The Dark Knight Rises

Ladies and gentleman, please direct your attention to the following sentence: here is a spoiler warning, as the following article contains plot development, character actions and other important information for The Dark Knight Rises. You have been warned.

Having shelled out the ridiculous price of a cinema ticket to go see TDKR (primarily so I don't have to worry about reading any spoilers in the months before its release on DVD) I am going to share my opinions with you. I have chosen to structure this review on a character-by-character basis, before talking about the film in general and then reflect on its quality. I will honestly state that I'm not a comic reader, but I do have experience of the DC universe through secondary media - games, films and tv shows - so when I'm discussing what so-and-so character *should* be like, I'm referring only to my impression of them through secondary media alone.

Yes, it's a long one, so let us begin:

Batman

Well, we don't get to see a whole lot of The Caped Crusader this time round, what with Bruce having more interesting things to do in deep Caribbean prisons and being a tad shaken up since the death of Rachel in the last film, some 8 years ago by the Nolanverse calender. When we do get a glimpse of the shiny black suit and Kiss-style eye makeup it's pretty much more of the same. Some fighting, some "WHERE IS SHEEEEE?!?!" screaming into some poor bloke's face and some very cool double-team fighting with Selina in the third act. The interaction between Wayne+Selina and Batman+Selina was a definite highlight for me. When Bruce catches her stealing the pearls right at the top of the film and suddenly this quiet, dutiful maid comes out with sass and passion I was pleasantly surprised, a feeling that continued throughout the film in pretty much every one of their scenes together. I loved the "So that's what that feels like.." line Batman mumbles after Selina disappears from the rooftop mid-conversation; really impling that these two are equals in each others eyes, and therefore they should also be in the eyes of the audience, instead of Poor, Feeble Selina and The Big Bad Bat (something I was dreading).

Overall, Bale did another good, solid Batman when he was actually on screen, as well as his usual half-smooth, half-emotionally damaged Wayne behind the mask.

Bane

Well then, Bane.....

I think this was a poor stab at the character, only capturing the bare essence that makes him such a brilliant rogue. The absence of Venom I can understand, the Nolanverse is supposed to be more realistic and uber-steroids aren't really that viable. But the lack of a well defined and self-fueled cunning and calculating nature was really poor. We first find Bane working for Daggett in order to ruin Wayne financially, which seemed a bit reminiscent of the Poison Ivy/Bane relationship in Batman & Robin, where Ivy uses Bane for muscle and not a lot else. However, with time it appears that Bane is running his own scheme, with designs to only appear to be working for Daggett until the time is right.....but then Ra's al Ghul is pulled back into the mix and it turns out that Bane is just doing what Ra's wants, with the hopes of being accepted back into the League of Shadows. This totally undercuts Bane as a strong, intellegent character. The way that he talks about Ra's indicated a sense of admiration and respect; a desire to prove his worth to someone else. That isn't the Bane I know or wanted to see.

Incidentally, Bane and Talia al Ghul never had a romantic relationship, she despised him, calling him weak for not being able to beat Batman, which was when Ra's decided Bruce should marry Talia and become the heir to the League. I must say, Bane + Daggett felt very reminiscent of Hammer + Vanko, albeit a lot more serious and dark, as is the way with the Nolanverse.

There is also a lack in the admiration and respect Bane shows Batman (their first encounter came about because Bane heard that Batman was unbeatable and decided to challenge him, motivated only by personal pride and sportsmanship, not madness/ambition), their relationship should've been more akin to two individuals with differing political views on how to run Gotham, coming to the conclusion that they will have to fight for control, not one going after the other because reasons.

Regarding the presentation of Bane; I felt he wasn't muscular enough. Yes, this is the Nolanverse where everything aims to be as feasible as possible, and yes Hardy does look pretty damn stacked, but it wasn't enough for me. I grew up on a diet of Bane looking like a walking tank, and I guess I was just expecting a little more. Jeep Swenson, the actor who played Bane in Batman & Robin was a real person, so it's clearly possible to that muscular.... But, understandably, Swenson never had to act or even talk in Batman & Robin, and Nolan needed an actual actor for his iteration, so a compromise between muscles and acting had to be found.

