Film: The Dark Knight Rises (English)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Rating: ****
It’s hard to review a film like The Dark Knight Rises and not go overboard and flower the copy with exclamations and if permitted, sighs even… though it has to be done and so here’s our attempt at reviewing this 164-minute joy ride of pure brilliance.
From the very first frame, which is typical of the atmosphere Christopher Nolan created for this trilogy in particular, you are reminded of that wonderful mix of sombre, sordid and sweepingly depressing frames, paradoxically bursting with energy, brought to life by the twisted, crazily surreal and surprisingly familiar characters that only add to the overall theme of the film — the battle to merge the opposites.
The Dark Knight Rises continues in the glory of the films before it, entertaining you quite thoroughly, as you watch good win over evil, in a long drawn out battle, that is strangely, worthy of everyone’s sympathy. You will have pangs of sharp emotions surge through you in several scenes and if the film is cathartic to a very large extent, personally, relax… half the audience, who watched it with you, feel the same.
Well-drawn out characters and amazing performances pepper the film, but Christian Bale surely takes a lead that is hard to match up to. Playing the morally upright but depressingly nihilistic Bruce Wayne and his caped alter ego — Batman, Bale manages to finally bring together the pain, the wounds and the reasoning behind his illogical stand on the future of Gotham. You finally understand, if not sympathise with him, in his quest to keep the city and its unworthy population, safe.
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle or the sexy Catwoman is delicious and as seductive as a feline could possibly be. She proves the credibility in her casting as the comic book superheroine and there are scenes where she just rules the camera and steals all the attention. She also makes a pretty good partner to Batman and fans need to be cautioned to pay attention in the end, post the climax, for a pleasing surprise that will surely bring a smile to your face.
Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, play their characters as realistically as possible, though the real stealer lies in Michael Caine’s adorable act as Alfred. This film rounds up Alfred pretty well, and gives him more of an emotional spectrum, beyond his smartly written lines.
The surprise lies in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s portrayal of John Blake, the ‘hothead’ police officer. This movie gives this talented actor quite the sidelined role, but his importance is analysed from the moment he’s seen on screen. We’ll shut up now, or we might just be entering the unhallowed grounds of a spoiler alert.
What makes this movie most enjoyable otherwise are the performances by Tom Hardy as Bane and Marion Cotillard as Miranda. Those of you, who’ve been following the caped bat in his comic avatars, will already know what these two characters stand for, but for first timers and the uninitiated, their tale, filled with a beautifully narrated history, is a total clincher.
Look out for an Indian surprise and don’t be afraid to scream, shout, laugh or sigh and cheer — this is after all the conclusion to this trilogy and we might not see Christian Bale or any of these actors in these characters ever again — but there might just be hope.
A bow to Christopher Nolan for weaving together one of the best trilogies in cinema-kind and several more bows for the brilliant film-making and scripting. This is a film you need to watch again, and again, and again. We are of course choosing to ignore the loopholes, if any, simply because they don’t matter. After all, there is only one Batman!
