The Dark Knight Rises- A Legendary Conclusion!

Really, Christopher Nolan, we have got to hand it to you. How can he turn out to be more and more inventive and powerful as a filmmaker and a storyteller with each outing? In a year so far dominated by the tongue-in-cheek ‘The Avengers;, featuring a ragtag ensemble of Stan Lee creations and a pretty unoriginal revamp of the Spiderman franchise, Nolan continues to set his own path on a completely different route. His much-anticipated conclusion, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, to the very compelling series that he spawned ends up being a film not just big in ambition but also in brains, brawns and, needless to say, emotions and feelings.

But we already saw it coming. So far, Christopher Nolan has set the standard high for himself, especially when it comes to the Batman franchise. Borrowing key elements and plot points from comic books, he has nonetheless reinvented the whole franchise in a whole new format that seems now near impossible to difficult to improve, or even replicate. And while the writer-director has doffed his hat at ‘Blade Runner’, in the ghettoes and looming skyscrapers in The Dark Knight Rises, his vision of Gotham City remains to be larger-than-life yet cerebral, gritty yet spectacular.

Beware For Bane Is Here.....

And he delivers bang for the buck in this stunning finale to the story that he has retold in equal power and grace. We begin on a peaceful yet cautiously murky note as the top brass of police and statesmen raise a toast to Harvey Dent, the man who once stood for the eventual end of crime and chaos in Gotham. Indeed, it is not to last. Vicious mercenary-turned terrorist Bane, a hulk and bulk of muscled terror, escapes certain capture and turns his narrow-eyed gaze at Gotham. We seem him first closing on diligent cop Gordon in the sewers of Gotham and it is indeed a shaken and desperate Gordon who first realizes that Gotham needs its Dark Knight again.

Batman Enters The Scene... Cue Applause!

But the man himself is not ready. Bruce Wayne is now a recluse and Nolan first shows him as merely a silhouette that is seen peeking at the opening tribute to Harvey Dent. He is holed up by his will inside his vast manor, with stubble and a crutch to support him. Clearly, he needs a surgery but he also needs to come back to manage both personal issues and his own obligations to the city. Sure, he does and we crow out loud with delight.

Bruce has a lot at stake this time. A slinky and suave safecracker named Selina Kyle seems to be on the prowl. It seems that Bane has been roped in to bring down Wayne Enterprises. However, Bane himself gives Wayne and the city a nasty edge of himself.

Bane Beats Batman....

But Batman Returns.....

He takes the city hostage, rampaging like a bull through its streets, sewers and rugby stadiums and leaving a formidable trail of destruction. However, this is not before keeping our own hero hostage in a dungeon which will test his will. He mounts a suitably formidable army tank and decries the very people who have saved Gotham from chaos, going on to reveal the very corruption that racked Dent. Then, he calls out loud for people to revolt against the corridors of power and wealth, while a ticking time-bomb threatens to blow everything to smithereens.

Bane Exposes The Corruption And Insanity Of Harvey
Dent To A Terrorized Crowd...

It is smashing to watch the film as Nolan takes over. He has now mastered a whole new style of filmmaking that blends a grandstanding action frame with a shattering, visceral plausibility. And nowhere is it evident with a film like this which wills the audience to submit to the force of its storytelling. It is a long ride, often in the risk of becoming choppy with so much of a story crammed up but Nolan grounds the film with an emotional resonance, while ensuring that we thrill to the clean-cut, brawny action sequences. The effect is a startlingly effective film that strikes at an emotional level.

Indeed, it is different from anything that Nolan has done before. The script, by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, packs in a whole crowd of new faces and Nolan properly invests each without losing focus on the main plot. This could mean that the story would drag but there is something to be said for Nolan’s confidence in his material and audience. The film is perfectly paced; even while it takes almost an hour for Wayne to get into character and costume, the action comes in neatly, almost incidentally, while the supporting cast lends enough stellar turns to thicken the gravy. Nolan ties up the strands with remarkable tight and the film is constantly nerve-wracking and tense.

