‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Review: A Beautiful War Epic

Christopher Nolan’s most recent and final addition to the now Dark Knight Trilogy has hit theaters and is expected to make some serious money.  The monumental success of comic book movies over the past two decades has made way for blockbuster action stories like never before.  Most recently, ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ have been praised while setting world box office records.  ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ will not be an exception to this phenomenon, but Nolan’s newest film is much more than a comic book movie.  It is a war epic masterpiece full of inspiration, hope, and heart, outmatching every superhero film to date including its own predecessors.

When we last left Nolan’s Batman universe, The Joker had been caught, Harvey Dent was dead, and Batman was wanted for murder.  ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ picks up eight years after the events of ‘The Dark Knight’ and we find Bruce Wayne reclusive, retired in his billionaire mansion.  When the evil and muscled up mastermind Bane sets out to destroy Gotham, Wayne must don the cape and cowl once again to save the city from total annihilation.

     The writing and story of the film is an intricately woven cohesive narrative offering the audience a chance to engage personally in the final outcome.  Much like ‘The Dark Knight,’ there are exhilarating twists and unexpected turns but with the added notion that nothing has been held back.  Nolan puts all the cards on the table this time, positioning the audience into a mind-set of finality, and the stakes are very very high.  In terms of storytelling and audience investment, it just doesn’t get much better than ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ 

The all-star cast delivers like never before.  Christian Bale reminds us of his skill in performance duality, playing both the billionaire playboy and menacing detective crime fighter and city savior with excellence.  Tom Hardy gives Darth Vadar a run for his money as the ultimate evil persona Bane.  And much like the late Heath Ledger did with his performance as The Joker, Anne Hathaway quiets concerned fans by giving one of the best live-action Catwoman portrayals of all time.  

Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman return in their respective roles, and it should come as no surprise that they deliver unprecedented performances.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines as John Blake, a beat cop and major player in the quest to save Gotham, while Marion Cotillard impresses viewers as the wealthy business woman Miranda Tate.  If there is anything to be negatively criticized about the cast’s performances, it would be Cotillard’s strange final seconds on screen, but with all things considered, this is a very minor flaw. 

   The scope of action in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ goes well beyond anything ever done before.  By the time Bane is done ravaging the city, Gotham is all but reduced to rubble.  With the use of massive city explosions, car chases, flight battles, heat seeking missiles, bridge and football field detonations, an entire city held hostage, and a climax that involves hundreds of people battling in the streets of Gotham, Nolan has has made the ultimate war epic movie.  There is not a negative thing to be said about the colossal action in this film.

Ultimately, there are two major drawbacks to ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’  The first one being the absence of Heath Ledger, for which obviously no one is to blame.  The reason ‘The Dark Knight’ stood out from your standard comic book movie was because of Ledger’s exceptional maniacal performance as The Joker.  As great as ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is, one cannot help but wonder what could have been had the late actor been involved.  The second and more discerning drawback is the lack of character history for Catwoman.  There is very little information given with regards to her background and her motives.  With such rich comic book source material to work with, it would have been nice to see some of her history played out on screen.  To its credit, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ offers plenty of wonderful Bane backstory, and the film does top out at nearly 3 hours.  Perhaps the writers felt the main antagonist was more deserving of character development, and such a decision is most understandable.      

Indeed, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ offers sophisticated and high-stakes story, near perfect onscreen performances, and unparalleled action sequences, but in the end, what really makes the film special is its ability to trigger a genuine heartfelt sentiment from the audience.  Movie-goers can expect to walk away feeling entirely emotionally fulfilled, and it is this element of the film that will ensure ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made.  In the same sense, The Dark Knight Trilogy will undoubtedly find a rightful place next to the original Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy for a generation.  Don’t put it off a second longer.  Go enjoy this masterpiece.