Boy, has this movie been a long time coming. By the end of
the blistering The Dark Knight, everybody, and I mean literally
everybody, including your partially deaf Aunt Ida, was wishing and longing for
the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s gritty reboot trilogy . The Dark Knight was so, so good, that it
seemed nearly impossible, almost unfair to suggest Nolan could up the ante
again. And yet somehow he did. TDKR
is one of the most provoking, most satisfying and best executed films you could
see this year. Though be warned, if you have not seen the movie then stop
reading here. It deserves your appreciation spoiler free.
Batman’s capers are ordinarily rather camp, but no such campery
here sir. Where once there was skin-tight lycra and bat-copters and such shite,
now there are marauding prison gangs, bone-breaking fight scenes, and Morgan
Freeman. So Knight Rises starts with a
daring plane escape, in which we meet our new villain; Bane. In stark
comparison to (the excellent late Heath Ledger’s) Joker, Bane combines Joker’s
master-of-puppets manipulation, with a forceful, crunching brutality. Tom Hardy
is excellent here, and whenever he is on screen you are left slightly on edge.
His screen presence is just so unsettling; Bane seems to lurch about with such
weight, his big ole’ feet thump across the ground, and in some ways, he feels
as much like the monster in a creature feature as the calculating villain that he is. Bane
inspires fear throughout the film, and he may be the best villain yet (though
he is not on his own in this movie). Meanwhile in sunny Gotham the citizens are
raving about how great Harvey Dent is, the legal eagle turned burnt-face-killah
from The Dark Knight. It becomes
clear that the actions of Batman in that film have been attributed instead to
Dent, leaving him revered as a hero and Batman as his dastardly masked
murderer. The injustice! So from the beginning right to more or less the second
half of the film, Batman has it pretty rough.
This will not be an easy ride, nor a simple redemption tale. And it is all the better for it.
This movie is consistently dark in tone. This really feels
like a boys film; there is a lot of
violence, plenty of men shooting guns, generally people talk in hushed and
sincere tones about impending doom and ‘coming
storms’ and such. At times during the first two acts the sight of nameless
policemen being shot on masse actually becomes a little sickening, as even in
movie form these are sort of the guys you root for. Yet this gritty tone can
come as a surprise only to morons or new initiates; have you seen the other films? The crux of this
film is that Gotham is on the verge of destruction and Batman, lying broken in
some Middle Eastern storm drain come high security prison, must rise,
literally, to save the city. There is a lot of social commentary and parallels drawn
between the fictional America with the real-life America; financial meltdown,
the haves against the have-nots and deep-seated resentment. Bane’s attack on Gotham
echoes 9/11 and 7/7. This is no mere comic book popcorn film; this is deep,
dark and brooding, with plenty of smart plot points, and yet it never feels overwrought.
Of course, there are times it maybe takes itself a little too seriously, with everyone so
severe all of the time there are points
where you just wish everyone would lighten up. However Anne Hathaway’s wily cat
burglar (Cat Woman, anyone?), the world weary Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman)
and the indispensible butler Alfred, played pitch perfectly by Michael Caine,
do inject a bit of comic relief amongst all the frowning and shouting, though
it is never gimmicky or irritating. Jar-Jar Binks they are NOT. The final half
of this movie is one of the most satisfying conclusions to a trilogy or film
that you will ever see. All the plot threads tie together in an electric
finale, where Gotham’s very fate hangs in the balance (also, Anne Hathaway in skin-tight
leather, on a motorbike).
Of course this is not a perfect film. Films that strive to
convey both an action-packed storyline and important themes in a wide universe
are inevitably riddled with plot holes (see Star
Wars, Indiana Jones, Spider-Man, The Lord Of The Rings). I mean despite Nolan’s
attempts to distract us, this is still a bloke in an unconvincing bat suit, with
a cape and a big shiny belt. At one point Batman actually uses what looks like
the bat-arang on some wrong doers by the river. There is only so far you can
disregard the fact that the protagonist looks like a bit of a fanny.
Furthermore while Batman zips about like you wouldn’t believe, appearing calmly
from back alleys and rooftops and such, it’s unclear how he does that.
Spiderman can web-sling, Superman can fly, the show off. I guess there must
have been lots of footage on the cutting room floor of Batman jogging to his
next scene. Then there is Christian Bale’s
‘secret identity’ shenanigan. I mean Bale has lips like a game fish; has no one recognised that Batman has big pouty
lips just like Bruce Wayne’s? And
towards the end of the movie where everyone and their granny seem to twig who Batman really is (bar Commissioner
Gordon , who will not be hosting
Countdown any time soon), he still talks in that ridiculous shiatsu growl, even
when the recipient of his conversation knows his true identity. Why bother Bruce? Its purpose has been
rendered moot. Do you enjoy talking like that? The weird voice and creepy
outfit makes Batman feel a bit like a crime-fighting SnM enthusiast at times,
and if he had a Bat-gag hanging off that belt of his I wouldn’t have looked
twice.
Furthermore the citizens of Gotham are a new sort of stupid.
WHY LIVE THERE. After both of the Batman films? Seriously, why? Move to
California for god’s sake where they don’t have freaking violent clowns and homicidal
lumberjacks. And furthermore they accept Bane’s plan with the surety of a gang
of Cocker-Spaniel puppies. I mean when he reads out Commissioner’s Gordon’s
prepared speech? Which he could have forged? Or just written on the back of a
bear mat? Who says it’s authentic! And Nolan expects you to believe that every policemen, bar like three, get
stuck under the city? Oy vey. But you know this is just the nit-picking of a finicky
little snot. This is a brilliant,
brilliant film. Everything about this movie is excellent. The Hans Zimmer score
is beyond atmospheric; a dark, clanking
and primal score, with the tribal Moroccan chant of ‘deshi basara’ (rise up) echoing throughout the film, to particularly great effect in the prison
scenes in the middle act. The
cinematography is consistently brilliant, the sound editing is top notch, and
the ensemble cast is sensational. All of the main characters are captivating, even
down to the fringe characters. Ben
Mendelsohn is excellent as the callous John Daggett, and Burn Gorman is equally
excellent as his conniving underling Stryver. Mathew Modine, the Deputy
Commissioner starts out as a coward,but in the final act we see him redeem himself in
style. This film is surely one of the best of the year, of the decade, of the
last twenty five years. If this does not sweep the Oscars clean then it will be
the biggest crime since Titanic pipped
L.A
Confidential to the post in 1996. This is what film-making is all about; a
sympathetic hero, an interesting story, blistering action and plenty of
intrigue, this is the very best of the best.
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