Nolan’s finest strength is the way how he infuses minute nuances and details into the plot that make up for most of the surprises. And such fine layers of detailing add more depth to the characters and plot. There is one intense moment when Gordon, about to give a speech in honor of Dent, suddenly remembers in flashes the namesake’s insanity as a devious Two- Face. The effect is startlingly haunting and elegiac. A boy singing ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ at the start of a rugby match is unforgettably paralleled with Bane’s vicious plans unfolding; some moments later, an entire field explodes and the effect is effectively sobering. A tattered American flag suggests dystopia, while the snowy empty streets portray both claustrophobia and agoraphobia. Again, a flaming symbol shaped like a bat conveys a sense of faint optimism. The finely crafted touches linger the most in the mind, while the gritty action set-pieces take our breath away.

Batman Vs Bane In The Sewers- One Of The Most
Chilling Scene In The Film...

There is also something economical about the film. No, it is not the running time, but it is the way how Nolan fits in every piece of the puzzle without really crowding in everything. The action is judiciously placed in the film, the twists and turns coming in unexpectedly and rather neatly. The more emotional moments are handled with equal care and restraint. An argument between Wayne and his trusted butler Alfred is handled with impressive restraint while it is poignant and the romance is kept brief and incidental. The tough fist fights between Batman and Bane are adequately immediate and chilling, while the climactic chase is spectacular but lean and it smartly does not stretch. Bane’s brutality is seldom shown directly but it is rather implied and the effect is eerily Hitchcock-like. Nolan impresses by emotional balance as much he does by symmetrical artistry.

The cast is superb as well. Christian Bale, playing Batman and Bruce alternately, is a treat. His strongest card is the range that he brings to the role. At one point we see him believably vulnerable, at another we see him ready for a boardroom meeting, at another we seem him charismatically flirting with Selina, at another angry and determined. Inside the mask, he becomes convincingly creepy and chews up the action frames. It is an awesome, bravura performance.

Much is being debated about Tom Hardy as the central villain Bane. Some opine that he is nowhere near the cool malice of Heath Ledger’s Joker; some say that he is outstanding as well. I would choose a moderate line. Sure, Hardy does not quite burn up the frames the say way Ledger did and sometimes, it is difficult to make out what he actually says. Still, the rest- the bulking presence, the cold, hard-eyed expression and the comic-book villainy work quite well and he does manage to work out some of his killer lines well. He is fairly memorable, just not downright unforgettable.

Anne Hathaway Steals The Show As The Slinky And Sexy
Selina Kyle

Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman as Alfred and Fox bring in welcome dose of deadpan humor in the proceedings. The real treat of the film is Anne Hathaway. Her character Selina is a self-centered and vicious yet stunning and seductive enough to warrant enough praise and admiration. We see her first as deceptively demure but as her character develops we end up rooting for her even as she often twirls as a moral compass. Hathaway does not just look stunning. She actually makes her inscrutability work in a smashing way. She has one of the film’s finest lines- one about high heels that is really smart and her standout moment is when she mock-screams in the midst of a hard-boiled shootout- a moment that is alone worth the price of the ticket.

Joseph Gordon Levitt as the diligent John Blake is superb.

Another solidly written character in the film is Joseph Gordon Levitt as young cop John Blake. As a younger version of Gary Oldman’s subdued Gordon, Levitt gives a powerful and convincing performance, bringing in Dirty Harry-like attitude with solid restraint. He is also smart enough to qualify as a sidekick to Batman and Nolan agrees too.( here is a spoiler!)

There have been enough expectations for Nolan to conclude the saga on a rousing note. People have been clamoring for him to rise higher as a filmmaker. Yes, he does. Yes, of course, he delivers. Because, as the film proves, like his hero, Nolan always rises to the occasion. And he will save the day for our cinema.

The Film Soars Like The Bat and It Stuns Us To Silence. Christopher Nolan, Take A Bow!

My Rating- 5 Stars Out Of 5.