I love movies. More importantly, I love seeing movies before almost everyone else. Certain movies will get me to the theater at midnight, so I figured I’d see them first and write a review the next day so you can get a real review from someone that isn’t a Hollywood hack.
In this installment… The Dark Knight Rises
It’s hard to process The Dark Knight Rises in the wake of last night’s shooting at a Colorado movie theater, for the simple reason that TDKR ends Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy on a tremendously hopeful note. I personally left the theater smiling, unaware of the events unfolding out west.
However, if there is something to be drawn from TDKR in relation to last night’s events, it is that hope survives, even against terrible evil.
TDKR takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, during which Batman hasn’t been seen and Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale, has become a reclusive hermit. A new villain, Bane, has found his way to Gotham City to finish the work begun by Ra’s Al Ghul in Batman Begins to destroy Gotham City and to bring down Batman and Bruce Wayne. Along with Bane, a master thief named Selena Kyle has also taken up residence in the city.
This sets the stage for what is arguably the most explosive movie of the Dark Knight trilogy, and shows us how far Batman and Bruce Wayne must go to defeat evil.
Christopher Nolan is famous for his twist endings; The Dark Knight Rises is no different. The last thirty minutes of the film are an emotional thrill ride that doesn’t feel contrived, and gives comic book fans plenty of red meat to chew on.
The rest of the movie is no less remarkable. Bane is just as strong, just as fast, and just as smart as Batman, and provides an excellent foil. There may have been concerns about his voice from early screenings, but I had no issues with it throughout the film. Tom Hardy does an amazing job bringing the physicality and intelligence of Bane together to create a really intimidating villain.
Selina Kyle (she’s never referred to as “Catwoman” in the film) is ably played by Anne Hathaway, who brings the right level of seductive dangerousness and ambiguous morality to the character.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake is a new addition to the cast, and an excellent one at that. For much of the film Batman isn’t in Gotham City, and Blake is the man on the inside.
Finally, Marion Cotillard, who plays Miranda Tate. She’s probably my favorite performance out of everyone, just because the material she’s given is so good and she does such a tremendous job with it.
Michael Caine’s Alfred Pennyworth and Morgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox are also worth of note, although they play a smaller role than they have in the past.
Together, a tremendous cast, a tremendous movie, and a fitting end to Nolan’s trilogy.
