Grade: A-
The Dark Knight Rises may not be a masterpiece, but it is an exceptionally tense and taught epic that wraps up the plot threads that Christopher and Jonathan Nolan initiated in 2005's Batman Begins in a way that will satisfy a lot of people.
That said, I miss The Joker.
As a sequel to Batman Begins, Dark Knight Rises (DKR) is near perfect, but as a sequel that exists in the shadow of the more compelling The Dark Knight, DKR is weighed down by a rampant, but apt, joylessness that makes one long for Joker's antics. Indeed, the proceedings of DKR are no laughing matter, and while one doesn't go to a Nolan film expecting to double over in laughter, the general sense of unpredictability that permeated The Dark Knight is a bit lost in DKR. It's still a decent bit of work, but for those who prefer the Dark Knight over Batman Begins, it's a bit slight.
What works, more than anything else, in DKR is the characters, especially the arcs for the three main 'protagonists': Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), and John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Since the end of the Dark Knight, which saw Bats on the run after Commissioner Gordon lets Batman take the fall for Harvey Dent's death, Batman has disappeared and Bruce Wayne's been laying low. When a madman in a muzzle and a fur-lined pimpcoat, Bane (Tom Hardy) roles through Gotham threatening to turn the city into a prison-state, Wayne and the Bat come out of seclusion out of a sense of duty as a much as in response to goading by a slinky cat burglar, Kyle; a noble young cop, Blake; his trusty accomplices, Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman); and earnest potential love interest Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).
Bale, Hathaway, and Gordon-Levitt all excel at giving a range of depth to their characters despite splitting time with almost half a dozen other main characters. Hathaway and Gordon-Levitt in particular shine with Hathaway delivering the most accurate and compelling Selina Kyle ever committed to film. Her first scene with Bale, where she flips so casually between naiveté and sly aloofness is pretty masterful. Gordon-Levitt's Blake is also fascinating but hard to discuss without spoiling too much of the film; however, he does provide an interesting and inevitable twist on the notion that few good men survive in the GCPD. Not to be outdone, Bale continues to bring much needed humanity to a character who has grown increasingly bereft of humanity despite being the most human of heroes. The moment when Bruce Wayne literally rises is a triumph mostly because Bale shows that Wayne's fortitude burns through his body and mind. It's great to see each of the characters grow into their roles as they face the horror of Bane's plan, but so much of their growth is steeped in a lore that many members of the audience are extremely familiar with, which ultimately reveals that Nolan's take on Batman follows in the vein of other creators who have tweaked this infinitely malleable legend.
What is less successful, or maybe just less surprising, is Nolan's take on Bane, which is unfortunate because he is one of the prime engines behind this story. At this point, I have to qualify this dissection by remarking on my knowledge of Batman lore, which is not relatively extensive but nowhere near as in-depth as some true Batmanologists. Having grown up in the age of the first round of Bat-flicks, the legendary Batman: The Animated Series, and the Knightfall crossover that introduced Bane, I know a thing or two about Bane. The Bane of the comics, and the animated series to some extent, may rock a luchador mask and get hopped on a comic book drug, but he is a smart guy who often gets the better of Bats because he is just as driven as Bats. Without spoiling anything, the Bane of DKR starts out just like this, but an eleventh hour twist to the character really hurts because it is very reminiscent of Schumacher's take on Bane in the maligned Batman and Robin.
On its own merits and taken as an introspective and thoughtful superhero actioner and the second act to Batman Begins, DKR is solid if not exceptional. Nolan really excels at making the terror of a super-villian plot tangible. Something comic readers take for granted is the fact that living in the wake of a some deranged cosplayer with an itchy trigger finger is legitimately terrifying. What Nolan does with DKR, and has continually done with the series, is ground the world of Batman in a way that strikes a nerve with post 9/11 Americans. Bane's plot to take over Gotham is particularly unnerving, but not as unnerving as Joker's plot in the Dark Knight because the human element is less scarce in DKR. In DKR, Nolan focuses more on the suffering of the police force and the city's costumed hero than its people, which would have driven home the oppressive conditions of Bane's confusing "occupation" in which he takes over the city to give people their freedom (?). Despite the missed opportunity to focus deeply on the suffering of Gotham's citizens, Nolan uses Bane's occupation to set a tense third act where the fate go Gotham hangs in the balance. It is here that DKR rises above other superhero epics, even the Avengers to a degree, because the tangibility of the threat makes the efforts of the heroes, all of the heroes, matter in a way that makes the Avengers battle in Manhattan lack some significance.
DKR is smaller in scale than Avengers, but its tangibility makes it seem far more epic. Yet, it is not necessarily the better film. Simply, it is another variation on superhero mythos that shows just how adaptable superhero stories are. As the closest narratives to modern myths, superhero tales like Dark Knight and Avengers succeed not on their ability to follow a formula but to be shaped according to the needs of their audiences. Avengers and DKR both appeal to similar audiences but with tones that reflect jarringly different takes on urban terror in America. What is great about this fact is that these stories exist to address such topics in a way that entertains and challenges audiences. Granted, some audiences, myself included, may be more partial to a lighter take on the material, but Nolan's approach is just as valid. In fact, it is necessary because it never hurts to remind audiences that the folks in the goofy outfits can be serious when the occasion calls for it.
In-Between Observations:
- Bane's voice is clearer but absolutely hilarious; Joker would have never let him live it down.
- Anybody remotely familiar with the Birth of the Demon arc will not be surprised by the ending.
- Bruce Wayne's injuries recall Terry Funk's injuries as described in wrestling expose Beyond the Mat. Coincidence?
- Gotham City is no longer Chicago but Los Angeles and New York as evidenced by some sloppy editing.
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