Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

There are three kinds of people in this world:

1)      People who like to go to a movie with a blank mind. No expectations, no spoilers and no opinions whatsoever. They probably kill spoiler spreaders in cold blood.

2)      People who go to a movie after reading some reviews and ensuring they are in for a good time. They’re the kind that reads the offer document carefully before investing.

3)      People who want to know the entire story before they watch a movie.

If you belong to class 1, kindly go away. There’s nothing for you here. Class 3 people, the Plot section of the Wikipedia page for The Dark Knight Rises would be a better place for you to look.

Class 2? Excellent. You’ve come to the right place.

***

And He shalt rise

You are presumably tired of all the The Dark Knight Rises reviews and fan posts flying hither and thither. This one is no different from the mainstream ones, I believe, and I wouldn’t blame you if you decide not to read any further. But I do promise you an unadulterated review; I haven’t read anything related to the movie (except the Knightfall comic series) starting from June 20 – exactly a month before the release of what is in all probability the most anticipated movie of the year – not even after I watched it yesterday morning at 11. What you read (if you do read) is my opinion alone.

It was in February 2010 that Christopher Nolan announced the much-anticipated news – he finally had cracked a story for the sequel to the ridiculously brilliant The Dark Knight. Fans of the franchise jumped with glee. It’s going to be awesome, we said, Nolan knows his stuff. He won’t let us down. The master filmmaker will see to it that the last of the much loved saga would be perfectly crafted with no loose ends. The long wait only made the nerves curl with huge expectations of an epic conclusion worthy of the Gotham Nolan had created.

The big question is: Does the movie deliver?

Yes. It does.

Right from the opening scene, Nolan’s invisible signature is felt, sprawling across the screen. The sequence in which a captive Bane escapes from a plane (shown in trailers, so not a spoiler, this) is one of the best I’ve ever seen and it sets the tone for things to come. The non-linear narrative, the portrayal of a Bruce Wayne who hasn’t donned the cape and cowl for eight bleak years, the anatomical exploration of human emotions, the slow goose-bump inducing build-up and efficient development of new characters ensure that you remain riveted in the first half. After the break, Nolan spits in his hands, rolls his sleeve and gets down to business. There’s a new vehicle in the Batcave – The Bat; the masked behemoth Bane potters around in his mercenary uniform, causing orderly havoc and fear; Bruce Wayne is pushed to limits mentally, physically and emotionally; and all other characters – Lucius Fox, Selina Kyle, John Blake, Commissioner Gordon, Miranda Tate et al make merry with their time in the spotlight. That’s all you’ll get out of me. The action sequences and special effects are spectacular and breathtaking, just as in Inception; kudos to the visual effects team.

Christian Bale is remarkable as the caped crusader and gives his best performance in the trilogy. Tom Hardy had the huge shoes – not literally – of Heath Ledger to fill as the antagonist of the film. His portrayal of the menacing, agile, cold, cunning, calculating and physical Bane deserves a toast. He goes to prove his versatility after playing the engaging Eames in Inception and being marvellously magnificent in the little-known 2009 indie Bronson. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young detective John Blake delivers a captivating performance. Mark my words, unless they screw up pretty bad, Gordon-Levitt and Hardy have huge stuff happening for them in the future. Anne Hathaway as always is a delight to watch and is mesmerizing as the foxy Selina Kyle/ Catwoman and so is Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine – all I say is that they are Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.

The music, for me, was a bit of a letdown after the unique, jarring, broody masterpiece with a subtle emotional core that was the soundtrack of the previous two films. Hans Zimmer’s crowd-sourced chant is undeniably the most blood-chilling and epic bit of soundtrack from the entire trilogy. But that apart, the score has certain bland patches here and there, and James Newton Howard’s (Zimmer’s collaborator in the previous two films) contribution was sorely missed.

Thematically, The Dark Knight Rises utilises clichés at points and may not be as strong as its predecessor, which revelled in the disarray and chaos of the Joker’s unrestrained anarchy. But we do realize that exploration into deeper territories would have been disastrous, seeing this is the final chapter of the saga, and that nothing else could have fit the bill as perfectly as this film did – Nolan and the gang don’t let us down. As a story with an aim to bring a beloved tale to conclusion, The Dark Knight Rises more than exceeds expectations.