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Thursday, July 19, 2012
MOVIE REVIEW
The Dark Knight Rises
Layers Of Truth, Secrets, Fear And Hope In Gotham
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, with the outfit of his alter ego, in Christopher
Nolan's epic drama "The Dark Knight Rises".
Warner Brothers
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Thursday, July 19,
2012
It's been eight years of exile
for Bruce Wayne, and by extension Batman, Gotham City's caped crusader, in demi-fugitive
status living reclusively after Batman's "guilt" in the death of city D.A.
Harvey Dent. In "The Dark Knight Rises" Batman remains very much a wanted
man, and by the time Christopher Nolan's bloated, frantic epic reaches its third
hour a whole city will want him more than ever.
Mr. Nolan knows how to carve entrances in large-scale films ("The
Dark Knight") and doesn't disappoint with the hair-raising opening in
the final film in his "Batman" trilogy. With half of "The Dark Knight
Rises" filmed in IMAX, its opening, featuring a transfixing Tom Hardy, sinister
and slightly Churchill-sounding at times as Bane, Batman's greatest nemesis, is
almost worth the price of admission. With his broad, layered and
fascinating franchise based on the DC Comics created by Bob Kane, it is clear
Mr. Nolan has a keen sense of vision, spectacle and proportion. The
director's shrewd, groundbreaking use of IMAX in motion pictures -- the only way
to see this new film, which opens tonight at midnight in the U.S. and Canada --
is perfectly tailored to the scope, architecture and ambition he possesses.
It was Mr. Nolan's sheer ambition and strong writing that fueled "The Dark
Knight", an almost flawless exercise back in 2008 but with "The Dark Knight
Rises" the very busy Gotham landscape on screen reveals a director struggling to
balance visionary prowess with tidiness, discipline and cohesion (ala
"Inception".)
The longer this two hour and forty-five minute film plays the clearer it is that
it strains to tie everything and every theme together. At times "The Dark
Knight Rises", which will break opening U.S. weekend gross records (I predict
$235 million) feels forced, its execution often sloppy. Places meant to
replicate or stand in for venues are so blatantly off geography-wise that it is
distracting. (People watching in Pittsburgh will attest to this in one
scene in particular.) Subplots meant to sparkle feel stale, their very
existence curious. I kept waiting for "The Dark Knight Rises" to rise from
the ashes and define itself on its own terms as a film that stood on its own
shoulders but it never attained the status that its two years of pre-screen hype
appeared calculated to hint at or promise.
With the addition of Catwoman/Selina Kyle (played with sly sexiness and agility
by Anne Hathaway), Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and other new faces, Mr.
Nolan has a crowded stage that detracts from the main event, with scenes less
necessary than indispensible contributing to the film's grandiose length.
Characters suddenly have twists emerging from left field even within the context
of the story and its comic book origins -- origins which for the most part "The
Dark Knight Rises", an eye-popping, gargantuan cinematic event, follow very
closely. The director, who again co-wrote the film with his brother
Jonathan still has egregious problems crafting capable, dimensional female
characters, and has trouble winding down a film (as he did with "Inception".)
As dynamic and occasionally breathtaking as "The Dark Knight Rises" is, the film
borders on exhaustion in its final hour, hurrying to the finish line in
desperation as its gas tank runs almost on empty. The magic tricks and
wrinkles evaporate quickly after the end of hour number two. The film
feels as if it needs a little push as it searches for its second wind, and it is
then that some about-faces and abrupt wrap-ups get thrown at the screen and an
unsuspecting, perhaps mystified audience. Unlike "The Dark Knight" the new
film is not an especially memorable venture even if there are aspects of it that
are instantly re-watchable. Interesting and laughable by contrast is that
Mr. Bale, while inhabiting the Batsuit sounds uncannily similar to the gruff
Clint Eastwood in
"Gran Torino".
That said, what makes this particular Batman film series overall a memorable
enterprise is its director's willingness to shelve substantial big-budget action
sequences to instead delve deep behind the backgrounds of the title character
and his designated archrival/villain. Both Batman and Bane are wounded
figures emotionally and physically. Each carries deep secrets. Their
goals are arguably misunderstood. There's a striking, effective bit of
anarchy and subversion when Bane exhorts Gotham to rise up, and it taps squarely
into the outrage the general public had in September 2008 when the infamous
global financial crisis of catastrophe, corruption and greed was heightened and
running rampant. ("The Dark Knight" was still playing in many movie
theaters during that turbulent time, and Mr. Nolan clearly took notice.)
The director also hangs on to the chilling, unmistakable terror of 9/11/2001
from the prior film and makes it unforgettable again if repetitive here.
"The Dark Knight Rises" and its 2008 predecessor could be said to be very
similar but the big difference is that the level of complexity, discipline and
execution in "The Dark Knight" were all much stronger, even if the performances
overall (save Heath Ledger's classic Joker) were not. There's an
earthy, fertile feel to "The Dark Knight Rises" that evokes Mr. Nolan's first
superhero film.
As in the prior two films ("Batman Begins" was the first) Mr. Nolan crafts the
symbolism of Batman as a force for justice, as an idea, a universal spirit, a
talisman rather than an entity or specific being, and when this theme is played
out and expressed through strong acting by Christian Bale and excellent,
memorable work from the legendary Michael Caine as a poignant Alfred, "The Dark
Knight Rises" is at its very best. The idea that the will and instinct to
avenge, protect and save the human family is primal, and larger, more enduring
than any one person achieves powerful gravitas late on, supplemented by a
superb, rousing score from Hans Zimmer (working solo this time; James Newton
Howard collaborated with him on "The Dark Knight".)
When the story invests in analyzing hopes, fears, secrets and the need to
protect the innocent, all of which are done well here, "The Dark Knight Rises"
soars as an achingly human and identifiable experience, one that makes Batman,
Bane and the audience itself inseparable, a realization augmented by expansive
crowd scene shots of thousands of ordinary men, women and children in several
venues. Myths and legends are designed to inspire but also to protect
people from truths that can often be painful, and some fine acting by
Gary Oldman
as embattled Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon draws this out in one or two
scenes. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also a refreshing and sterling presence as
a young, idealistic Gotham police officer.
When the film investigates other areas and characters, attempting to tie
substantive back story and history together with the film's pace, which falters
and wavers, "The Dark Knight Rises" becomes a moderate disappointment,
collapsing like fresh bread removed from an oven. From great epic films
("Godfather", "Dark Knight") great additional things are expected from following
enterprises. Mr. Nolan's film hews more toward the direction of the third
Coppola "Godfather" but "The Dark Knight Rises" tries, huffs, puffs and dazzles
but doesn't sustain or fully capitalize upon the grandeur it only intermittently
flashes.
Also with: Morgan Freeman, Matthew Modine, and assorted cameos from faces that
most will recognize fairly instantly.
"The Dark Knight Rises" is rated
PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association Of America for
intense sequences of violence and action, some
sensuality and language. The film's
running time is two hours and 45 minutes.
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