The mask was another issue. Not only is it never explained further than "it keeps the pain in," but as Talia is reattaching parts of it after Batman has beaten Bane there is the sound of escaping gas, which could easily have been Venom. Not attributing his ability to withstand the beatings in Peña Dura to his use and subsequent reliance on Venom was a missed opportunity, I feel, as it would have explained the "it keeps the pain in" line as well as giving an actual reason for the mask to exist.

Selina Kyle

Selina Kyle (never referred to as Catwoman in the film) was wonderful. She felt nearly Whedon-esque in her portrayal, and by that I mean she wasn't a 'tits+ass in leather' girl, but more an actual character who was also female. I was truly happy that I didn't have to write "standard arse-out scene for SK" in my notes whilst watching the film; a serious concern of mine. There was only one moment in which I felt that Nolan felt obligued to have a kiss, and of course there had to be less than 2 minutes left til the detonation. 

Selina was written exceptionally well, with perfectly sculpted dialogue to keep the audience guessing as to her sincerity in pretty much every scene. I didn't see her betrayal coming at all, which I'm attributing to the strength of the dialogue and direction. There was a touch of 'Lower Class Hero' about her, made very clear during her dance with Bruce, which I found quite trite and boring. I was glad to see it didn't become a main theme throughout her development, and seemed to merely be dropped in to give her a reason to initially side with Bane and his plan to overthrow the upper classes.

After every inevitable betrayal there is usually an inevitable reconciliation and rescue. This is implemented really well, managing to tie in nicely with the canonic character of Catwoman; she has serious affection for Batman/Wayne and yet always has this animalistic instinct of self-preservation, which is perfectly illustrated by her vehemently expressing her desire to escape as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and the momentary pause after she clears the tunnel blockage.

The costume was great. It was less superhero and more practical thief, with her goggles acting as subtle little ears when she pushed them back off her face. The bladed stilettos were a nice touch, keeping the character 'strong and feminine' without making her a 'strong female.' Enough to be recognisable as the comic character, but not so feline-obsessed as the last time round.

Det. Blake

Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to be one of my favorite actors these days. I loved him in (500) Days of Summer, I loved him in 50/50 and, of course, I've always loved him in 3rd Rock From The Sun. However, I was skeptical regarding his casting as what appeared to be a serious-faced policeman, I didn't think he had the style for it even though he handled his role in Inception with aplomb. Up until now I had nailed that down as a fluke. However, I was thoroughly proved wrong, it was not a fluke and am now looking forward to Looper even more that before.

As, what you could call a secondary character, Blake gets a helluva lot of screen time, some of the best conversations and interactions as well as the most emotive character arc. His relationship with the children, with Gordon and with Wayne are all solid and believable. Following his developing career, seeing him promoted from an officer in uniform to a plain-clothes detective was great. The personal interest Gordon shows in this 'young hot-head' helped to reinforce that this guy was the one to watch, he knew what was going down before anyone else and finally someone was listening to him. He was my favorite aspect of this film, hands down. 

I wasn't aware before seeing the film, but Blake (revealed to actually be Tim Drake) was one of the boy wonders who became Robin. This is revealed right at the very end of the film with a throw-away line regarding his name. I feel that the character has already progressed past my impression of who Robin is/is supposed to be as a character and feels more like a Nightwing or a Red Robin (as the Robin's have all become). Nolan has stated there will not be any more Batmans in the Nolanverse, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a Red Robin film being discussed soon.

Other Characters

Those few important figures in this film that deserve mention but aren't really 'main characters.'

Alfred:

Still a perfect balance between that sweet, caring humour and the calm voice of reason and welcome council that Michael Caine has always portrayed so well in the Nolanverse. This time round Alfred feels much more fleshed out, with more intersting aspects to his relationship with 'Master Bruce' as well as a gut-wrenching scene at the end which WILL have you reaching for the tissues.

Miss Tate/Talia al Gul:

I disliked this character greatly. I felt she was rapidly introduced from nowhere, expecting the audience to treat her on the same level as Lucius Fox or Alfred, i.e. background characters that will have a few very important things to do or say during the film. It was only because she was played (reasonably well, I don't dispute) by Marion Cotillard that I actually payed any attention to her early on. Her relationship with Bruce seemed very unnecessary and frankly made no sense. Yes, she is in love with him in the other Batman universes, but in the Nolanverse she appears from nowhere, badgers Bruce about the generator project a bit then turns up at his house and suddenly they're in bed (or rather, in rugs by the fireplace) together. I didn't buy it.

