We waited four years for an epic conclusion to Chris Nolans Batman pantheon, four years of curiousity, debate and fanboy speculation. The wait is over. I attended the midnight premiere last night. I was actually supposed to wait until my buddy got back into town to see it....but alas, the pressure became too great. I caved. Sorry sir.
The good news for Dark Knight fans is that this movie, while not as easily digestable as your typical summer blockbuster, has the wonderful effect of meaning more to the viewer as they have time to ponder it. It is a different animal from The Dark Knight, which was a study in both nihilism and perserverance. Rises is more of an exclamation point, a final war for Gotham to face before the caped crusader can finish his work. How that work gets finished and who we say goodbye to will not get spoiled here. I would recommend not reading Wikipedia or the newer reviews. They give away far too much.
Tom Hardy's Bane is a visceral, tactical barbarian, an evil, driven mastermind of remarkable scale. To compare him to Heath Ledgers Joker is not only unfair, its completely beside the point. Where the Joker was all about testing Batmans morality, driving him ever closer to the edge, Bane is something else, a sort of "final boss" at the end of the game, one who's skill as a fighter greatly exceeds Batmans.
Anne Hathaways Catwoman (we never hear this title used) is a classic femme fa tale, sexy, deceptive and lethal. Miss Hathaway is a revelation here, dodging the camp of Michelle Pheiffers fun but unrealistic portrayal in Batman Returns. She embodies the so called 99%, an angst for Wallstreet her main pet peeve. In a film where bleakness is the norm, she provides the occasional one liner to keep the proceedings on an even keel.
And more so than ever, this movie is about Batman, about Bruce Waynes endless war within himself. Bruces ongoing dialogue about Batmans relevance and importance is at the forefront. Bale is as exemplary an actor as ever. Whereas he rightfully took a backseat to Ledgers Joker in The Dark Knight, playing the straight man to the late actors wild card, he's the main focus here, a man torn and beaten from years of service to his city, pondering his destiny and caring less and less about his own mortality.
His triad of worthy father figures, Alfred, Lucius and Jim Gordon, are, for once, at a loss for words. They, in the face of this films events, finally seem to have run out of sage wisdom. Jim Gordon, above all, is a shell of his former self. Gary Oldman rings every last nerve ending out of him here. Micheal Caine shows Alfred in a light we've never seen him, completely vulnerable and angst ridden. It's glorious to behold. Freemans Fox is still our favorite intellectual badass, though for once, he looks afraid.
And I was afraid, more times than not during this fim, that it would veer off course and ruin the trilogy as Coppola did with the final Godfather film. Rest assured, it did not. In fact, the more I've had time to let it sink in, the more the films briliance has manifested itself. It's not an easy movie, not the instant gratification lesser minds may crave. What it is is a thoughtful send off for these much beloved characters. Enjoy.
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