'The Dark Knight Rises' (English)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway and others
Running time: 164 minutes
Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman trilogy in typically spectacular,ambitious fashion with ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, but the feeling of frustrationand disappointment is unshakable.
Maybe that was inevitable. Maybe nothing could have met the expectationsestablished by 2008's ‘The Dark Knight’, which revolutionized and set thestandard for films based on comic books by being both high-minded andcrowd-pleasing. With Christian Bale as his tortured superhero starting from2005's ‘Batman Begins’, Nolan has explored the complicated and conflictingmotivations of man as well as the possibility of greatness and redemptionwithin society.
Here, as director and co-writer, he's unrelenting in hammering home thedread, the sorrow, the sense of detachment and futility of a city on the brinkof collapse with no savior in sight. Gotham is under siege in ways that tonallyand visually recall 9/11; what is obviously the island of Manhattan gets cutoff from the outside world at one point. Rather than seeming exploitative, it'sjust one of many examples of the script from Nolan and his usual collaborator,his brother Jonathan, making the franchise feel like a relevant reflection ofour times. Identity theft, economic collapse and an uprising of thedisgruntled, disenfranchised have-nots against the smug, comfy haves also comeinto play.
There's so much going on here, though, with so many new characters who areall meant to function in significant ways that ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ feelsoverloaded, and sadly lacking the spark that gave 2008's ‘The Dark Knight’ suchvibrancy. The absence of Heath Ledger, who won a posthumous Oscar for hisportrayal of the anarchic and truly frightening Joker, is really obvious here.It retrospect, it makes you realize how crucial Ledger's performance was inmaking that Batman movie fly.
By comparison, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is plot-heavy, obsessed with process,laden with expository dialogue and flashbacks that bog down the momentum and —dare I say it? — just flat-out boring at times. Yes, the Batman world throughNolan's eyes is supposed to be moody and introspective; you've got to admirethe fact that he is willing to challenge us this way when summer blockbustersso often feel flashy and hollow. And yet at the same time, it takes some giantleaps with its characters which either make no sense, haven't earned theemotions they're seeking, or both.
‘The Dark Knight Rises’ does feature the kind of impeccable productionvalues we've come to expect from Nolan's films; many members of his core teamare back, including cinematographer Wally Pfister, editor Lee Smith andproduction designers Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’feels weighty and substantive — and, thankfully, isn't in 3-D — but it takes onan even grittier look than its predecessors as Gotham City devolves intodesperation and ruin.
But Nolan's approach is so coldly cerebral that it's a detriment to thefilm's emotional core. It's all doom and gloom and no heart. There is no reasonto care about these characters, who function more as cogs in an elaborate,chaotic machine than as real people whose souls are at stake.
It's been four years since ‘The Dark Knight’ came out but eight years havepassed in terms of story. Bale's Bruce Wayne suffers in self-imposed exile,sulking about Wayne Manor, mourning the loss of his darling Rachel and carryingthe burden of blame for the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent. His goal ofa peaceful Gotham has been achieved, but he's left as a man without a purpose.Michael Caine, as the ever-loyal valet Alfred, brings dignity and eloquence tothe film as he begs Bruce to carve out his own form of happiness. Fellowveterans Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon and Morgan Freeman as gadget guruLucius Fox are their usual dignified selves, but they don't register the waythey should because the film is so overstuffed.
Several new characters manage to draw Bruce out of his funk in various ways.Anne Hathaway brings some much needed zest to the proceedings as Selina Kyle,otherwise known as Catwoman in the Batman universe, a slinky thief whopunctures Bruce's bubble when she lifts his fingerprints from his safe, alongwith a beloved pearl necklace. She's selfish and cynical, only looking out forherself, but at least she goes about her crimes with some verve and style. Theynever call her Catwoman by name, and she's never as campy as Michelle Pfeifferand Halle Berry were in previous film incarnations of the role, but she'salways fun to watch.
The other woman in Bruce's life, however, is woefully underdeveloped — whichis a real problem because she plays a key role in the film's climacticrevelations. Marion Cotillard (one of many alumni from Nolan's ‘Inception’)co-stars as Miranda Tate, a wealthy philanthropist who hopes to work with WayneEnterprises on developing clean, sustainable energy. The romance that developsbetween her and Bruce is utterly unbelievable.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt adds a youthful presence as John Blake, anup-and-coming member of the police force who inspires Bruce to revisit his ownchildhood as an orphan. Gordon-Levitt as solid as always but there's not muchto his character aside from earnestness.
Then there's Bane, a muscular mass of pure evil who orchestrates anelaborate takeover of Gotham City. The role is a huge waste of what Tom Hardycan do; his character is so one-dimensional and poorly defined, he's never somuch a fearsome figure as a large and hulking one. It doesn't help matters thatit's often difficult to make out what he's saying beneath the cage-like muzzlethat covers his nose and mouth and alters his voice. Hardy can be sexy andcharismatic (as he proved in "Inception") but also a dangerous andunpredictable figure. None of that is on display here. He's all brute force.
But he is the instigator of the film's dazzling opening sequence, worthy ofthe best of James Bond: a daring aerial maneuver in which Bane kidnaps ascientist by hijacking his plane from the skies above. That's probably the mosteffective of the many set pieces Nolan stages here, although the collapse ofHeinz Field during a packed football game also has an urgent, visceral quality,with thrills that recall the most imaginative moments of "Inception."
This is the problem when you're an exceptional, visionary filmmaker. Whenyou give people something extraordinary, they expect it every time. Anythingshort of that feels like a letdown.