The shock reveal of her true identity took me completely by surprise. It did explain her relationship with Bruce and having a connection to the League Of Shadows is pretty much the deus ex machina reason to be on the board of this or that in the DC universes, so it made thematic sense to me - albeit shockingly.

Commissioner Gordon:

Taking a more minor role in this film, Gordon felt underdeveloped. This was probably a result of working on the assumption that we know all we need to know about him. His wife and kids have left him and he's about to be 'asked to step down' as Commissioner. He looks and acts tired, like the weight of the Dent Act is physically hurting him - a perfect portrayal of the situation. After getting shot and being confined to a hospital bed you can feel his frustration at having no control over 'his city' and 'his cops.' After the city is cut off his role as leader of the resistance gives him new life; it's back to the rough and ready work that we saw him handle in the first two films, a situation where he thrives. Overall, another testament to Gary Oldman's abilities.

Dr. Jonathon Crane:

A brief appearance for Cillian Murphy, reprising his role but without the mask and FEAR-gas associated with his alter ego, Scarecrow. I enjoyed him showing his face, but couldn't help but think that the part had been written for Heath Ledger's Joker; sitting in a chaotic court room passing judgement on the elite of Gotham and sentencing them to death or death thinly-veiled as exile.

The Film

I felt that the pacing was both a strength and a weakness; as a strength it worked well to slowly increase the threat that Bane posed to Gotham which upped the stakes not only for Batman but for Blake, Gordon and Kyle as well. As a weakness, the pacing caused the second act to drag a little for me, there was an absence of Batman and whilst I'm not an action-junkie, there could've been a decent prison riot scene in Peña Duro or at least a few scenes explaining how Bruce gets back to Gotham from the Caribbean.

I'll divide the action into two parts; set pieces and showdowns.

The set pieces weren't anything special. The escape from the stock market was mediocre, with some potential tension sacrificed to make way for some entertaining cops. We've seen the whole city out to get Batman before, what I wanted to see was Bane fighting off dozens of cops single-handed. The chase sequence in the third act involving The Bat and two of the tumblers was, again, mediocre. I was expecting Batman to put The Bat on auto-pilot and swing down onto a tumbler and punch out the driver or something equally as exciting, but I guess that would've made the ending even easier to predict.

The two showdowns between Bane and Batman were polar opposites. The first instance was great; we see Batman giving it his all and Bane just taking the punches. Bane even shows a glimmer of his towering intellect that Nolan mostly ignores when he manages to compensate for Batman's use of the dark - his best weapon. After a few minutes of slugging it out and getting nowhere Bane destroys the Bat - I certainly felt every single one of those blows to Batman's temple that crushed his cowl. The scene had no 'epic battle music' which was a massive plus; it just focused on the clashing of two powerhouses. When Bane finally breaks Batman's back the whole movement was superbly done, from Bane lifting him to the momentary hesitation as he held Batman aloft to the sickening noise as he dropped him. This has been called a 'fan service' inclusion, but I feel it's pretty much vital to any story involving Bane, I would not have been happy if it had been left out.

The second showdown was dire. I'm referring to the encounter amid the street-war between the Police and Bane's forces, where the newly healed Batman has very little trouble kicking the crap out of Bane, breaking his mask in the process. I feel that a few weeks/months training in a prison and climbing a wall should in no way give Batman this sudden edge. Had I been in charge of this scene, it would've been longer and a much closer match, with Batman only just managing to win by the skin of his teeth. But then again, that scene does lead into the final reveal of everything and the total running time is 165 minutes so I can understand if it was a logistical call.

Issues

I do have some issues with this film. And by issues, I mean anything ranging from actual problems to nerdy nit-picking. I'll start with the most important:

The Dark Knight Rises suffers heavily from The Phantom Menace Syndrome. By that I refer to the impossible-to-define-the-protagonist aspect of Star Wars Episode 1. Is it Obi-wan, Amidala, Qui-Gon, Anakin, Mace Windu? There is no right answer.

The same happens here, with Batman, Blake, Gordon, Kyle and Bruce Wayne all apparently (to me at least) getting pretty much the same amount of screen time and development. Yes, all their paths come together at the end to tie up the film nicely, but during the second act, in particular, I found myself having to keep track of five different threads. When this happens, usually one or two are integral to the main, over-arching plot, but here *all* of them are. And that smacks of either two films shunted into one; panic that the film wasn't interesting enough and so more content was shoveled in or an indecisive editing process. Either way, it's simple maths - the more story arcs you have to follow the less each arc will be developed. As a result, there's very little Batman in a Batman film.

