one not typical to the super hero genre. Rise up Christian Bale, a method actor and a fantastic one at that. Bale puts his entire self into his roles, risking health and sanity to do so, not unlike the physical and psychological torment Bruce Wayne puts himself through to be the caped crusader. Nolan's casting is careful and very deliberate. He won't just go for a Hollywood name to draw in big crowds, something which really pays off if you want to make a great film.Christian Bale makes so much more sense as the Batman than George Clooney and who else would have cast Heath Ledger as the Joker or put the Brit, Tom Hardy at the centre of 2012's biggest blockbuster!

Bane has his own backstory and a strong mystery surrounding his origins. The second and third Nolan/Batman films almost have to be described as having multiple protagonists, rather than merely the hero dominating centre stage, as is typical in other super films, such as the Spider-Mans and perhaps most obviously in the Iron Mans. In TDK, the Joker is allowed almost as much screen time as Batman and is arguably a far more interesting character. In TDKR, both Bane and the morally ambivalent Catwoman are fleshed out and allowed to develop as people, not merely iconic images.

Bane initially appears to be purely motivated by a dark and corrupt soul, if he even has one! But as the movie develops layers are added and, as always, Nolan proves to have chosen a more interesting Batman villain that merely going for one of the obvious ones from the various cartoon series: the Penguin, Mr Freeze (*shudder*). Hardy is a great actor, he exudes force and has an amazing and imposing presence. He dominates a scene and can be terrifying. Yet, despite having bulked up immensely for this part, we can sense as an audience, behind the brutish facade, that there is great intelligence in those eyes and that voice. Bane was never merely a brute in the comics, but a genius and Hardy displays both these characteristics well. That said, I believe towards the end of the film, as Bane becomes less of a central threat, his character and story are side-lined and sacrificed a little and we don't get to finish with him properly. Furthermore, as stated above, there are slight confusions and blurs in his back story, which are mostly deliberate on Nolan's behalf but don't always feel so. Perhaps Nolan has tried to do too much at once?!

That said, I have nothing but praise for Hardy's performance and, indeed, for the other two main characters added to this film: Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and police officer Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Hathaway is so good at being totally sexy and feminine, but also completely bad ass. You don't feel like her amazing body and obvious appeal sacrifice her power and independence. She is a strong female lead! This blend of sexy and super are best depicted when Catwoman uses her high heels to cripple an attacking thug. I kind of wish I was her.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the young, idealistic policeman, who still believes in good overcoming evil and is utterly incorruptible. Commissioner Gordon (the wonderful Gary Oldman) is getting older and a new generation of moral law enforcers are needed to lead the battles he once led. Gordon-Levitt is given a lot of screen time, which I will always support, and makes a potentially boring character cool and someone you can root for! He is so good-looking and yet in a way that can be completely understated and allows for him to be both an appealing lead but also a great character actor. I definitely see him as one of our generation's greatest talents.

One aspect of Nolan's franchise which cannot be faulted is his dedication to fantastic fight scenes. At the end of the day, this is a Batman film and we as an audience don't have to wait patiently until the end for a satisfying punch! So many of the Avenger precursors fell into the boring trap of saving up one big fight for the end - which was often disappointing and brief - and focusing the entire first three quarters of the film on backstory, character building and amusing shenanigans! TDKR has multiple confrontations between Batman and Bane, between Catwoman and various mobsters, between policeman and vigilantes, and between pretty much all of Gotham's citizens at one point or another.


We can always rely on the Dark Knight trilogy for amazing effects and magnificent stunts. In "The Dark Knight" it was the truck flipping over as Batman battled the Joker on the streets of Gotham and in "The Dark Knight Rises" we are not left wanting for brilliant stunts from our actors and our props. The Batmobile alone - not even a Batmobile any more really, but now just called "the Bat" and basically some sort of plane - with its detachable motorcycle is always learning new tricks and always exciting to watch. The well-known trailer clip of the collapsing football field is probably this film's rotating truck, but there are many more amazing feats to rival it. Nolan's imagination is almost unparalleled in cinema. It's worth watching his DVD extras to see him describe how he comes up with these hugely expensive and visually stunning scenes, which often only allow for one take.

The costumes manage to mix the traditional ideas we have of Batman, Catwoman etc, with a modern twist and avoid the camp, spandex-y theme of many of its predecessors. There are no pronounced nipples on Bale's costume! Catwoman's cat ears are goggles and the Batmobile is a military vehicle designed to jump rivers, looking more like a tank than a sleek winged car.

Music and soundtrack are also one of this trilogy's high points. The original score to these films is so iconic now, there is so much to recognise from "The Dark Knight". Every noise in this film, ever piece of music, every chant, every cry, everything is placed carefully to make you feel something specific, to send shivers down your spine, to make you lean forward subconsciously in your seat, to make you grip your armrests in suspense! I do believe, along with films such as "Gladiator" and "The Lord of thee Rings", that the Dark Knight trilogy has one of the best and most emotive soundtracks of any film to date.

All of that said, what truly makes this third and final installment worthy  of concluding one of the film world's greatest franchises is its ending! When awaiting Harry Potter 7, I wasn't sure it was possible for any book to be good enough to satisfy my needs after such a great series. Likewise, I wasn't sure that even Christopher Nolan could make a film to follow "the Dark Knight", let alone both amazing Batman films. However, like with the seventh Harry Potter book, Nolan has achieved this beyond doubt! I don't want to give away any spoilers, that would be beyond cruel, so all I will say is that you will come out of the cinema both sad that such an amazing franchise has ended, but utterly convinced that it couldn't have been given a better send off!

Is this new instalment as good as "The Dark Knight"? Probably not. For me, the main things holding it back are a slightly less sleek plot and, unsurprisingly, the lack of Heath Ledger's unparalleled performance as the Joker. That said, saying TDK Rises isn't as good as TDK is like saying  "Goodfellas" isn't as good as "The Godfather". TDK was cinematic perfection, a film that you don't expect to arrive more than once a decade and "The Dark Knight Rises" is still a cinematic masterpiece and a greater film than 99% of directors will ever achieve. Well done, Chris! I can't wait to see what you do next!