The Dark Knight Rises

2

July 22, 2012 by Mithil

It was kind of big deal. There was no question of missing the show on first day. For those batman fans this was primarily Christopher Nolan’s movie rather than any actors in the movie. Only few directors can engender such massive hype and I bet right now Nolan is sitting comfortably on top of the pile. His biggest achievement according to me are those brilliant movies(The Prestige, Inception) he directed while he was scripting the best superhero flicks of the time. He revolutionized Batman and weaved the magic of dark knight so profoundly that made me give a ‘muggle’ look to other superhero movies. Before going to watch TDKR I was apprehensive about the reception it will generate, I just couldn’t fathom the thought of failure and how a sad end it would be to watch it getting publically deprecated. So without being overly optimistic about the movie I strolled into the theatre to catch the epic dawn of the dark knight. Little did I know at that time how relieved and also excited I would be when I walk out.

Even 8 years subsequent to the death of Harvey Dent, people of Gotham believes the Batman is the real killer of Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne(Christian Bale) cocooned himself from the world and is still searching solace after the death of Rachel Dawes. Meanwhile far from the city of Gotham a goon named Bane(Tom Hardy) is concocting a conspiracy against the people of Gotham. Lending him a helping hand is the woman named Selina Kyle(Anne Hathaway), who cares more about herself than any other thing in the world. Then there is Miranda Tate(Marion Cotillard) who’s mysteriously eager to help Bruce Wayne save his company. Comm. Gordon(Gary Oldman) comes into action when he finds about the working of Bane and his gang from the young recruit Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). From the description of one might guess about the good group and the bad group, but wait think again there is some major fence jumping you will witness while watching the movie.

The thing most peculiar about the movie is it’s tone and the feel of it, it’s the same with the other two. The movie starts off great, while Bane is busy planning the annihilation of Gotham City, Bruce Wayne is shown indifferent to the city he ones safeguarded. The dialogues between Christian Bale and Michael Caine are still witty and a real treat to watch. Although he doesn’t enjoy much screen time Caine puts more than required effort to make his character watchable. Like the other two movies Nolan focuses on the human tendencies of Batman and how he overcomes it to be a more formidable opponent against his enemy. There are lot of amazing shots screened on the streets and tunnels which are spectacularly captured. One would like to sit back and take a notice of how Nolan ones again executes some complex scenes with ease and etches it forever in the memory. The scenes in the well and the one in football ground are extraordinary, undeniably he spews out some of the best scenes (and dialogues) of this year(Salutes to Wally Pfister also for cinematography). Some of the best moments of this movie are between Batman and Catwoman. It’s fair to say than Anne did fantastic job and maybe bagged her own movie unknowingly. For Nolan, the climax of this movie is very unorthodox, the injected drama stretches the movie a little too long. The music of the movie created by Hans Zimmer does adds to the whole effects.

Although his performances was dwarfed by the late Heath Ledger in the last Batman movie Christian Bale steps up to occasion this time. Reminiscent of the first Batman movie, his performance in this movie reflects the complexity he can add to the character of Bruce Wayne. This is not his best performances, but one that could be cast aside for remembrance. Fortunately Anne Hathway got pretty good role to play. She adds that cockiness to the character and her chemistry with Bale is noteworthy. With her acrobatic moves and combating skills makes the Batman redundant.  I thought she had just a cameo in the movie, but surprise surprise, Marion Cotillard with her killer smile and sheer acting skills makes a lasting impression in the movie. Although Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Morgan Freeman (Mr. Fox) are notable actors, one gets the impression they are not used efficiently. Except the climax Levitt fails to make a mark. Although his character looks very weak in terms of contribution to the movie, Gary Oldman puts brave face and makes it look so simple. That leads me to the character of Bane, he starts spectacularly with some cheesy lines and brawny persona  but fades away in the second half. There are hardly any dialogues in the second half and his presence is replaced by the dramatic background music. Twist in climax also make his presence rather diminishing.

Let me just say this to those who are planning to watch, for me it’s no ‘The Dark Knight’ no it doesn’t reach that ground, but if you go in the theatre seeking new entertainment without the comparisons and references like I did,  then you could very much enjoy this movie. It’s a fitting end to a extraordinary trilogy, one that will sit with LOTR.   

IMDB