Bane's voice was ridiculous. Now I saw the 11 minutes of footage released months ago and I couldn't understand a word Tom Hardy was saying, so I'm glad that his voice was changed so that the audience can at least understand the words. But what was presented to me throughout the film ranged from a poor Sean Connery impression to General Grievous. It added to my dislike of the character, as he either sounded deranged or comical in some of the most crucial scenes. The 'improvements' to his voice irritated me in a second way; they felt like a narration. Given the fact that Bane has no visible mouth, I found it difficult to associate this disembodied voice with the character on screen. Tom Hardy did a great job of conveying emotion and intent with just his eyes, but it always felt about a second before or after the words Bane was supposedly saying.

Bane also appears to have some sort of Jedi mind-powers. On two occasions he touches people (Daggert and Wayne) relatively lightly and suddenly they're in serious pain. What the hell was that?! Never explained or even mentioned; very confusing.

Selina Kyle's martial arts skills, her abilities as a master thief and her acrobatic prowess are never explained or addressed, but just presented with the expectation that the audience will accept them. Well, I didn't. I could've done with at least a short section of dialogue explaining her backstory.

Similarly, Blake figures out who Batman is by looking at him once. Now, this is canon, as Blake has aspirations from a young age to be the World's Greatest Detective (Batman's accolade) and does manage to figure out who Batman/Wayne really is. But the short, throw-away line explaining this seemed a tad silly. Even more so when you compare it to Selina Kyle *not* managing to figure it out, even though she's spent considerable more time in the company of both Batman and Bruce Wayne.

I see no point in having Detective Blake revealed to be Tim Drake right at the end of the film, and then having him follow Bruce's instructions to find the Batcave if there are going to be no more Nolanverse Batman films. It seems pointless, and therefore there must be a point to it. I feel it's just sequel baiting, but not for Batman.

A few nit-picky flaws:

During the stock exchange robbery scene, I do not believe that a shoe-shine and a janitor could've smuggled automatic weapons into a building that reacted so strongly to Bane just because he was wearing a crash helmet.

In the escape from the stock market the police raised barriers to prevent Bane's escape. My question is, why make ramps? Why not just have a vertical-sided wall that no vehicle could just easily drive over? Seemed purposefully stupid to allow Bane to escape.

After getting his hands on what looked like the wireless antennae to the tablet Bane's minion was using Batman is able to trace all its traffic? I know he's Batman, but that's a bit ridiculous.

During the chase sequence in the third act one of the tumblers fires a barrage of missiles at The Bat, something like 8-10. Most harmlessly and quickly impact nearby buildings, but 3 missiles manage to track The Bat through numerous narrow streets and around tight corners. Were these 'better' missiles? Seems like adding risk and/or tension just for the sake of it, but then having it end up looking silly.

That chant. I really hated that chant. It sounded like "this is sparta, sparta" to me ever since the first teasers came out. Hans Zimmer states that it's written 'deshi basara' and it apparently means 'rise up' in a legitimate, but as of yet unconfirmed, language. Those words and that sound don't compute to me.

Conclusions

Overall, not a bad film. It's not the second coming that I was told it would be, nor has it managed to live up to my experience of watching The Dark Knight for the first time. Sadly, I feel that it fails as a Batman film, which for me need to have at least three things:

1) A strong villain; with a believable motivation, unique style and personality

2) A good interaction between Batman and the villain; either in back-story or through the clashing of order/chaos as we saw with The Joker, or through ideology as we *should've* seen with Bane

3) A smattering of Batman-esque gadgets and feats; this time round we had a gun that stopped a motorbike once, a very poorly designed and implemented Batwing and big ol' bomb that might as well have been red sticks of TNT with an alarm clock in it when compared to the microwave emitter in Batman Begins.

My recommendation won't make anyone see or not see it, with the media saturation and Batman Fever that Nolan has cultivated you've either already seen it, are going to see it soon or have no interest in seeing it. But, for what it's worth, I'd recommend this to fans of the Nolan Batman, but not to those fans of Batman as a universe. It's not a great end to a series that has been so popular for so long, but it is a reasonably good film overall with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway being my two shining stars.